Statement by Richard Cairns, TUV Assembly Candidate for South Antrim:
“As May 5th is fast approaching more people are starting to realise the significance of this Assembly election. On that day each and every one of us has the opportunity to elect who represents us in Stormont for the next 5 years.
“The old adage that a week is a long time in politics is very true, but 5 years is something everyone should contemplate.
“My reason for getting involved in politics and with TUV is rather simple: government in Northern Ireland is not working. I believe it can work, but that we need to deal with the sacred cows that are preventing good government from happening. Having all parties in government when they cannot agree on policy issues leads to stagnation and crisis – this has been routine for Stormont. Not having an opposition allows bad government to go unchallenged. That was the case until TUV came along and exposed the waste and squander.
“I see my role as being to to hold government to account if elected. I seek reform of Stormont that will make it function better, but to do that we need to build the foundations on solid ground. Solid ground for any government is the basics of democracy – free elections, those who agree forming a government based on policy, those who cannot form a government sit on the opposition benches. Without that, there is little legitimacy and there will be little accountability to those who they govern.
“TUV’s role is not one of wreckers. We are here to fix it. Let’s not repeat the same mistakes for the next 5 years.”