Alliance chief to challenge Blair over review

British Prime Minister Tony Blair was expected to be challenged today to name a date for a comprehensive review of the Good Friday Agreement.

Before leaving for Downing Street, the centre ground Alliance Party, which has been campaigning to have its Assembly votes count in cross-community votes at Stormont, said they would press Mr Blair to commit his government to a comprehensive review of the Agreement in May to address their concerns.

Alliance leader David Ford, whose party redesignated three of its Assembly members as unionists in November to help First Minister David Trimble and Deputy First Minister Mark Durkan’s second bid to get elected to the Executive, said if there were not changes to the voting system at Stormont, there could be ‘‘difficulties’’ in the future.

The South Antrim MLA said: ‘‘In November we agreed a single issue review of Assembly voting arrangements which disappointingly came to nothing.

‘‘The NIO have been unable to give us details of the comprehensive review which is due to start at the beginning of May.

‘‘The Prime Minister and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern have a responsibility for convening that review and we are taking that opportunity to emphasise the importance of resolving the designation problem before it inevitably causes further difficulties.’’

Under cross-community voting arrangements, certain Assembly votes require parallel consent from unionists and nationalists or a weighted majority.

Parallel consent comprises of an overall majority of the 108 MLAs but also a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists. This is deployed in the election of First and Deputy First Ministers.

Weighted majority requires 60% support of all members including at least 40% of both unionists and nationalists.

Alliance is angry that under parallel consent, the votes of MLAs who designate themselves as ‘other’ instead of unionist or nationalist do not count.

Mr Ford also confirmed Alliance would raise the issue of amnesties for paramilitaries on the run at today’s meeting with Mr Blair.

The South Antrim MLA said his party had ‘‘difficulties with the government’s proposals, particularly when the disgusting practice of paramilitaries forcibly exiling people from Northern Ireland continues’’.