:00:00. > :00:25.Hello and welcome to the The View. Tonight: A signed pledge calling
:00:26. > :00:27.for peaceful protests. But what does the pan-unionist
:00:28. > :00:37.graduated response mean for the political process here?
:00:38. > :00:42.Westminster and Europe, the denial of cultural expression resulting
:00:43. > :00:47.from republican violence and threats of violence will have a consequence
:00:48. > :00:49.determining how our members at each of these levels of government will
:00:50. > :00:53.participate. for the political process here?
:00:54. > :01:00.As Peter Robinson refuses to be drawn on whether or not the
:01:01. > :01:08.Institutions are under threat, we ask how solid evolution is. The end
:01:09. > :01:13.of term and the awards. Our experts have been chewing the fat over how
:01:14. > :01:16.local politicians have performed. Joining us, two of the judges,
:01:17. > :01:19.Newton Emerson and Cathy Gormley-Heenan. You can follow the
:01:20. > :01:36.debate on Twitter as it happens. Good evening. Another 12th of July
:01:37. > :01:39.and another crisis over a parade. The First Minister joined fellow
:01:40. > :01:42.unionist leaders at an Orange Hall this morning where they senior
:01:43. > :01:46.members of the Orange Order signed a pledge calling for peaceful protests
:01:47. > :01:52.in their continuing challenge to the ruling on Saturday afternoon's
:01:53. > :01:55.Ardoyne parade. They called for a commission of inquiry. The order
:01:56. > :02:00.revealed its plan to stop parades for six minutes as a protest. The
:02:01. > :02:04.grand secretary Drew Nelson is with me. Thank you for joining us. The
:02:05. > :02:08.fact the parade cannot happen as you would like it to on Saturday is
:02:09. > :02:13.clearly an issue for the Orangemen involved and the order itself. Why
:02:14. > :02:18.bring the rest of us into it? There is a point of principle here which
:02:19. > :02:23.is important for the institution. We think that since the party
:02:24. > :02:27.processions that was passed and the Parades Commission came into view,
:02:28. > :02:34.it has continually tighten the screw on the orders and what we do which
:02:35. > :02:41.is parading. It is a six minute parade. What is reasonable about
:02:42. > :02:46.making such a fuss over such a short issue? That is the question I would
:02:47. > :02:49.put to the nationalist and republican groups opposing the
:02:50. > :02:53.parade. What is the big difficulty about us coming down that road for
:02:54. > :03:02.six minutes? There is a basic question of respect here. Tolerance.
:03:03. > :03:04.Why is it that the nationalist community and the republican
:03:05. > :03:11.community feel they cannot tolerate us coming peacefully down a road for
:03:12. > :03:14.six minutes? There is also a respect and tolerance issue the other way
:03:15. > :03:17.around. Why can't you be more tolerant of the nationalist
:03:18. > :03:23.residents who have a problem with it? They are not happy about it in
:03:24. > :03:27.the afternoon. Why can't you compromise? What is the difference
:03:28. > :03:30.between the morning parade and afternoon parade? If they can
:03:31. > :03:35.tolerate us in the morning, what is the difference in the afternoon rush
:03:36. > :03:39.at is that not a compromise? Everyone else can get on with their
:03:40. > :03:44.lives -- what is the difference in the afternoon? The real compromise
:03:45. > :03:52.would be for those opposed to the parades to be able to share this
:03:53. > :03:57.space with us. We are only asking for six minutes. I think it should
:03:58. > :04:03.be shared more evenly. I honestly cannot understand what their
:04:04. > :04:08.difficulty is with a six minute parade down a road and back up a
:04:09. > :04:12.road in the evening. They do have a problem with it, whether you like it
:04:13. > :04:18.or not, whether you can understand it or not. They have that problem.
:04:19. > :04:23.How do you persuade them that the Orange Order is not something for
:04:24. > :04:26.them to be fearful of or antagonistic towards when all you
:04:27. > :04:33.keep saying is they need to fold, and you need to be allowed do what
:04:34. > :04:38.you want? I do not see it to be a question of them folding. In many
:04:39. > :04:42.parts of the province, there is a greater tolerance from the
:04:43. > :04:45.nationalist unity. I was at an opening of an Orange Hall on Tuesday
:04:46. > :04:51.night. Local Roman Catholic priest wrote a letter of congratulations to
:04:52. > :04:56.the members of the hall. It was read out and got a big round of
:04:57. > :05:01.applause. That was there, we are talking about Ardoyne. The problem
:05:02. > :05:09.is, there has been a contentious parade in that part of Belfast a
:05:10. > :05:14.long period of time. That is why our members and the wider community have
:05:15. > :05:18.been engaging in talks with the nationalist community for many
:05:19. > :05:24.months. That is not just about North Belfast. We have other issues across
:05:25. > :05:29.the province. In Drumcree we were told for many years, no talk, no
:05:30. > :05:34.walk. When we offered to talk, the Nationalists there opposed to us are
:05:35. > :05:43.fusing to talk and they are still rewarded whilst we were penalised
:05:44. > :05:49.for not talking a few years ago -- are refusing to talk. You have asked
:05:50. > :05:53.the government to consider an inquiry. The Secretary of State has
:05:54. > :05:56.not ruled it out. The Parades Commission is the lawfully
:05:57. > :06:02.constituted independent body to rule on these issues whether you like it
:06:03. > :06:08.or not. Absolutely. We accept that. We want the law changed. Our opinion
:06:09. > :06:13.is it is a bad law. The public processions act is weighted against
:06:14. > :06:17.those who in gauge in parades. It is weighted against the Protestant
:06:18. > :06:19.community because it regulates parades, not other large-scale
:06:20. > :06:29.events that take place in the public space. Parades are the cultural
:06:30. > :06:35.expression, 90%, of the Protestant community. That is why we feel this
:06:36. > :06:41.is a bad law. We understand it was brought in in the late 90s at a time
:06:42. > :06:51.when cease-fires were coming around. We believe it was a price that was
:06:52. > :06:58.paid for a cease-fire. The price that was paid, it was part of the
:06:59. > :07:05.price paid. It is now having a bad effect on the democratic system. It
:07:06. > :07:08.is undermining democracy. If the Parades Commission was producing
:07:09. > :07:13.determination July, would use to be calling for it to be replaced? A
:07:14. > :07:18.determination by its nature is something that restricts parades.
:07:19. > :07:25.What we do is peaceful and lawful. You are not answering my question.
:07:26. > :07:30.If the Parades Commission was calling for determinations you
:07:31. > :07:35.liked, would you be calling for it to be replaced? Yes. The legislation
:07:36. > :07:42.is unfair and one-sided and it should be replaced. It is a model,
:07:43. > :07:47.in my opinion, that is faulty. I do not often agree with the leader of
:07:48. > :07:51.the Alliance party. He indicated last week he thought the model
:07:52. > :07:53.brought out around the same time for the administration in Stormont for
:07:54. > :07:59.the political setup is faulty and needs to be repaired. This
:08:00. > :08:04.legislation is equally faulty. Finally, what if we see violence on
:08:05. > :08:08.Saturday night like last year's violence were Loyalist and some
:08:09. > :08:12.Orangemen came onto the streets and attacked the police? How can you be
:08:13. > :08:19.sure it will not happen again this year? I cannot be sure, but what I
:08:20. > :08:25.can assure you is that the Orange institution has put a massive effort
:08:26. > :08:28.into calming the situation in Northern Ireland, into organising
:08:29. > :08:32.alternative protests across the country that will be controlled by
:08:33. > :08:38.the institution and which will be absolutely peaceful and these
:08:39. > :08:45.protest parades will have a start and finish time. You don't think it
:08:46. > :08:49.is a risky strategy? It is less risky than doing nothing. We are
:08:50. > :08:53.trying to manage the situation. If we did nothing, it would create a
:08:54. > :08:57.more volatile situation and increase the risk of violence and we are
:08:58. > :08:59.doing everything in our power to stop that. We need to leave it
:09:00. > :09:07.there, thank you, Drew Nelson. In the game of political chicken now
:09:08. > :09:10.being played out between Unionists and the Secretary of State over the
:09:11. > :09:13.future of the Parades Commission, it is not yet clear who is more
:09:14. > :09:16.determined to hold the line. The First Minister said today there
:09:17. > :09:18.will be consequences for participation at council, assembly,
:09:19. > :09:20.Westminster and European levels. So, is this just about a parade?
:09:21. > :09:23.Or is it part of a wider power struggle
:09:24. > :09:24.at an already shaky Stormont? Martina Purdy has been taking
:09:25. > :09:32.a look. Leek the old Stormont has withered
:09:33. > :09:41.but found new life and power-sharing. -- the old Stormont.
:09:42. > :09:52.But for how long? It is being tested.
:09:53. > :10:00.This piece garden was supposed to symbolise reconciliation post
:10:01. > :10:10.agreement. For some time now, cracks have been in power-sharing and the
:10:11. > :10:15.relationship. There are problems over flags, parading, the past,
:10:16. > :10:18.welfare policy and money. Just a few months ago, the First Minister
:10:19. > :10:23.threatened to quit over revelations about Republicans on the run being
:10:24. > :10:26.given comfort letters. Today he suggested the assembly and other
:10:27. > :10:32.elected bodies would be part of a protest over the parades dispute in
:10:33. > :10:38.Ardoyne. The parties are agreed that at every level, council, assembly,
:10:39. > :10:43.Westminster and Europe, the denial of cultural expression resulting
:10:44. > :10:48.from republican violence and threats of violence will have a consequence
:10:49. > :10:53.determining how our members at each of these levels of government will
:10:54. > :10:58.participate. What it means. Montt has not been revealed, perhaps it
:10:59. > :11:06.involves creating a few more cracks here and there -- what it means for
:11:07. > :11:09.Stormont has not been revealed. I would prefer that as the nuclear
:11:10. > :11:12.option. If you are going to bring down the assembly and all its works
:11:13. > :11:15.and the executive, all of that, down the assembly and all its works
:11:16. > :11:23.and the executive, all of we are treading into very dangerous
:11:24. > :11:29.territory altogether. Stormont cannot be placed in any kind of
:11:30. > :11:34.jeopardy. I hear talk, very foolhardy and reckless talk, about
:11:35. > :11:40.bringing Stormont down. Anybody saying that is not a unionist. We
:11:41. > :11:45.have an opportunity with Stormont. It is not perfect but it is ours.
:11:46. > :11:49.The roof is being repaired but it could be a metaphor for the system
:11:50. > :11:53.itself. Like a work of art, it remains unfinished. It is a changing
:11:54. > :11:59.picture offering perhaps little stability. There is already deep
:12:00. > :12:04.enquiries going on about successions, who will succeed Peter
:12:05. > :12:12.Robinson? Do you think he will go in September as rumoured? There is
:12:13. > :12:21.every likelihood of it. Why would he bother with the creations of
:12:22. > :12:26.instability? I believe he is trying to create stability and maintaining
:12:27. > :12:33.a firm stance with the responsible at ease he has. It is possible
:12:34. > :12:38.graduate response to parading is a carefully design valve to ease
:12:39. > :12:42.pressures. Come the autumn, no real threat to Stormont at all. Even if
:12:43. > :12:48.that is true, some think this strategy is not enough to ensure
:12:49. > :12:54.Stormont's future. The Irish Government need to engage
:12:55. > :12:58.with Sinn Fein as the nationalist side of the partnership in the
:12:59. > :13:03.North. When asked if their plan meant pulling the plug on Stormont
:13:04. > :13:06.neither main unionist party gave either a firm guarantee of
:13:07. > :13:11.continuing support or made a threat to walk away. Can unionists afford
:13:12. > :13:16.to pull the plug? Do they have more to lose than nationalists? I think
:13:17. > :13:23.everybody would lose. Of course, you have to remember, every time that
:13:24. > :13:28.unionists walk out of the negotiating room, what's left on the
:13:29. > :13:34.table becomes less and less. Others say Sinn Fein also need Stormont to
:13:35. > :13:38.work to demonstrate to voters in the Republic they are capable of
:13:39. > :13:43.governing. If after seven years, I suppose there hasn't been much
:13:44. > :13:46.achieved by either side at Stormont, it was to collapse, that would
:13:47. > :13:51.create potential difficulty for them in the South unless they were able
:13:52. > :13:56.to lay all the blame at the door of Eunicism and say - it was nothing to
:13:57. > :13:59.do for us. From a unionist perspective it's difficult to see
:14:00. > :14:03.where collapsing Stormont would get them. The view from Dublin is that
:14:04. > :14:10.the parties are too self involved to help one another and themselves.
:14:11. > :14:14.There is a sense Peter Robinson is desperately worried not to move too
:14:15. > :14:18.far ahead of the most hardline elements in his community. As a
:14:19. > :14:29.result, he is almost tied to them, that is on that side. On the other
:14:30. > :14:32.side, Martin McGuinness made tremendous sides to reconcile in the
:14:33. > :14:36.community and make the process work. Other elements in Sinn Fein are
:14:37. > :14:39.playing to a tribal agenda. Whatever Eunicism decides to do with
:14:40. > :14:44.Stormont, it appears to be playing for time. Perhaps realising that any
:14:45. > :14:50.sudden move risks prolonged periods of no power at all. Martina Purdy
:14:51. > :14:55.reporting. With me in the studio is Gerry Kelly from Sinn Fein and from
:14:56. > :15:01.Londonderry we are joined by the DUP's Gregory Campbell. Your party
:15:02. > :15:04.leader said receipt action of the Parades' Commission would provoke
:15:05. > :15:07.political consequences, including Stormont and at Westminster, both of
:15:08. > :15:11.which will affect you, presumably. What does it mean, precisely? A few
:15:12. > :15:15.days ago people were saying - we need to know what this graduated
:15:16. > :15:22.response is, can you not outline. It I and others made it clear, before
:15:23. > :15:26.the 12th things would be more clear. They are now. A graduated response
:15:27. > :15:31.remains that gradually, step-by-step, these positions will
:15:32. > :15:36.be unveiled as they are required to be unveiled - Will you stop
:15:37. > :15:41.attending committees, what can you do? Let us take it a step at a time.
:15:42. > :15:46.The one thing we don't want to do, Mark. It's a bit odd that you hear
:15:47. > :15:49.people - it's supposed to be unionists who are supposed to be
:15:50. > :15:54.threatening the institutions, despite the fact that we're not.
:15:55. > :15:56.Everybody else that wants to blame unionists for threatening the
:15:57. > :16:00.institutions seems to be talking about, it we aren't talking about
:16:01. > :16:04.that. Let us not pre-empt sort of crises a day at a time. A week ago a
:16:05. > :16:09.bad decision was made by the Parades' Commission. We need to try
:16:10. > :16:12.to rectify that. We do to do it democratically and lawfully. Now we
:16:13. > :16:16.have managed that over the course of the last week. Let us see the next
:16:17. > :16:22.week being peaceful and the week after that. Let us try and get the
:16:23. > :16:26.issues resolved so that everyone is satisfied and can move forward next
:16:27. > :16:30.year into a much more satisfactory position in the summer. You said
:16:31. > :16:34.this Parades' Commission ruling was a reward for violence. Or the threat
:16:35. > :16:38.of violence. There has been violence on all sides in the past, would you
:16:39. > :16:42.have are preferred the commission to rule in favour of the return parade
:16:43. > :16:47.this year as a reward for the loyalist violence of last year? No,
:16:48. > :16:52.I would prefer that the Parades' Commission, even more preferibly, a
:16:53. > :16:57.successor body, would say - let's look at this dispassionately. Let us
:16:58. > :17:02.see is there an offence being caused? Any intent to cause offence?
:17:03. > :17:06.How long will it take? Is it reasonable or unreasonable for this
:17:07. > :17:11.parade to pass? In the short time it takes? Take a decision based on
:17:12. > :17:15.logic. This Parades' Commission hasn't done any of that. That is
:17:16. > :17:23.what I would prefer. Gerry Kelly, let me ask you something that Drew
:17:24. > :17:26.Nelson referred to, how come republicans in North Belfast can
:17:27. > :17:29.tolerate the parade in the morning in the Ardoyne, not the afternoon?
:17:30. > :17:34.We can go through this again and this nonsense about six minutes is a
:17:35. > :17:38.nonsense. I have been at these parades for 15 years. There is never
:17:39. > :17:42.a six minute period in this. Other things need to be taken into
:17:43. > :17:45.consideration which I mefr never mentioned the sectarianism involved
:17:46. > :17:49.and the bands involved in this are named after people who were actually
:17:50. > :17:55.involved in killing Catholics along this route. That the sectarian abuse
:17:56. > :17:59.that comes from some of the marchers is involved as well. It's not as
:18:00. > :18:02.simple as that. The Parades' Commission did look at this
:18:03. > :18:07.dispassionately. They did look at all the things that you and I might
:18:08. > :18:11.talk about or you, me and Gregory might talk about here, they came to
:18:12. > :18:15.a decision. A small section of a long parade. One of unhads of
:18:16. > :18:21.parades and thousands of parades that take part every year. We are
:18:22. > :18:24.hearing, despite what Gregory says, the First Minister, refused to
:18:25. > :18:27.answer today and threatened before about the institutions. We are
:18:28. > :18:31.talking about they will have a graduated approach through councils,
:18:32. > :18:36.the Assembly, Europe and Westminster. You can't look upon it
:18:37. > :18:40.as any other thing except that they got a decision against them. I had
:18:41. > :18:45.to face many decisions which I disagreed with. We said before this
:18:46. > :18:49.determination was made, that whatever the determination, let's
:18:50. > :18:53.adhere to it and move on. Is OK. You have consistently called for
:18:54. > :18:57.dialogue. Does dialogue actually mean demanding consent. Is that what
:18:58. > :19:02.you want, Orangemen to seek your consent? Dialogue means real
:19:03. > :19:06.meaningful dialogue. What happened was that there were talks. I was
:19:07. > :19:10.involved in them, as it happens. The Orange withdrew from those talks in
:19:11. > :19:16.June. Way before the 12th July. Wouldn't come back in. The residents
:19:17. > :19:20.group asked for clarification. Sdbt didn't get clarification. They come
:19:21. > :19:23.back and argue that they had talks and something should have happened.
:19:24. > :19:29.The fact was, the talks did not come to a conclusion. No matter what we
:19:30. > :19:34.do in an over arching issue, we have to deal with parades. I say to Drew
:19:35. > :19:38.Nelson, they had the chance in 2010. They had a representative at the
:19:39. > :19:46.talks. We did come to a conclusion. It was Drew Nelson and the hierarchy
:19:47. > :20:00.of the Orange Order that pulled out of it. Why is the six minute parade
:20:01. > :20:04.worth so muchup heaval and unrest. Where should police cover such a
:20:05. > :20:11.tension situation? Hopefully, none of that will be put at risk. The six
:20:12. > :20:16.minute parade is symptomatic of what happened over the course of the last
:20:17. > :20:21.15-20 years. There were a series of parades in this area of North
:20:22. > :20:25.Belfast have been reduced down the year. Whether it was eight, nine,
:20:26. > :20:30.then six, three, now it's down to one. Is that - are you telling me
:20:31. > :20:35.that is worth putting the lives of police officers at risk? These
:20:36. > :20:39.parades - Nothing is worth - So sacred to the unionist community and
:20:40. > :20:44.to the Orange community that you being are prepared to put police in
:20:45. > :20:48.the firing line, literally? You have said that a couple of times, Mark.
:20:49. > :20:53.Nobody is prepared to put police officers lives or anyone else's
:20:54. > :20:56.lives at risk. The we shouldn't have people from Sinn Fein. They are the
:20:57. > :21:00.last people to talk about anybody's lives being put at risk given what
:21:01. > :21:04.they took us through - They were at risk last year? They were.
:21:05. > :21:08.Hopefully, it won't be the case this year. It hasn't been the case since
:21:09. > :21:13.this determination was announced, wrong as it was illogical as it was.
:21:14. > :21:16.No evidence of any violence of any kind in any illegal activity in the
:21:17. > :21:19.past week. Let us make sure, whatever we say and do, means that
:21:20. > :21:22.is maintained over the course of the next Are you week. Confident that
:21:23. > :21:26.will be the case? Well, hopefully it will. I mean, if people are being
:21:27. > :21:29.looking for guarantees, nobody can give a guarantee. We don't know what
:21:30. > :21:32.will happen tonight or tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be the same as it
:21:33. > :21:37.was yesterday, and the day before and the day before that. We have to
:21:38. > :21:42.resolve these matters. We have have to get to the point where
:21:43. > :21:48.nationalists and republicans can see no offence is intended. If none is
:21:49. > :21:51.being intended then insist on taking offence and demanding that these
:21:52. > :21:56.parades are rerouted or restricted in some way to give offence to the
:21:57. > :22:01.unionist A final community. Question to Gerry Kelly. The unionists have
:22:02. > :22:04.asked, you will have seen it in the press conference, they asked the
:22:05. > :22:07.Government to set up a time-bound commission of inquiry to look at
:22:08. > :22:11.this issue. Will you co-operate with that, support that? Is is that a
:22:12. > :22:16.reasonable way of moving the process forward or will you block it? It
:22:17. > :22:21.adds to the silliness of the theatre today when the Union Jack, Billy
:22:22. > :22:24.Hudson wearing a top hat. It actually - they have asked for a
:22:25. > :22:28.commission into a Commission. There is a Commission. The Parades'
:22:29. > :22:31.Commission. It was set up by statute. Set up by the British
:22:32. > :22:36.Government who they are going to now to set up a commission. They have
:22:37. > :22:41.problems with it, you can't put that away? They are asking this British
:22:42. > :22:47.Secretary of State for a commission on a small section of a parade when
:22:48. > :22:54.this same Secretary of State refused recently to give any inquest to very
:22:55. > :22:57.serious killings in the past and refused public inquiries into a
:22:58. > :23:02.number of other killings in the past as well. Is we need to leave it
:23:03. > :23:05.there. Gerry shouldn't talk about killings. We need to leave it there.
:23:06. > :23:11.Thank you both very much. Now, it's our last programme
:23:12. > :23:14.before the summer break which means it's time for our second
:23:15. > :23:16.annual, The View Political Awards. We gathered our team of esteemed
:23:17. > :23:19.commentators, appropriately enough, at the venue of the Haass talks,
:23:20. > :23:21.the Stormont Hotel. But unlike those negotiations,
:23:22. > :23:38.our discussions produced results. The first category is Best Newcomer.
:23:39. > :23:43.Get the ball rolling. I like Ross Brown of the Greens. He ran a very
:23:44. > :23:47.good election campaign. I think he was one of the best performers on
:23:48. > :23:58.the hustings. His background, he used to be a DUP-supporting time.
:23:59. > :24:03.Ing -- type. Can we though Nicola Mallon into the ring. She has come
:24:04. > :24:08.centre stage as the first nationalist female Lord Mayor and
:24:09. > :24:35.hosted the Queen. I love an under dog. That is in terms of NI21. A
:24:36. > :24:36.disaster of the year. For Johnny allows me to snatch one small
:24:37. > :24:53.victory. I think his contribution on the
:24:54. > :25:00.education brief has been quite good. Let us move on to Best Minister.
:25:01. > :25:04.Simon Hamilton. If you take away the issue around, in terms of
:25:05. > :25:13.performance. If you look at manners in his role. He is stood above the
:25:14. > :25:18.parapet. Michelle O'Neill is responsible for the agreement of
:25:19. > :25:24.firearm subsidy payments. A triumph and a light at a difficult time.
:25:25. > :25:28.Deirdre Heenan is suggesting Arlene Foster is in a league of her own,
:25:29. > :25:36.articulate, incisive. Bat off a determined opponent with a withering
:25:37. > :25:40.glance and a sharp - I will go for Simon Hamilton. He has been the most
:25:41. > :25:47.impressive minister overall without question. Danny Kennedy as a
:25:48. > :25:51.possible contender. I'm bedazzled by the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de
:25:52. > :25:56.France this week I think his initiative on Belfast on the Move
:25:57. > :26:04.and the cycling revolution was a really inspiring thing. Was it Danny
:26:05. > :26:12.in lycra that did it? Yeah! Nobody put Peter Robinson into the... Best
:26:13. > :26:24.Use of Social Media. This is uncontested. The winner should be
:26:25. > :26:31.Mairtin OMuilleoir. It was impossible for him to be - I would
:26:32. > :26:36.like to nominate NI21 as a cautionary tale. They got 2% of the
:26:37. > :26:42.vote when they were in meltdown. That is through their social media
:26:43. > :26:52.presence. They used it to get themselves started. Wonderful
:26:53. > :27:01.slogans. Impressed with Naomi Long. Her performance on the Select
:27:02. > :27:07.Committee. I know who Miley Cyrus is. Then Best Political Moment. That
:27:08. > :27:15.moment where a bomb shell dropped. NI21 implosion. When John
:27:16. > :27:19.McCallister walked into the party I'm leader of and said - it's
:27:20. > :27:26.dysfunctional, please don't vote for it. When the talks collapsed, the
:27:27. > :27:30.Haass talks collapsed. When Mark interviewed Richard Haass and asked
:27:31. > :27:34.him whether he would consider coming back. You might come back for one
:27:35. > :27:43.further final push if that sorted it out once and for all? For his laugh.
:27:44. > :27:47.What happened this year, that made the biggest difference, something
:27:48. > :27:52.new, the on-the-runs verdict. The Downey judgment what it revealed.
:27:53. > :27:53.Dirty deals were out in the open. Former Government ministers were
:27:54. > :28:08.saying, we let people off the hook. Queen. It was a very potent moment.
:28:09. > :28:13.At the time, I was quite flippant. You look back five years even, that
:28:14. > :28:24.would not have happened. The final category, Best MLA. The late David.
:28:25. > :28:30.He had an ability to take a serious moment and bring it all back to
:28:31. > :28:37.normal. Everybody referred to him as a gentleman. I think he should be a
:28:38. > :28:43.serious contender. I the doorstep interview when she was very
:28:44. > :28:47.emotional. I know ethnic minorities have been attacked and I feel
:28:48. > :28:54.vulnerable. I think it was quite moving. Anna, I would agree on
:28:55. > :28:59.that. Yes, her grace and the pressure she has been under, but the
:29:00. > :29:09.light she shone on the issue of racism in Northern Ireland. If you
:29:10. > :29:13.are asking who has the most influence in the assembly, who is
:29:14. > :29:25.the one people like us watch, who gets the most coverage? It is Jim
:29:26. > :29:29.Allister. Will Jim Allister take the coveted title two years in a row? We
:29:30. > :29:39.will find out shortly. Deirdre Heenan, who emailed her
:29:40. > :29:43.choices, Alex Kane, Orna Young, And of course,
:29:44. > :30:01.Newton Emerson and Cathy The winner is Ross Brown. Why? It
:30:02. > :30:06.showed the move of the Green Party into Belfast and I think that is a
:30:07. > :30:09.trend that is probably set to continue and Ross Brown will be
:30:10. > :30:18.leading the charge on that. He is a new, with a longevity to his
:30:19. > :30:23.political career, probably. He was tweeting advice last month on where
:30:24. > :30:32.to buy heating oil. He certainly made an impact in a short buried of
:30:33. > :30:35.time. Well done to Ross Brown. Now best minister, won by Martin
:30:36. > :30:44.McGuinness last year. Newton, can you do the honours? The winner, near
:30:45. > :30:50.unanimous decision, Simon Hamilton. Why? He is a new minister in the
:30:51. > :30:55.post. This year the welfare reform issue blew up and he has managed to
:30:56. > :31:00.keep a level head throughout that. Almost everyone thought it was very
:31:01. > :31:05.impressive. He said almost everyone. My first choice would have been
:31:06. > :31:08.Arlene Foster. She made a great impression this year. She can reduce
:31:09. > :31:17.her opponents to withering messes with her strong stir. She was a good
:31:18. > :31:22.contender. Let us move on to best use of social media. You told us who
:31:23. > :31:25.you think should win this hands down. Let us see if you were
:31:26. > :31:31.successful in persuading the other judges. And the winner of the best
:31:32. > :31:40.use of social media, is the price of rice, Mairtin O Muilleoir. --
:31:41. > :31:46.surprise, surprise. He was pictured with everybody all year long! He
:31:47. > :31:52.managed to completely rebrand the idea of what the Lord may's office
:31:53. > :32:00.is for. To be fair, it was not hard to persuade the other judges -- the
:32:01. > :32:05.Lord Mayor. I am not on Twitter and even I knew what he was up to. The
:32:06. > :32:13.Ricci had permeated beyond social media -- the reach he had. It is
:32:14. > :32:18.time for you to get onto Twitter! I know. I will think about it over the
:32:19. > :32:25.summer. Best political moment. You are going to take us through this
:32:26. > :32:30.one, Newton. A huge number of possibilities. Was it an easy
:32:31. > :32:35.choice? No. We tried to separate processes from moments. We wanted to
:32:36. > :32:39.pick a moment that summed up the whole year rather than any of the
:32:40. > :32:49.big set piece developments. What did you go with? The winner is... Dr
:32:50. > :32:57.Richard Haass's laugh when asked by you if he would return to Chad
:32:58. > :33:02.further talks. Explain because some people might see it as a small
:33:03. > :33:09.moment -- return to chair further talks. That last third 50,000
:33:10. > :33:12.words. That summed up everything that was wrong about the Richard
:33:13. > :33:17.Haass process. It summed up very clearly what was going to happen
:33:18. > :33:23.between January and June which was not a lot. The fact he laughed
:33:24. > :33:29.showed he was not coming back. It shows what the people here who
:33:30. > :33:38.pretend to take that seriously really think of us when looking in!
:33:39. > :33:45.Finally, Best MLA won last year by Jim Allister. It was difficult. It
:33:46. > :33:50.was a very difficult decision. Probably most of the conversation
:33:51. > :33:58.that date was on who should win Best MLA. Put us out of our misery. The
:33:59. > :34:03.winner of Best MLA for 2014 is a shared award because the jury was
:34:04. > :34:17.split and could not agree. The award goes to both Jim Allister and Anna
:34:18. > :34:21.Lo. Jim Allister has no position himself because the DUP and Sinn
:34:22. > :34:26.Fein tend to ignore him. A qualified vote for Jim Allister from the
:34:27. > :34:31.panel. With Anna Lo, what she showed the electorate was a different type
:34:32. > :34:35.of political leader. As well as being chair of one of the committees
:34:36. > :34:41.of the environment committee, she faced down intimidation and threats
:34:42. > :34:47.herself with good grace and a really strong backbone. A woman with a very
:34:48. > :34:53.strong conviction and a lot of courage. We need to leave at there.
:34:54. > :34:57.It was a long afternoon. But we did reach some conclusions, even if
:34:58. > :35:01.there were compromises! That is it from The View tonight and this
:35:02. > :35:13.varies. Unlike Arthur Brooks, we will definitely be coming back. For
:35:14. > :35:16.now from all of us, goodbye. -- tonight and this series.