Devolution: An analysis of the potential of the Official Opposition in Northern Irish Devolution
The Official Opposition in the Northern Irish Assembly is a relatively new concept. With a huge potential for success, The Opposition in Northern Ireland has to date been constrained by the fickle and turbulent nature of Northern Irelands devolution. Due to this fickle nature, the Opposition has not yet been fully able to fulfil its role to date. However, with a new opportunity having been restored by the return of devolution to Northern Ireland, the prospects of the opposition seem to be positive as smaller parties seek to ‘punch above their weight’ in regional politics as the Official Opposition returns.
The provision for an Official Opposition in Northern Ireland’s Assembly came with the Assembly and Executive Reform (Assembly Opposition) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. This Act, along with New Decade New Approach (2020), allowed a party that holds 8% of all of the seats in the assembly, which currently accounts for 8 seats, to form an opposition to counter and scrutinise the cross community Executive. Due to the Unique nature of Northern Irish politics, the largest Nationalist and Unionist party are obliged to join the executive, thereby leaving the role of opposition to smaller parties.
The first official opposition in the modern era of devolution saw the moderate nationalist party, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), and the moderate unionist party, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) come together following the May 2016 Assembly election. Whilst this period was cut short by the collapse of the Assembly, the presence of an Official Opposition has a huge potential to boost the democratic deficit often found in Northern Irish politics due to the powers afforded to it.
10 days in each Assembly sitting are allocated to the opposition to set the agenda, which is in effect 1 in every 7 days that the assembly meets per year, allowing time to be spent both attempting to pass its own legislation in the form of Private Members Bills, but also scrutinising the often ‘all powerful’ executive. This guaranteed time in the Chamber allows for issues to be raised, and for the Executive to answer questions on its decisions. With this being televised live, this is a level of scrutiny that is observable to the public, and ensures that the Executive and its legislation are fit for purpose and effective enough to withstand both public and political oversight.
The Opposition are also afforded Statutory Committee membership disproportional to its size. With a member on every committee the ability to scrutinise the Executive and hold it to account is unparalleled. With most of the Legislative footwork being done by the committees, to have access like this ensures legislation will be robust and fit for purpose.
The Chairpersonship of the Public Accounts Committee is too held by an individual nominated by the Leader of the Opposition, with the Deputy Chair nominated by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition. With this committee established to monitor the finances and spending of the Executive and its agencies, this is a crucial element of Northern Irish democracy, and for it to rest in the hands of the official opposition ensures fair and thorough oversight.
The Opposition are the first to ask questions following a ministerial statement, and will receive enhanced Media coverage, appearing on political talk shows in order to provide a counter to the line of the forced coalition.
However, whilst these systems are in place, the opportunity has never truly been grasped. Not much as achieved by the first UUP/SDLP Opposition before collapse. However, with the recent return of the Northern Irish Assembly in February 2024, and the SDLP, led by Matthew O’Toole MLA of Belfast South, this harkens a new age of political scrutiny. With a newfound vigour, the Official opposition has the chance to affect a real change on the Northern Irish political landscape. With previous experience of the mechanisms of opposition, the SDLP are well placed to provide effective and thorough scrutiny of the Northern Irish Executive and Assembly.
Reference list
education.niassembly.gov.uk. (n.d.). The Power to Make Laws | Northern Ireland Assembly Education Service. [online] Available at: https://education.niassembly.gov.uk/post-16/work-assembly/making-legislation/power-make-laws.
Kee, J. (2022). The Official Opposition: What does it mean? [online] Stratagem. Available at: https://www.stratagem-ni.com/latest/2022/july/the-official-opposition-what-does-it-mean/.
Miller, G. (2016). Northern Ireland’s first official Opposition – a step towards ‘normal politics’? [online] Institute for Government. Available at: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/article/comment/northern-irelands-first-official-opposition-step-towards-normal-politics.
NI’s government has returned Stormont – what you need to know. (2024). BBC News. [online] 3 Feb. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-67726389.
Rycroft, L. and Sargeant, J. (2022). Northern Ireland assembly. [online] Institute for Government. Available at: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/northern-ireland-assembly.
Social Democratic and Labour Party. (n.d.). Opposition: Ministers must use Executive meeting to end Budget contradictions and confusion. [online] Available at: https://www.sdlp.ie/opposition_ministers_must_use_executive_meeting_to_end_budget_contradictions_and_confusion.
This is an excellent blog post, providing a detailed and highly interesting insight into the relatively new role of the Official Opposition in the Northern Ireland Assembly. The author rightfully points out that the absence of an opposition, as is often the case, is a serious democratic deficit in the Assembly. As the author mentions, the Executive is a powerful body and every avenue of scrutiny must be employed to ensure public trust and democratic accountability. In addition, some of the parties involved in the Executive in recent years have appeared to join the Executive for the sake of holding ministerial positions. Looking particularly at the SDLP and the UUP, does it make sense that they should be able to have a single minister in the Executive given their small size? Surely, as the author points out, the role of smaller parties would be better spent in opposition, where they can scrutinise the bigger parties in the Executive.
One minor point of criticism is that the author doesn’t mention proposals for change in Assembly rules. One such proposal is that there should be a mandatory coalition, composed of smaller parties, guaranteeing the level of scrutiny and quality of accountability that Northern Ireland’s voters should expect in every Assembly, not just those where a party or parties think opposition might benefit them.
Overall, an excellent blog post.