The rights and wrongs of Abortion are a deeply divided schism which has plagued Ireland ever since abortion became common place in the rest of the UK. Surprisingly the Irish laws on abortion were amended not long ago and today the Northern Ireland parliament were called to debate the matter.
Parliament in Stormont had been closed for two years and as the cameras in the chamber revealed half the seats were empty, Sinn Fein having decided to boycott the sitting, the Speaker was struggling to address the problem of electing the relevant office holders before the assembly could sit. Members from the DUP were adamant that their legal soundings said one thing whilst the Speakers legal advisors said another. Then a member of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) stood up and decreed that the absence of Sinn Fein meant a political forum couldn't be constituted and en block walked out. As the chamber began to empty the only remainders, other than the DUP, were the PUP the Progressive Unionist Party and the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) plus a couple of fiercely anti abortion Independents.
Parliament which has not sat in two years, assembled for this deep seated division of opinion only to find it was stymied by protocol and procedure. The DUP eventually upped sticks after voicing its opinion and then the PUP reluctantly told the poor old Speaker, who was not at all in the mold of John Bercow, the Westminster Speaker and who had valiantly tried to carry out his duties to no avail was forced to address the empty benches and proclaimed an end to proceedings, as he gathered up his gown and spectacles to shuffled off for a nice cup of tea or maybe a Pint of Guinness !!!
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