People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin has said that Stormont must break with Tory approach and make good on an investment pledge to Derry.
Said the Foyleside councillor: “The DUP’s selfish Stormont obstruction is over along with reactionary Unionist dominance of the First Minister role.
“In her opening speech First Minister Michelle O’Neill promised a new dawn and pledged to prioritise investment for Derry and regional balance.
“We have heard this many times over the last 25 years, most recently in the New Decade, New Approach deal, but it amounted to little.
“For decades one-party Unionist rule meant decisions about Derry were made on a sectarian basis. We were told power-sharing would be transformative but it hasn’t been. Most people in Derry still think the second city of the North faces systemic discrimination.
“The lack of investment in infrastructure, in higher education provision, endemic low wages and lack of employment, and overall efforts to address all aspects of regional disparity has persisted creating dismay, distrust and deep frustration.
“This could no longer be blamed on the persistence of sectarian prejudice; there were plenty of Sinn Féin and SDLP representatives in the Assembly and at the ministerial table who claimed locally to be fighting for Derry.
“Their lack of fight meant it was left to grassroots led campaigns to save the rail link, save Radio Foyle, stop cuts to the health service and keep alive demands for university expansion, mass house building and much else.
“The underdeveloped state of Derry’s infrastructure, the lack of a large university campus, high numbers of people defined as ‘economically inactive’ and other factors all combined to justify Stormont’s further marginalisation of the city and North West.
“However, all of these problems stem from Stormont in the first place.
“Sinn Féin representatives will now oversee the departments for the Economy, Infrastructure and Finance.
“There should be no further retreating from pledges and excuses for not turbo-charging wide-ranging investment for Derry and the North West.
“Rail upgrade and expansion, 20,000 students at Magee, a mass social housing build, jobs paying above the bare minimum and the reversal of decades of disinvestment must receive priority attention.
Action on regional imbalance must accompany properly funding our public services.
“A stronger health and social care service, a properly funded education and public transport system and mass public housing building will address jobs, decent pay, deprivation and multiple inequalities.
“Imposing water charges, tuition fee hikes, prescription charges, taking away free travel passes and other regressive Tory revenue raising proposals will further entrench regional disparity and inequality impacting all communities across the North.
To make progress in Derry and across the North, the Stormont Executive must make a clean break with the Tory neoliberal approach that has facilitated privatisation, deepened class inequality and reinforced regional disparity here.
“Now is the time to push for investment in Derry and for all our public services. There should be no more delays and less than half-measures.
“Grassroots pressure must lead the way if there’s to be any possibility of turning promises and pledges for a new dawn into action.”
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