Sir, - Would they stay in or would they get out? In the end the DUP performed their own version of the hokey cokey - they are halfway in, halfway out, in, out, and messing about with the lives of the people of Northern Ireland.
Faced with a choice between following a principled position and resigning from the Executive which they claim to detest so much, or remaining inside with the prestige and financial rewards of office, the DUP representatives played safe and went for the cash and power. At least they were honest enough to say that their new policy had nothing to do with principles or improving the lot of the people here, but was a cynical ploy designed to get the DUP more votes at the next Westminster election.
Their disdain for the electorate is illustrated by their plan to rotate their two ministries around their Assembly team. Given their semi-detached role in the Executive in the past, this new strategy will mean that problems such as the crisis in our railways will be dealt within an even more unstable environment where there can be no continuity of ministerial service.
One hopes that the DUP's cynical plan will backfire as the people decide to treat them with the same contempt as they are treating the electorate. - Yours, etc.,
Michael Long, Alliance Youth Affairs Spokesperson, Old Mill Rise, Dundonald, Co Antrim.