The SDLP was the only party to nominate a candidate for the job of justice minister at a meeting of Stormont party leaders on Tuesday morning.

The new leader of the party, Margaret Ritchie, put forward the name of North Belfast MLA, barrister Alban Maginness.

The most likely party to provide the new minister, Alliance, declined to nominate its leader David Ford

The Ulster Unionists and the SDLP have insisted Alliance has no right to the post under the d'Hondt system for selecting ministers, which was agreed in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.


"We in the SDLP want policing and justice delivered as quickly as possible but there should not be any corruption of democracy in terms of the appointment"
Margaret Ritchie

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Let the games commence
Its all very well the SDLP and the Ulster Unionists claiming that Alliance have not right to the post, but when the crunch comes and an Alliance Nomination is put forward, then I persume the UU and SDLP will accept him/her

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For Ball, not Man playing

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Alban Magennis? Well, now we know its only a stunt

A stunt? Given SF's agreement to abandon the democratic process of d'Hondt for selecting a Justice Minister, we know who are the real stunts in this instance. I guess SF don't do democracy when it would give a result their new best buddies in the Executive don't want.

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Alban is a jolly good spud. However I really wish that the SDLP would stop whinging about this.

The reason that d'Hondt was abandoned was because Policing & Justice is a highly sensitive ministry and neither DUP or Sinn Féin wanted each other getting their it. In fact the DUP have a tough enough job selling the devolution of P & J without a Roman Catholic nationalist getting his hands on it. But I digress. If the DUP were to emerge the biggest party after the next Stormont election under d'Hondt we might end up with Gregory Campbell as Policing & Justice Miinster, a situation which would seriously undermine the fragile confidence of nationalists in the PSNI. And if Sinn Féin were to emerge the biggest party we could end up with Gerry Kelly as Minister, which would alienate unionists.

The agreement to allocate the ministry on a community consensus basis is a pragmatic one. David Ford should get on with accepting it and the SDLP stop whining and go out and win some votes.

BTW this thread covers pretty much the same ground as St33ve's earlier thread.

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Well being a Party mouthpiece you would say that, Sinn Fein are not known as Me Fein for no reason. In there desperation to secure the devolution of Policing and Justice they ensured that no Catholic need apply for the Job.
Grossly unfair considering it is the SDLP and Nationalists that are paying the price for the Extreemists of Sinn Fein and the DUP

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For Ball, not Man playing

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Actually I gave Alban my number one at the last election. But the SDLP are just whinging for their own petty party ends. D'Hondt could give us Gregory Campbell as Justice Minister and nobody in their right mind wants that.

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Spin City

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The big problem is the SDLP did not get enough votes, the electorates faut once more,

They would want to stop crying, reorganise their party and get out onto the streets looking for votes; because if they don't, they face oblivion. Being nice is just not good enough.

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Well if the D'Hondt system was used it would go to the SDLP. So in this case the problem isn't the SDLP didn't get enough votes.

I think eventually a deal will be worked out with the Alliance and I don't see either of the Unionist parties accepting the SDLP taking it. However there is no harm in putting someone forward, if only to get themsevles into the news again and they do have a fair argument that they should get it.

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