The age-old question of Northern Ireland politics was also raised in Lisburn: whether the constitutional divide is the main thrust of politicians’ agendas and if people are beginning to move on to other issues. Sinn Fein’s Paul Butler said that it had been about that ‘up until now’. He went to say that; “The next Assembly elections in 2011 won’t be about the peace process, or republican politics or unionist politics. It’s going to be about bread and butter issues and what the Executive and the Assembly have done over the last four years.”
The panel was keen to point out that most work carried out was in relation to ‘bread and butter’ issues and that those are the issues they will be judged on.

When you think of local politics, do you simply think of what divides our parties? Or do you feel that your MLAs do a good job on the more general issues of education, equality, disability etc?