:00:00. > :00:08.Stormont has changed and opposition is the new buzz word.
:00:09. > :00:10.Tonight on The View I'll be asking the Executive parties
:00:11. > :00:13.and their opposite numbers how it'll change
:00:14. > :00:37.the way they do business up on the hill.
:00:38. > :00:40.There's now a new way of working at the Assembly,
:00:41. > :00:42.with opposition structures in place and the first Opposition Day
:00:43. > :00:52.But will it actually mean better government or could it
:00:53. > :00:56.And are the Executive parties taking those on the opposition
:00:57. > :00:59.I'll be asking the four parties if good opposition
:01:00. > :01:02.Also tonight: As a flurry of criticism greets the appointment
:01:03. > :01:05.of David Gordon as Stormont's senior spin doctor, how will he navigate
:01:06. > :01:15.He will have issues to deal with that will come up, not just bread
:01:16. > :01:17.and butter day-to-day issues, but there will be issues and crises and
:01:18. > :01:20.events that he will have to manage. And when fiction mirrors reality
:01:21. > :01:31.and you find yourself I am not the story here. You kind of
:01:32. > :01:33.the story, they spout your name right and everything.
:01:34. > :01:36.And also in the thick of things in Commentators' Corner
:01:37. > :01:40.are columnist Newton Emerson and Professor Deirdre Heenan.
:01:41. > :01:43.Monday will see a significant change in the way Stormont does business,
:01:44. > :01:45.with the Assembly's first ever Opposition Day.
:01:46. > :01:49.It's the direct result of reforms outlined in last year's
:01:50. > :01:54.The Official Opposition is made up of parties which are entitled
:01:55. > :01:56.to Executive posts but choose not to take them.
:01:57. > :01:59.There is no Leader or Deputy Leader, but Opposition members do have
:02:00. > :02:08.enhanced speaking rights, and they're also entitled to extra
:02:09. > :02:11.And there will be ten Opposition Days in each session.
:02:12. > :02:14.Those are the logistics, but what sort of impact will it have
:02:15. > :02:18.Joining me from the Executive parties, Ministers Simon Hamilton
:02:19. > :02:20.and Chris Hazzard, and from the Official Opposition,
:02:21. > :02:31.You are all welcome to the programme. Philip Smith, first of
:02:32. > :02:33.all, how much will things like opposition Days change the
:02:34. > :02:39.relationship between the executive and the opposition? We are one week
:02:40. > :02:45.back after recess and we have already seen in that week, we have
:02:46. > :02:49.had a change of the law by royal prerogative to appoint the new
:02:50. > :02:56.government spin docs and we have shown that the government has no
:02:57. > :03:00.Brexit plan and this week 's spotlight has shown the allegations
:03:01. > :03:05.around Gerry Adams, but why do we need an opposition? I think it is
:03:06. > :03:09.self evident. It is a good question. I said in the introduction there is
:03:10. > :03:13.no official leader but your leader, Mike Nesbitt, styles himself as the
:03:14. > :03:20.Leader of the Opposition. Is that what years? Here is leader of our
:03:21. > :03:24.party and the leader of the biggest party in the opposition so he is
:03:25. > :03:28.leading an opposition against the government and he supported by other
:03:29. > :03:31.parties including the SDLP and others, to try and put the
:03:32. > :03:37.government parties under scrutiny and this week as evidenced that is
:03:38. > :03:43.needed more than ever. If he is the Leader of the Opposition, you are
:03:44. > :03:51.the deputy leader, right? I am nobody 's deputy. I can quote the
:03:52. > :03:56.bill if you want, there is a leader of the second largest party in
:03:57. > :03:59.opposition. I am very relaxed about him calling himself the Leader of
:04:00. > :04:03.the Opposition but I am interested in holding the government to
:04:04. > :04:07.account. It wasn't an easy thing for our party to go into opposition.
:04:08. > :04:11.Nationalists here were forced into opposition from more than 40 years
:04:12. > :04:15.so we didn't take it lightly but we made a promise to the public before
:04:16. > :04:18.the election that if I couldn't endorse the programme for government
:04:19. > :04:21.I would go into opposition and that is what we have done and we are
:04:22. > :04:30.working towards a constructive and positive opposition to try make sure
:04:31. > :04:32.that we have a better relationship with the Republic -- public. It is
:04:33. > :04:36.about the relationship between our institutions and the public which
:04:37. > :04:40.has been damaged very much over the last few years. It is also about the
:04:41. > :04:43.relationship between the SDLP and the Ulster Unionist party, is there
:04:44. > :04:48.any sense you are working together as a combined force against the
:04:49. > :04:51.joint force of the DUP and Sinn Fein? There isn't any great
:04:52. > :04:56.evidence. Firstly there was no great obligation for us to work together
:04:57. > :05:00.but we do work together. I spoke to Mike Nesbitt today about the
:05:01. > :05:12.Opposition Day and the work that our parties have put together working
:05:13. > :05:15.closely on all of that, but we aren't the ones that are supposed to
:05:16. > :05:17.be working together. The parties sitting across from me have an
:05:18. > :05:19.obligation in government to work together, not just go out of their
:05:20. > :05:22.way to secretly employ someone who is another overpaid adviser to this
:05:23. > :05:25.government to try and close down the opposition and not close down the
:05:26. > :05:28.business of the day or stop public members bills coming in but to try
:05:29. > :05:32.and change the way the government is viewed by the public out there
:05:33. > :05:37.because I think there is a very bad reputation. Is there a combined
:05:38. > :05:41.opposition vision for the future? Is there an alternative on show that
:05:42. > :05:45.you would put before voters in five years' time? You launched your
:05:46. > :05:50.vision for Northern Ireland outside the EU but it was your document, not
:05:51. > :05:59.a combined document with the SDLP. That is very true. Why was that the
:06:00. > :06:03.case. There is a very good relationship between us and the STL
:06:04. > :06:08.P colleagues. We attend our events and they have attended our events
:06:09. > :06:13.and owl whips work well together. It is only a few months in. By now you
:06:14. > :06:16.could have published a combined strategy which would have been more
:06:17. > :06:21.impressive than your vision or no vision. The government has been
:06:22. > :06:24.together for nine years and they couldn't come up with a combined
:06:25. > :06:27.vision on Europe together and they still don't have one, so at least we
:06:28. > :06:31.agreed on what the results should have been and we are working
:06:32. > :06:36.together but the question is not what the opposition are doing but
:06:37. > :06:39.what are the government doing. We showed at our debate on Monday that
:06:40. > :06:44.we have a plan but the government has a blank sheet of paper and
:06:45. > :06:46.nothing -- no idea about what to do about breaks down we are the most
:06:47. > :06:58.affected part of the UK but the least prepared. How worried are you
:06:59. > :07:01.about the impact of this joint, combined official opposition. As a
:07:02. > :07:07.party we supported the creation of an opposition and we could see from
:07:08. > :07:15.many years back that it would be a sign of normalising politics here.
:07:16. > :07:20.You immediately cut it back to ten Opposition Days and they should have
:07:21. > :07:23.been a lot more than that. Let me finish answering the question. We
:07:24. > :07:26.happy there is an opposition and it is a matter for the party is
:07:27. > :07:33.opposite that they decided to go into opposition after being rejected
:07:34. > :07:40.by the electorate back in May. They could have been in the executive!
:07:41. > :07:44.Your discussion with my colleagues opposite have highlighted exactly
:07:45. > :07:47.the problem. We want to see an opposition which is a sign of
:07:48. > :07:54.normalising politics and it is good for politics and democracy. They are
:07:55. > :08:00.clearly experiencing problems. They have a fanciful policy document from
:08:01. > :08:10.the Ulster Unionist party and it couldn't even get the support of the
:08:11. > :08:13.SDLP. We have been criticised by the parties opposite for not having a
:08:14. > :08:17.combined vision that our two parties, Sinn Fein and the DUP have
:08:18. > :08:22.agreed a draft plan for the government framework which we are
:08:23. > :08:26.working on and the parties opposite rejected it but we have a vision but
:08:27. > :08:29.there is no coherence and while there is coherence developing
:08:30. > :08:33.between ourselves and Sinn Fein, with a draft plan for government we
:08:34. > :08:44.are getting together on delivering jobs and roads. You are in
:08:45. > :08:49.government and you have an obligation. Where is your joint
:08:50. > :08:55.strategy on breaks it? Of course we're going to have differences on a
:08:56. > :09:05.range of issues. How did you vote on breaks it? We are getting on with
:09:06. > :09:10.our jobs and I go to Germany and that is part of my job as a minister
:09:11. > :09:14.to highlight Northern Ireland. Given the size of the German economy and
:09:15. > :09:19.their influence in the EU, wouldn't it eat Brexit have been at the top
:09:20. > :09:24.of your agenda. People there want to do business with the United Kingdom
:09:25. > :09:27.and they are looking forward to the opportunities that leaving the
:09:28. > :09:32.European Union presents for the UK and the Northern Ireland. Do you
:09:33. > :09:35.want to answer the question about how you voted in the Brexit
:09:36. > :09:46.referenda more do you want to dodge it? I support the party 's position.
:09:47. > :09:53.I think you voted to leave. There is nothing to be gained by going back
:09:54. > :09:56.over the referendum campaign. We think you must have voted remain
:09:57. > :10:05.because you are not prepared to say that you voted believe. I am very
:10:06. > :10:14.comfortable with the results. There is nothing anybody can do about the
:10:15. > :10:19.referendum. If you want to lay this to rest once and for all you could
:10:20. > :10:24.confirm that you voted to leave and if you do not do that people will
:10:25. > :10:31.think you voted to remain. People aren't interested in how... What
:10:32. > :10:34.they are interested in is whether we can get the best deal for Northern
:10:35. > :10:38.Ireland that they possibly can and that is what I have been doing all
:10:39. > :10:44.summer, I have been engaging with Cabinet ministers to get the best
:10:45. > :10:53.deal for Northern Ireland. We are trying to secure the opportunities
:10:54. > :10:58.that exist. Chris, the you will not give us a straight answer to a
:10:59. > :11:05.simple question. Did you go to leave or remain? There are huge
:11:06. > :11:11.opportunities... You're not going to answer that, fine. What do you think
:11:12. > :11:16.about the opportunities for Brexit? You are in the same government has
:11:17. > :11:19.Joe Corrie case what are the opportunities? This fundamentally
:11:20. > :11:22.gets at the point that just the media and the opposition parties
:11:23. > :11:26.like to portray it is the end of the world because there are political
:11:27. > :11:30.differences between myself and Simon. There are coalition
:11:31. > :11:35.governments throughout the world with differences of opinion and they
:11:36. > :11:40.collapse and when the SDLP and the asked Unionists have their coalition
:11:41. > :11:43.government to get collapsed. There will be political differences and
:11:44. > :11:56.our job is to deliver a programme for government which
:11:57. > :12:01.we are doing and to go on with delivering our job. Since I came
:12:02. > :12:03.into post there have been a number of things we have done and the only
:12:04. > :12:06.thing the Ulster Unionist can provide is advice that I should sell
:12:07. > :12:09.the city of Derry airport and I do not even own that airport. Let's
:12:10. > :12:12.take another issue, the legacy issue which is in the news today. At the
:12:13. > :12:16.top of the agenda, and a weather vane for whether or not consensus
:12:17. > :12:19.politics is working for the executive, a lawyer for 30 families
:12:20. > :12:24.killed in some of the most controversial issues of the Troubles
:12:25. > :12:31.says there is a veto with the DUP over what happens in these cases? He
:12:32. > :12:38.has a point. Will you ask the same question to Philip Hindes Colum? You
:12:39. > :12:44.are the government. Fundamentally this is the British government. The
:12:45. > :12:50.British government have duties here and that is the key to the question.
:12:51. > :12:54.Your party colleague, Jennifer McCann, says the British government
:12:55. > :12:58.needs to release the funds for the inquests now and the lawyer for the
:12:59. > :13:04.families says that the DUP has a veto. Do you agree that the DUP as a
:13:05. > :13:09.veto? Do I wish the DUP won the same page as my party myself on this
:13:10. > :13:13.issue then of I do. We have to work on the situation until we get it
:13:14. > :13:17.resolved. It is the same situation with these two parties opposite and
:13:18. > :13:22.they will have the same differences as myself and Simon. But there is a
:13:23. > :13:25.veto. The Lord Chief Justice requested the release of ?10 million
:13:26. > :13:29.to fund inquests over a five-year period which we saw in the news just
:13:30. > :13:34.before this programme and Arlene Foster blocked it. That is a veto. I
:13:35. > :13:41.don't accept the characterisation of it has a veto. What would you call
:13:42. > :13:45.it? We have to make progress on the past and that has to be as part of a
:13:46. > :13:48.complete package of progress on the past. Sinn Fein have an issue one
:13:49. > :13:52.disclosure which they need to thrash out with Her Majesty 's government
:13:53. > :13:58.and we have made substantial progress on a huge number of
:13:59. > :14:01.elements and there is a very small amount of issues. Everything has to
:14:02. > :14:05.be agreed on the total package in the past and we cannot move forward
:14:06. > :14:09.on bits of the past elements of the past in terms of resolution, we need
:14:10. > :14:16.to move forward on it all away after that debate and discussion. There is
:14:17. > :14:21.another example, Simon Hamilton, of a fundamental issue that divides at
:14:22. > :14:26.the heart of government. Brexit, the Irish language and the 11 plus and
:14:27. > :14:33.corporation tax. These are issues on which you do not agree.
:14:34. > :14:39.The differences that you are in government. We know that there are
:14:40. > :14:44.many things that we disagree on but we are trying to get on with the job
:14:45. > :14:49.that we got overwhelming mandate is to do. In my case, it is about
:14:50. > :14:54.bringing in more jobs and end Chris's case it is about
:14:55. > :15:08.infrastructure. In contrast, the Opposition have done nothing. Let me
:15:09. > :15:19.bring in Philip Smith. That is where the start of the conversation. --
:15:20. > :15:27.Philip Smyth?. Let me ask, what about all of these issues. What
:15:28. > :15:32.about all the issues on which the two a few in the official Opposition
:15:33. > :15:39.do not agree? We are starting to build that relationship. So are
:15:40. > :15:48.they. They have had nine years. You were in the government plan. They
:15:49. > :15:53.have been the two lead parties for nine years, they have a massive
:15:54. > :15:59.resource at their disposal and basically, Colum Eastwood and my
:16:00. > :16:04.party, we have about half the salary after new head spin doctor that has
:16:05. > :16:10.been allocated for Opposition. Those are the game rules, we have a tiny
:16:11. > :16:13.resource. That is a challenge. When you were in government, Europe
:16:14. > :16:20.ministers had special advisers as well. This Executive has twice the
:16:21. > :16:26.number that the Welsh Government has and they have just added the other.
:16:27. > :16:32.You had your SPADs as well. There is nothing wrong with having a special
:16:33. > :16:36.adviser, but having twice as many as the Welsh Government is an
:16:37. > :16:40.extravagance. How do you persuade viewers that you have seriously got
:16:41. > :16:46.a joined up approach to government that will offer a realistic
:16:47. > :16:49.alternative to what these individuals, who have huge
:16:50. > :16:55.differences, but they are trying to work together. It is a difficult
:16:56. > :16:59.mark for you to head. That is not standard. When my party went into
:17:00. > :17:05.Opposition, I said we were going to a constructive Opposition, come up
:17:06. > :17:11.with ideas, in our submission to the consultation, what we put 50 ideas
:17:12. > :17:16.for bills. We have five bills now. The SDLP has its own mandate and
:17:17. > :17:20.policies. We stand on our own two feet and we will work closely with
:17:21. > :17:24.the Ulster Unionists and any other party, but the idea that the
:17:25. > :17:29.Opposition has to come up with a joint strategy all the time, it does
:17:30. > :17:35.not happen anywhere else. I want to come back and develop our
:17:36. > :17:40.conversation but let us get a breather while we look in more
:17:41. > :17:44.detail at the appointment of David Gordon.
:17:45. > :17:47.He was hired to promote a new message for the Executive -
:17:48. > :17:49.but instead, the messenger became the story.
:17:50. > :17:52.For the past week David Gordon, the former BBC journalist who's
:17:53. > :17:54.to be the new Press Secretary for Arlene Foster and
:17:55. > :17:56.Martin McGuinness, has been in the headlines.
:17:57. > :17:58.So what can the Executive's new man hope to achieve?
:17:59. > :18:00.Our Political Correspondent, Stephen Walker, has been looking
:18:01. > :18:17.David Gordon established a reputation for being a tenacious
:18:18. > :18:21.journalist who asked difficult questions during his time at the
:18:22. > :18:27.Belfast Telegraph. He moved here to BBC Northern Ireland where he worked
:18:28. > :18:30.as a producer and editor on the Stephen Nolan radio and television
:18:31. > :18:34.programmes. It is a big step from these surroundings to the Executive
:18:35. > :18:40.table but within days, David Gordon will have the ear of the first and
:18:41. > :18:44.Deputy First Minister is. Last weekend, the newsletter revealed
:18:45. > :18:48.that the first and Deputy First Minister 's had taken an unusual
:18:49. > :18:53.step and use the Royal prerogative to create the post of Executive
:18:54. > :18:57.press secretary. It provoked questions in Stormont and beyond.
:18:58. > :19:01.The Royal prerogative is not there for you to write legislation to give
:19:02. > :19:14.someone a job, it is used to enable government
:19:15. > :19:18.to go to war, not for this. When you have legislation already in place
:19:19. > :19:21.you should not need to use it to give someone a job, I think that is
:19:22. > :19:23.most unfortunate. David Gordon has been appointed to offer the minister
:19:24. > :19:26.'s communication advice and the job will put his editorial skills to the
:19:27. > :19:31.test. There will be issues and crisis is and events he will have to
:19:32. > :19:35.manage, and that is going to put him under an enormous amount of stress.
:19:36. > :19:39.It will take him out of his comfort zone but he is very capable and I do
:19:40. > :19:43.not see that he will not be able to do it. Still a BBC employee, David
:19:44. > :19:48.Gordon is unable to talk publicly about his new role. Last weekend he
:19:49. > :19:52.helped to organise a series of talks at Mount Stewart, the speakers
:19:53. > :20:00.included Jonathan Powell who advise Tony Blair and his talk was on the
:20:01. > :20:03.new Machiavellian is. He will ask questions and challenge, that should
:20:04. > :20:08.be in a democracy and it is important that the person answering
:20:09. > :20:12.those questions does not get into a bunker, they need to remain positive
:20:13. > :20:17.in communicating their message. Perhaps David Gordon's most obvious
:20:18. > :20:23.difficulty is how he will serve two political masters, Sinn Fein and the
:20:24. > :20:29.DUP. One of the difficulties about being a spin doctor, especially, in
:20:30. > :20:35.Northern Ireland, is that you are having to do it for an Executive
:20:36. > :20:42.that is itself headed by people of totally opposing views and how you
:20:43. > :20:47.do this is going to be fantastically challenging to do this. It is all
:20:48. > :20:53.very well working in the BBC, you do not quite have that range of
:20:54. > :21:00.problems. Can a new spin doctor really help Arlene Foster and Martin
:21:01. > :21:05.McGuiness speak with one voice? Where they are going to hit bumps in
:21:06. > :21:08.the road are on issues like Brexit, which are fundamental political
:21:09. > :21:16.differences of opinion, where both parties are pulling in different
:21:17. > :21:20.directions and trying to distil that message into a simple unified
:21:21. > :21:24.message is going to be tricky. In the months ahead, David Gordon is
:21:25. > :21:29.clearly going to need more than just editorial skills. Most press jobs in
:21:30. > :21:34.government are difficult and the cut and thrust and back and forward if
:21:35. > :21:37.you're in a Coalition and there is not an agreement, this person does
:21:38. > :21:43.not only have to do a press job, they have to do diplomacy job, I
:21:44. > :21:46.would imagine. Is it possible to do it with success? If you look at the
:21:47. > :21:51.last Coalition government between David Cameron and Nick Clegg, the
:21:52. > :21:58.Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats, of course there will be
:21:59. > :22:01.tensions, but ultimately, the government lasted five years. The
:22:02. > :22:02.tone of any message coming out of Stormont Castle will be carefully
:22:03. > :22:09.watch, last weekend briefing document about his appointment was
:22:10. > :22:13.issued and it accused some critics of stretching credibility and being
:22:14. > :22:18.hysterical and said the Opposition showed back users and double
:22:19. > :22:23.standards. To some, that language went too far. It really did sound
:22:24. > :22:26.like something from North Korea, in their good days when they were
:22:27. > :22:32.talking about the South Koreans, it was like Howard are you -- Haidara
:22:33. > :22:36.you argue with us, you're only doing it for political scoring, it was
:22:37. > :22:40.very ill tempered. His appointment has been raised in the Stormont
:22:41. > :22:46.chamber and in a committee hearing, the story is still making headlines.
:22:47. > :22:50.Soon he will set about selling the message of the Executive, it is a
:22:51. > :22:55.new chapter for him and his political masters. The inquisitive
:22:56. > :22:58.outsider who once asked difficult questions, now has to start finding
:22:59. > :22:59.some answers. Let's hear what my
:23:00. > :23:01.guests make of that. Colum Eastwood - why
:23:02. > :23:03.have the opposition parties been so wrong-footed
:23:04. > :23:12.by the appointment of David Gordon? Wrong-footed? How do you mean? I
:23:13. > :23:16.think what this means is that the Executive are actually rattled. If
:23:17. > :23:21.you look at what has happened recently, they have tried to close
:23:22. > :23:27.down the number of Opposition, close down criticism, they have now got
:23:28. > :23:32.Stephen Nolan's former producer to be their press secretary. Are they
:23:33. > :23:35.entitled to go behind the backs of people and use the Royal prerogative
:23:36. > :23:39.to change the law so that they can appoint someone without anyone
:23:40. > :23:44.having to go through any kind of interview process? You saw there a
:23:45. > :23:48.statement. I read it. We have all read it, several times, but the
:23:49. > :23:51.bottom line is they say this is what happens in politics, it happens in
:23:52. > :23:55.Dublin and London and all of the world, they get the best possible
:23:56. > :24:00.advisers. We will have to ask the public. What has happened is that
:24:01. > :24:11.the opportunity for backbenchers to produce Private members bills has
:24:12. > :24:13.been closed the Speaker, not the Executive. The Speaker has done it
:24:14. > :24:16.and it was wrong. It is not the Executive. What has also happened is
:24:17. > :24:22.if you think last week, matters of the day, we were not allowed... I do
:24:23. > :24:26.not know why it is happened. If the Speaker is being properly impartial,
:24:27. > :24:29.it should not happen. You cannot hold the Executive responsible.
:24:30. > :24:33.Simon was the Finance Minister and he would never have close down the
:24:34. > :24:44.opportunity for people to question him. What has happened in the last
:24:45. > :24:50.number of months, Mairtin O Muilleoir would not release details
:24:51. > :24:54.of finances. You should not expect to see everything that the
:24:55. > :25:01.government are producing. What is there to hide? Your party and
:25:02. > :25:07.Philip's party were in government, it was a different arrangement. You
:25:08. > :25:17.cannot expect to be in Opposition and get all of the papers. You
:25:18. > :25:21.cannot expect to have it both ways. Why can the media not scrutinise it?
:25:22. > :25:25.While you save that you need the Opposition and you want them to be
:25:26. > :25:28.good foot -- but I good job, on the other side you're trying to stuff
:25:29. > :25:32.them out and when you look at the evidence, the way you tried to
:25:33. > :25:38.curtail Opposition activities, that seems to hold up. We are not trying
:25:39. > :25:42.to do that. You cut back the number of Opposition parties. We have not
:25:43. > :25:45.seen much coherent Opposition. Why did you have to bring in someone
:25:46. > :25:51.like David Gordon and bring in the Royal prerogative? Why'd you not
:25:52. > :25:59.appointed through the normal process? Why so desperate to get a
:26:00. > :26:03.new press secretary? It does not. Ministers use ministerial power.
:26:04. > :26:08.Ministers use the Royal prerogative. All parties sitting around this
:26:09. > :26:12.table have exercised in the past. The Royal prerogative is to be used
:26:13. > :26:19.to take the country to war, not to be used to make a job appointment.
:26:20. > :26:23.It is a flippant remark. It is used for a lot more than that. Parties
:26:24. > :26:28.around this table have used it for a lot more than that. I think the
:26:29. > :26:33.Opposition parties have become transfixed about this. The public do
:26:34. > :26:37.not care, they want to know about hospitals, roads and schools,
:26:38. > :26:43.they're not interested. Much ado about nothing as far as David Gordon
:26:44. > :26:50.is concerned. I think the public want to see better policies, not
:26:51. > :26:55.more spent and from looking at Stephen's article, the aggressive
:26:56. > :27:02.attitude from the Executive shows that his expertise more than ever.
:27:03. > :27:06.The bottom line is, people do not care about spin, they want to see an
:27:07. > :27:10.improvement in day-to-day lives and the reality is that the Executive is
:27:11. > :27:16.not delivering. Colum Eastwood, you said on May the 20th, and you and
:27:17. > :27:18.refreshed SDLP team will hold this government to account, offer
:27:19. > :27:23.constructive criticism and offer a progressive alternative to
:27:24. > :27:29.government, when will that start? There was a consultation about the
:27:30. > :27:33.programme for government. We put in a very substantial response. We
:27:34. > :27:38.offered 50 ideas for bills that the government can take up. We have five
:27:39. > :27:49.private members bills going forward, things like housing, Irish language,
:27:50. > :27:52.myself an economic fairness, gender equality, marriage equality and
:27:53. > :27:55.other ideas, we are putting forward lots of ideas and want to sue the
:27:56. > :28:01.government take that up. The government have put forward one
:28:02. > :28:06.bill. A final word. You had ?1 billion black hole in your
:28:07. > :28:12.manifesto. No we did not. Are you going to clear everyone's credit
:28:13. > :28:20.cards? You're telling us to sell the city of Derry airport and we do not
:28:21. > :28:26.own that. When did I tell you that? There are sharing policies. The
:28:27. > :28:30.Ulster Unionists is telling us to sell things we do not own. I would
:28:31. > :28:37.welcome a constructive Opposition but we need to start seeing it. We
:28:38. > :28:43.are seeing now. We are bringing the issues that the government do not
:28:44. > :28:47.want to talk about. I guess on Monday we will see if it lives up to
:28:48. > :28:49.its billing an Opposition Day, the first Opposition Day of the new
:28:50. > :28:49.term. Let's hear what tonight's
:28:50. > :28:52.commentators make of that. Let's hear from Newton Emerson
:28:53. > :29:04.and Deirdre Heenan. Good to see you both. Let us talk
:29:05. > :29:11.about Opposition. A very interesting conversation. To see much evidence
:29:12. > :29:18.of a joined up approach in Opposition terms by the Ulster
:29:19. > :29:22.Unionists. Not to date. Most people broadly welcomed the idea of an
:29:23. > :29:24.Opposition. The idea that the Opposition could bring coherence,
:29:25. > :29:28.Shine a light into the lack of delivery of government and we have
:29:29. > :29:32.not seen that yet. It is quite clear that Sinn Fein and the DUP have
:29:33. > :29:38.signed a nonaggression pact. Things that to date would have brought them
:29:39. > :29:41.into conflict, such as their ideas around Brexit, Nam, they are
:29:42. > :29:45.presenting this united front and I think there are opportunities for
:29:46. > :29:49.the Opposition to talk about the general broad scope ideas around
:29:50. > :29:53.health, education, run the economy and we are not saying the have to
:29:54. > :29:59.set aside their differences, but we do need coherence.
:30:00. > :30:07.The reality is that the opposition and the executive are both divided
:30:08. > :30:11.on key issues. It has been said that it is not necessary for opposition
:30:12. > :30:14.parties to be united to scrutinise the government but the opposition
:30:15. > :30:18.has to be a credible alternative government and in our system that
:30:19. > :30:24.means a national and Unionist party so they have two ultimately work
:30:25. > :30:29.towards a common platform. With five years to go do we need to worry
:30:30. > :30:34.about that just yet? They do need to start working towards that and we
:30:35. > :30:37.would soon need to see some effort of prospective coalition building,
:30:38. > :30:41.no power-sharing, if you like, they need to start looking like an
:30:42. > :30:46.alternative to the DUP and Sinn Fein or they will just be carping on the
:30:47. > :30:51.sidelines. The executive is very vulnerable to that. They are very
:30:52. > :30:55.touchy to criticism for two parties that are in control. The opposition
:30:56. > :30:58.should be viewed as positive, putting forward alternative ideas,
:30:59. > :31:04.and we haven't had a sense of that yet. We have had the programme for
:31:05. > :31:07.government but where is the alternative to that from the
:31:08. > :31:12.opposition? What are they putting forward on what other priorities and
:31:13. > :31:14.what are they saying about Brexit and health and the economy? There
:31:15. > :31:19.isn't a cavalier in some there should be. It is no accident that
:31:20. > :31:23.most parliamentary democracies have an opposition because they are there
:31:24. > :31:25.to scrutinise and hold them to account and they are there for
:31:26. > :31:29.transparency which is what most people want to see. We should be
:31:30. > :31:38.squeamish about the opposition parties working together, they will
:31:39. > :31:40.have to work together if there is any perspective changing government
:31:41. > :31:43.so they need to start building the joint platform. Ultimately the
:31:44. > :31:45.people who will benefit will be the electorate who will begin to see
:31:46. > :31:49.progress on CB blast the questions that they want asked. And also just
:31:50. > :31:55.have the idea that the government could actually change at some point
:31:56. > :31:58.in the future. It is not just about policies, it is about delivery,
:31:59. > :32:01.people want to see strategies that they have been promised a year on
:32:02. > :32:05.year on year and it is nine years later and we are still waiting on
:32:06. > :32:08.these things. There was always a temptation from an opposition to
:32:09. > :32:13.just sit back and wait for events to trip up the government. Already
:32:14. > :32:20.there have been quite a few events that have been quite difficult for
:32:21. > :32:23.the DUP and Sinn Fein. This is not like Westminster where eventually
:32:24. > :32:28.the electorate will get sick of the party in power and switch to another
:32:29. > :32:31.one. Because of the power-sharing system and the divided society we
:32:32. > :32:37.don't have that kind of pendulum to rely on. For the opposition there
:32:38. > :32:40.was a golden opportunity to come together and say, what are they
:32:41. > :32:43.saying Northern Ireland need to be pushing for in terms of the
:32:44. > :32:48.negotiations around Brexit. What are their ideas and the red lines from
:32:49. > :32:51.Northern Ireland? We need a policy document, we don't have to agree on
:32:52. > :32:57.everything but there are headline issue is whether must be some
:32:58. > :33:00.coherence. A final point is that challenge for parties, especially
:33:01. > :33:04.the opposition party is that the assembly will get smaller at the
:33:05. > :33:11.next election Fianna Fail says it will fight the election here as
:33:12. > :33:14.well. There will be Westminster boundary changes and all of the
:33:15. > :33:19.parties are being squeezed and no party is being squeezed more than
:33:20. > :33:22.the SDLP and the Ulster Unionists. As the assembly gets smaller it
:33:23. > :33:26.appears that will hit the smaller parties worst and they are running
:33:27. > :33:30.out of time. When you said they have five years to present alternative
:33:31. > :33:37.platform for government, it is a bit more urgent than that. Just a quick
:33:38. > :33:42.final word about the appointment of David Gordon. The interesting thing
:33:43. > :33:45.was the response from the government itself, it was arrogant and
:33:46. > :33:50.high-handed and at a time when trust seems to be at an all-time low in
:33:51. > :33:54.terms of politics and institutions it was just entirely the wrong note.
:33:55. > :34:00.It is not just the mechanism of the appointment, the new job is a bit
:34:01. > :34:02.unorthodox with a non-civil servant appearing to replace a civil
:34:03. > :34:03.servant. Interesting times. That's it from The View
:34:04. > :34:06.for this week. Join me for Sunday Politics
:34:07. > :34:09.at 11.35am here on BBC One. And in a week when the big news
:34:10. > :34:12.was all about a would-be spin doctor who reluctantly became the story,
:34:13. > :34:15.we were reminded of a similar moment in the life of the plain-speaking
:34:16. > :34:25.Malcolm Tucker. Earthy language and all! Have you
:34:26. > :34:31.seen this? No, I haven't seen that, I am the senior press guide for the
:34:32. > :34:35.government of Great Britain, ie do not look at the newspapers, that is
:34:36. > :34:41.news to me. What are we doing? We are doing nothing, I am not the
:34:42. > :34:49.story here! You kind of the story, they spelt your name and everything.
:34:50. > :34:52.I am not doing nothing, I am not drawing attention to it. You are
:34:53. > :34:57.drawing my attention to it! Stop looking at it! All right, send all
:34:58. > :35:01.the