SDLP Seeking To Fast Track Legislation To Stop Stormont Collapse

The SDLP has called on Boris Johnson to commit to legislation to secure the sustainability of power sharing in Northern Ireland and for it be fast tracked through Westminster.

Party Leader Colum Eastwood said that no party should be allowed to collapse government in a 'petulant strop' while hospital waiting lists are out of control and low income families face cuts to social security because of a bad opinion poll.

Speaking in the House of Commons Mr Eastwood said: "Hospital waiting lists in Northern Ireland are out of control. Hard pressed families are being hit by a £1,040 cut to their incomes as a result of cuts to Universal Credit imposed by the Tory government. The cost of living has gone through the roof.

"But we're supposed to accept that none of that matters because the DUP has been hit by a bad opinion poll so they're threatening the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement.

"The British Government needs to intervene immediately and fast track the legislation aimed at securing the sustainability of government in the North that they committed to under New Decade New Approach. They need to stop one political party collapsing our efforts to tackle the waiting list crisis, the Coronavirus crisis and the climate crisis as part of a desperate, petulant strop. If Stormont falls then our climate bill falls, period poverty legislation falls, CPR in schools laws fall. This is more than just politics, it will have a massive impact on this place and everyone who lives here.

"People in our communities deserve better than the constant crisis and brinkmanship at Stormont. They deserve political leaders committed to using the mandate they gave us to transform their lives for the better. The British Government needs to live up to its commitments and the agreement we all made last year."