Cross-community vote

A cross-community vote or cross-community support is a form of voting used in the Northern Ireland Assembly according to the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.^[1] It requires the support of both main communities in Northern Ireland, in other words majority of unionists and the majority of nationalist members of the Assembly.^[2] Among other reasons, it arises when the petition of concern procedure is invoked.

Background

Upon taking their seats members of the Northern Ireland Assembly are required to designate themselves as either "unionist", "nationalist" or "other".^[3] Members may change their designation of identity only if they become a member of a (different) political party or they cease to be a member of any political party.^[3]

The election of the Speaker,^[4] appointment of the Minister of Justice, any changes to the standing orders^[5] and the adoption of certain money bills must all occur with cross-community support.

This was originally set out in the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Petition of concern

The Petition of Concern is a mechanism whereby 30 MLAs can petition the Assembly requiring a matter to be passed on a cross-community rather than a simple majority basis. Under the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, it is one of the 'safeguards' in Strand One as a mechanism "to ensure key decisions [in the Assembly] are taken on cross-community basis". The requirement to enable a Petition of Concern is given effect in the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and in the Assembly's standing orders.

— Fourth Report on the Use of the Petition of Concern Mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly^[6]

Votes in the assembly do not ordinarily require cross-community support. However, if a "petition of concern" is raised successfully about proposed legislation or executive action, the speaker must call a cross-community vote. For a petition to be raised successfully, at least 30 of the 90 members from at least two parties (counting all independent signers of a petition of concern who were elected as independents as members from different parties) must sign the petition.^[7]

In a cross-community vote, the majority of unionists' and the majority of nationalists' votes are each required to pass a motion put to the assembly.^[7] By October 2019, petitions of concern had been tabled 159 times since 1998; they have been used on same-sex marriage, abortion and censure of politicians.^[8]

Section 42 of the 1998 Act (as amended by the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022) declares that

(6) Standing orders must—

(a) make provision with respect to the procedure to be followed in presenting and confirming a petition under this section (which may include provision specifying a minimum period between the presentation of the petition and the time when the vote on the matter to which it relates would take place if not postponed by the petition);
(b) provide that the matter to which a petition under this section relates may be referred, in accordance with paragraphs 11 and 13 of Strand One of the Belfast Agreement, to the committee established under section 13(3)(a);
(c) specify further matters that may not be the subject of a petition under this section, for the purposes of fully implementing paragraph 2.2.4 of Annex B of Part 2 of The New Decade, New Approach Deal;

(d) make provision for such steps to be taken during the consideration period as may be necessary for the purposes of fully implementing paragraph 2.2.7 of Annex B of Part 2 of The New Decade, New Approach Deal.^[7]

Arising from the St Andrews Agreement, an "Assembly and Executive Review Committee" was set up. Among its Terms of Reference, the committee was to consider "provisions for voting on an Ad Hoc Committee on Conformity with Equality Requirements prior to the vote on a Petition of Concern." It also "considered the possibilities of restricting Petition of Concern to certain key areas, changing the 30 MLA threshold, and alternatives to Petitions of Concern (e.g. a weighted majority vote). There was no consensus on any of the issues.".^[9]

In January 2020, negotiations between Northern Ireland's political parties and with the UK Government led to the New Decade, New Approach agreement, in which the parties agreed to greater restraint in their use of the Petition mechanism and to raise the threshold for its use.^[6] This agreement was set in law through the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022.

Procedure

According to the standing orders of the assembly, "after the signing of the Roll a Member may enter in the Roll a designation of identity, being Nationalist, Unionist or Other. A Member who does not register a designation of identity shall be deemed to be designated Other for the purposes of these Standing Orders."^[3]

Designations

Designations	1998	2003	2007	2011	2016	2017	2022
Unionist	58	59	55	56	56	40	37
Nationalist	42	42	44	43	40	39	35
Other	8	7	9	9	12	11	18

Note: These figures include the assumed designation of the Speaker who, having a non-partisan role, does not officially declare a designation. Note also the effect of the Reduction of Numbers Act, which partly accounts for the significant changes in 2017.

Parties

List of current and previous assembly parties by designation.

Unionist

	DUP	1971–present
	NI21[FN 1]	2013–2016
	NI Unionist	1999–2008
	PUP	1979–present
	UKIP	1993–present
	UK Unionist	1995–2008
	UUP	1905–present
	TUV	2007–present
	United Unionist Coalition	c. 2000–2012

Nationalist

	Sinn Féin	1905/1970–present
	SDLP	1970–present

Other

	Alliance	1970–present
	Green (NI)	1983–present
	NI Women's Coalition	1996–2006
	People Before Profit	2005–present

See also

• Consociationalism
• Demography and politics of Northern Ireland

Footnotes

1. Designated as 'Unionist' until the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election; planned to be designated as 'Other' following it but stood no candidates.

References

1. Minority Veto Rights in Power Sharing Systems: Lessons from Macedonia, Northern Ireland and Belgium Archived 2010-02-23 at the Wayback Machine by Shane Kelleher
2. "Section 4 (5), Northern Ireland Act 1998: Transferred, excepted and reserved matters". legislation.gov.uk. Government of the United Kingdom. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
3. "Standing Orders as amended 4 October 2016: Section 3". niassembly.gov.uk. Northern Ireland Assembly. 4 October 2016. Archived from the original on 18 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
4. "Section 39, Northern Ireland Act 1998: Presiding Officer". Legislation.gov.uk. Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
5. "Section 41, Northern Ireland Act 1998: Standing orders". Legislation.gov.uk. Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
6. The Fourth Report on the Use of the Petition of Concern Mechanism in the Northern Ireland Assembly (PDF) (Report). Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. January 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
7. "Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022: Section 6", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 8 February 2022, 2022 c. 2 (s. 6), retrieved 1 March 2023 The Act also recognises the right of non-Party MLAs to participate.
8. Lisa O'Carroll (3 October 2019). "What are the concerns over Stormont's role in proposed Brexit deal?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
9. "Implementing the 'Petition of Concern'" (PDF). Committee on the Administration of Justice. January 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 26 October 2019.

External links

• Official website
• "The Nature of the British-Irish Agreement" by Brendan O´Leary
• Northern Ireland Act 1998
• Gareth Gordon (9 July 2013). "Petitions of concern: Is Stormont's safeguard system being abused?". BBC News. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
• Dr Alex Schwartz (26 May 2015). "The Problem with Petitions of Concern". Queen's Policy Engagement at Queen's University Belfast. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
• "Implementing the 'Petition of Concern' – CAJ Briefing Note". Committee on the Administration of Justice. January 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2019.