Ken Reid's UTV Politics Blog - Decision day

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Decision day

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Ken Reid
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The clock is ticking and the big vote is nearly upon us.

Some time after 4pm on Tuesday MLAs will go through the Stormont lobby and vote on the devolution of policing and justice.

There will actually be two votes but it looks as though the Ulster Unionists are going to reject the proposals.

The Northern Ireland Office opinion poll and the intervention of Shaun Woodward seems to have really angered Sir Reg Empey's party.

There is even talk of a motion at the party's executive meeting calling on the Secretary of State to resign.

There has been activity throughout the day with Sir Reg and Margaret Ritchie chairing the sub-committee on reforming the way the executive works.

Basically the Ulster Unionists are seeking to introduce a three-vote veto on executive decisions.

So far this has not washed although the DUP seem keener on the idea than Sinn Fein.

Sir Reg has also been holding separate meetings with Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness.

But talking to Ulster Unionist MLAs they seem determined to hold their ground, particularly after the Secretary of State's remarks.

The DUP executive is also meeting and it will decide on a course of action should the Ulster Unionists vote no.

The governments will be hoping Peter Robinson hopes to go for devolution and in the last couple of days this has seemed the likely case.

The activity will be continuing up to the vote but, so far, no talk of any new education proposals.

One senior minister said to me this will be a defining day for Unionism.

Until the election, I suspect.

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At 04:01 on 09 March 2010, Robert David Wright wrote:
The discussions in this conversation, as it stands today, are no doubt a result of a major portion of the peoples representatives not being included in the formation of legislation that they must officially vote on. When a major governmental process is undertaken such as devolution then all of the populations representatives should be included with their representative point of view. Should any voices be shut out of a legislative assembly then any legislation created without them should be considered the creation of a de-evolved democracy.
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