Eastwood: First ever nationalist First Minister and Leader of Opposition at Stormont ‘very significant’

Transcript

00:00 It is important to point out that the people of Ireland, North and South, will decide the

00:02 constitutional future of Ireland and nobody else. This is a very good day for the people

00:08 of Northern Ireland. I am very glad to see it. I also think we are about to see something

00:13 very significant. We will have the first ever nationalist First Minister, the first ever

00:18 nationalist leader of the Opposition, and I wish them all well. In order to properly

00:23 maintain this progress and make the most of it, though, Mr Speaker, will the Secretary

00:28 of State convene a process with all the political parties in every Government to look at how

00:32 we can reform the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement to make sure that no one

00:37 party can ever pull them down again?

00:39 Can I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his welcome of the proposals and just point subtly

00:47 out to him that he mentioned at the very beginning of his question that the Belfast Good Friday

00:51 Agreement relied on the consent of both communities and then suggested reform which actually does

00:56 not have the consent of certainly one of them. However, I understand the point he made, and

01:02 I have always said when people have asked me about future reform of the institutions

01:06 that this is a conversation that should be started within Stormont and by the people

01:13 of Northern Ireland and their elected representatives. The thing I hope for is maybe not that particular

01:19 conversation but the thing I hope for is for Stormont to be returned so elected folk from

01:24 Northern Ireland can govern for the people of Northern Ireland.