4 March 2026
SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has said Secretary of State Hilary Benn must recognise that reforming the Stormont institutions is core to addressing the Executive’s financial dysfunction.
She was speaking after the Secretary of State appeared before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
South Belfast and Mid Down MP Claire Hanna said:
“We are currently stuck in a financial doom loop at Stormont where the Executive says it does not have enough money, the UK Government says it cannot provide any more, and even when additional funding is provided the problem repeats.
“I made clear to the Secretary of State today that core to properly addressing these issues is reforming the Stormont institutions to deliver better government for people in Northern Ireland. If we continue on this path the Executive departments will continue to overspend, our public services will continue to decline, and it is the public who will suffer.
“The SDLP believes the North must be funded more fairly, but the Executive must also take responsibility for the power in its hands. The system as it exists does not prevent Executive parties doing the right thing, but it makes it all too easy for them to do the wrong thing. Until we recognise that the current system is broken and implement the changes necessary, the doom loop will continue with the Executive passing the buck to the UK Government and back again with no real progress made.”