alternatehistory.com
Uhura's Mazda - First Ministers of N. Ireland
First Ministers of Northern Ireland
2018-2019: Robin Swann (UUP) and Colum Eastwood (SDLP) (in coalition with Alliance, Green, PUP, and People Before Profit) [1]
2018 def: Arlene Foster (DUP), Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein), Naomi Long (Alliance), Steven Agnew (Green), Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP), Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit)
2019-2019: Colum Eastwood (SDLP) and Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP) (in coalition with Alliance, Green, and People Before Profit) [2]
2019-2021: Colum Eastwood (Irish Labour) and Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP) (in coalition with Alliance, Fianna Fail, Green, and People Before Profit) [3]
2021-2021: Daniel McCrossan (Fianna Fail) and Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP) (in coalition with Alliance, Green, and People Before Profit) [4]
2021-2025: Christopher Stalford (DUP) and Orlaithi Flynn (Sinn Fein)
2021 def: Naomi Long (Alliance), Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP), Daniel McCrossan (Fianna Fail), Steven Agnew (Green), George Jabbour (NI Conservatives)
[1] - After a year of what amounted to Direct Rule under NI Secretaries James Brokenshire and Theresa May while the DUP and Sinn Fein remained unable to reach a governing compromise, Westminster finally grew weary of waiting and changed the law to abolish the Petition of Concern and also to allow any two parties from the two blocs (Nationalist and Unionist) to form an Executive. New elections were held, and although the UUP and SDLP got 7 and 6 seats respectively against a backdrop of an ailing middle ground in Northern Ireland, they nonetheless formed an Executive of all the other parties in Stormont. This was still a very small number of seats, but both Sinn Fein and the DUP were convinced to support the Executive on matters of confidence and supply, largely because they were curious as to how badly this grab-bag of parties could actually govern.
[2] - The first major crisis of the Moderate Executive was the passage of the Irish Language Act, which was opposed by not only the DUP but also a significant part of the UUP. In a fractious Party Conference, the UUP took the unusual step of voting to dissolve itself - almost all members and most MLAs joined the DUP, but three MLAs went over to the Alliance and remained in Government. However, as the Alliance did not designate as a Unionist party, neither Swann nor Naomi Long could become co-First Minister. That honour went instead to Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, one of the two MLAs belonging to the left-wing Unionist and slightly paramilitary Progressive Unionist Party.
[3] - History repeated itself just a few short months later, when the Northern Irish local elections returned just fourteen SDLP councillors. It was clearly time to take action to restore the Party's fortunes, and Colum Eastwood took the brave step of affiliating it to the Irish Labour Party in the hope that a cross-border party would win them some credibility against Sinn Fein, the Greens and People Before Profit. However, almost all of the branches west of the Bann voted instead to disaffiliate from the SDLP and join Fianna Fail, taking two of the surviving MLAs with them. Fianna Fail remained in the coalition Executive, while Colum Eastwood remained co-First Minister with the support of just four Nationalist MLAs.
[4] - For two years, Eastwood and Corr-Johnston presided over an Executive which in practice executed only Alliance policies, and even then, only with the acquiescence of the DUP or Sinn Fein. The major achievement was the legalisation of gay marriage, but that palled in practice against economic stagnation and the Executive's failure to build any major infrastructure. An election was called for May 2021. However, just before the Assembly was dissolved, the Irish Labour Party (landed with the cost of changing all the SDLP letterheads) became the first Western political party to file for bankruptcy, and sought a merger with Sinn Fein. This occurred, taking Eastwood and his supporters into Opposition - and the only remaining Nationalist party was Fianna Fail. Thus, for the dying days of the Executive, it was led by the leaders of two tiny parties with only two MLAs apiece.
2018-2019: Robin Swann (UUP) and Colum Eastwood (SDLP) (in coalition with Alliance, Green, PUP, and People Before Profit) [1]
2018 def: Arlene Foster (DUP), Michelle O'Neill (Sinn Fein), Naomi Long (Alliance), Steven Agnew (Green), Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP), Gerry Carroll (People Before Profit)
2019-2019: Colum Eastwood (SDLP) and Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP) (in coalition with Alliance, Green, and People Before Profit) [2]
2019-2021: Colum Eastwood (Irish Labour) and Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP) (in coalition with Alliance, Fianna Fail, Green, and People Before Profit) [3]
2021-2021: Daniel McCrossan (Fianna Fail) and Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP) (in coalition with Alliance, Green, and People Before Profit) [4]
2021-2025: Christopher Stalford (DUP) and Orlaithi Flynn (Sinn Fein)
2021 def: Naomi Long (Alliance), Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston (PUP), Daniel McCrossan (Fianna Fail), Steven Agnew (Green), George Jabbour (NI Conservatives)
[1] - After a year of what amounted to Direct Rule under NI Secretaries James Brokenshire and Theresa May while the DUP and Sinn Fein remained unable to reach a governing compromise, Westminster finally grew weary of waiting and changed the law to abolish the Petition of Concern and also to allow any two parties from the two blocs (Nationalist and Unionist) to form an Executive. New elections were held, and although the UUP and SDLP got 7 and 6 seats respectively against a backdrop of an ailing middle ground in Northern Ireland, they nonetheless formed an Executive of all the other parties in Stormont. This was still a very small number of seats, but both Sinn Fein and the DUP were convinced to support the Executive on matters of confidence and supply, largely because they were curious as to how badly this grab-bag of parties could actually govern.
[2] - The first major crisis of the Moderate Executive was the passage of the Irish Language Act, which was opposed by not only the DUP but also a significant part of the UUP. In a fractious Party Conference, the UUP took the unusual step of voting to dissolve itself - almost all members and most MLAs joined the DUP, but three MLAs went over to the Alliance and remained in Government. However, as the Alliance did not designate as a Unionist party, neither Swann nor Naomi Long could become co-First Minister. That honour went instead to Julie-Anne Corr-Johnston, one of the two MLAs belonging to the left-wing Unionist and slightly paramilitary Progressive Unionist Party.
[3] - History repeated itself just a few short months later, when the Northern Irish local elections returned just fourteen SDLP councillors. It was clearly time to take action to restore the Party's fortunes, and Colum Eastwood took the brave step of affiliating it to the Irish Labour Party in the hope that a cross-border party would win them some credibility against Sinn Fein, the Greens and People Before Profit. However, almost all of the branches west of the Bann voted instead to disaffiliate from the SDLP and join Fianna Fail, taking two of the surviving MLAs with them. Fianna Fail remained in the coalition Executive, while Colum Eastwood remained co-First Minister with the support of just four Nationalist MLAs.
[4] - For two years, Eastwood and Corr-Johnston presided over an Executive which in practice executed only Alliance policies, and even then, only with the acquiescence of the DUP or Sinn Fein. The major achievement was the legalisation of gay marriage, but that palled in practice against economic stagnation and the Executive's failure to build any major infrastructure. An election was called for May 2021. However, just before the Assembly was dissolved, the Irish Labour Party (landed with the cost of changing all the SDLP letterheads) became the first Western political party to file for bankruptcy, and sought a merger with Sinn Fein. This occurred, taking Eastwood and his supporters into Opposition - and the only remaining Nationalist party was Fianna Fail. Thus, for the dying days of the Executive, it was led by the leaders of two tiny parties with only two MLAs apiece.
- Uhura's Mazda
- Word Count: 680