We have a draft Programme for Government for the first time in eight years. A Northern Ireland Executive has produced a list of policy approaches and priorities that it will attempt to fulfil before the next election due in May 2027.
This Executive has one major disadvantage over its Scottish and Welsh counterparts: it has lost two years of its mandate to implement its policy agenda. This also means those critical early years when unpopular decisions can be made are gone, but I live in some hope now that our recent cycle of elections has ended.
The Programme for Government is mercifully short in what it has chosen to prioritise – nine areas, ranging from reducing childcare costs to transforming public services.
I know we often hear about the need for ambition, and yes, the Executive should strive for the best outcomes, but what devolution needs now to be successful is to target its ambitions.
A plan that can be delivered is worth more than a litany of ‘blue sky thinking’ that Stormont either does not have the money to deliver effectively or just does not have control over. Devolution has previously hurt its cause by pretending it can control big economic shifts when it simply cannot.
This Executive will change the narrative around the effectiveness of devolution by doing a few things well rather than trying to do lots of things poorly.
Looking back through previous programmes for government, you will read commitments such as the 2011-2015 edition’s promise to prioritise high-quality and efficient public services. Spoiler alert: this did not happen.
One of the disappointing aspects of this run of devolution is that whilst the tone of the four parties has been incredibly positive, the substance needs to be improved in many areas. Too many motions and insufficient legislation backed up by costed plans to deliver meaningful reform.
Hopefully, this week marks a change. Over the past few weeks, Stormont has slowly but surely begun producing more concrete proposals around issues such as employment rights and education. You can take or leave these initiatives, but the fact that we are debating actual policy is a refreshing step change in Northern Ireland.
Some will be disappointed in what is focused on and what is not. Governing is choosing and prioritising. This is the case in any democracy.
Look at the criticism Keir Starmer’s King’s Speech received earlier in the summer, or the commentary that the current Irish government’s programme received in late 2020 – neither satisfied all sections of society.
Our Executive is hopefully learning the lessons from mistakes of the past. Words on paper do not represent change. A strategy is only as good as the resources that you put behind the measures outlined within it.
While it is nice to have debated in the assembly chamber, a motion does not have a binding impact on government policy.
Seven months in, our Executive is still broadly on message with cooperation and working together. Seeing the four parties launching this document last week gave me hope that the ability to work together and compromise is still alive.
Now, we move on to the hard part: supporting each other’s tough decisions and making these plans a reality. This Executive will only really be able to make progress on the big ticket items by 2027, rather than being able to say they have resolved them entirely.
However, if by the time of the next election the public can see that what can feel like the endless decline in our public services has been halted, and that there is some prospect of brighter days ahead, then this Programme for Government and, indeed, this run of devolution will be judged as a success.
This Executive could be the first to be remarked upon for not just merely existing but for the policy achievements it put through. This draft Programme for Government is hopefully the start of the roadmap that takes us to better days.
As former US Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn once said: “Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.”