The former Green Party MLA for North Down Brian Wilson has been nominated to stand as an Independent in the Assembly election.
He said just after handing in his nomination papers to the electoral office: “The Assembly is not working and must be reviewed.”
Mr Wilson who was also a North Down councillor for 34 years added:  “When I stepped down from the Assembly in 2011 I could not foresee any circumstances which would persuade me to stand again.
“However it is clear that The Assembly/Executive is not working . Since then we have suffered 5 years of stagnation, gridlock, and stop – start government with allegations of sleaze and absence of Ministerial accountability. Instead of tackling the problems of 21st century the parties have focussed on the past, the blame game and sectarian points scoring.
“The Good Friday Agreement set out provisions for a review. Eighteen years after the GFA no such review has taken place and the failure of the past five years highlights the need for one to be carried out urgently.
“I believe this gridlock will continue until the present structures are overhauled, an opposition created and the veto held by two parties removed. The need to designate must also be reviewed as it reinforces the sectarian nature of our political system and is undemocratic creating second class MLA’s.
See:Â http://brianawilson.com/end-designation/
“I would therefore hope that the Independents and small parties elected can come together and campaign for changes to create an opposition to break the gridlock and to move forward”.
