Northern Ireland politicians clash over health, the union, and Israel-Gaza war in TV debate – as it happened

As mentioned earlier, tonight’s BBC general election TV debate featuring politicians from Northern Ireland’s five main parties has finished. There were no closing remarks from the politicians, instead Tara Mills closed the debate by thanking all those involved, including the audience for their questions and remarks.

The main topics of the night’s debate were health, trust in politics, the union and Israel-Gaza. Here are some of the key lines from each of the five who were behind the podiums this evening:

DUP leader, Gavin Robinson, denied there would be a cut of £184m to the health budget and said the DUP had highlighted that “Northern Ireland doesn’t get sufficient funding to provide public service that we need”.

“We would far rather government had not come down at all and people recognise this place works properly and positively on the basis of consensus,” said Robinson. He added that the DUP wants to “build on the good progress we have made” which “would not have been made without our stance”.

Alliance party leader, Naomi Long, clashed with Robinson, stating that there’s no doubt that the collapse of the Assembly has “damaged our public services … and public confidence”. Long said that “it has damaged public confidence, because people now know our Stormont as it stands today is no more stable than the day before it collapsed the last time”.

Long said her party “want to be part of the conversation about constitutional change”. She added: “We are open to those conversations but what we are not going to do is vote along ideologically-driven lines”.

Robbie Butler, deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist party (UUP), said health was the “number one topic on the doorstep”. He said abstentionism in Stormont had affected health services, stating that the UUP “didn’t take their players off the pitch”.

Butler also said that the “state of the mental health of the nation is in the pits because of the politics”. He said mental health services are a main focus for the UUP in Westminster but says “consistent government” in Stormont is required.

SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood, said “there isn’t enough money in Stormont” and that the health service is “at the point of collapse”. He said that although the SDLP are happy to work with other parties the decisions are being taken at Westminster. He said Northern Ireland needed to go with “one single voice and ask the British government to properly fund this health service”.

Eastwood also said he was “all for more fiscal powers” but questioned how the public could trust politicians with it if “we can’t even commit to staying in government”. “The first thing politicians around here tonight can do is all commit to not bring Stormont down again, but they won’t do it,” said Eastwood.

Sinn Féin’s Chris Hazzard said that there was an understanding that after 14 years of Tory austerity that public services have been “absolutely devastated”. Hazzard said that one of the most significant developments was that the British government had finally recognised that Stormont has been underfunded.

When asked if he would visit the White House next year if US president Joe Biden is re-elected and the Israel-Gaza conflict is ongoing, Hazzard said his party “will continue to go wherever we need to go to be the voice of the Palestinian people where their voice needs to be heard”.

Danny from Armagh asks the fourth question of tonight’s debate.

Question four: “Has taking sides in the conflict in the Middle East become another divisive form of identity politics or do you feel it aligns with national interests?”

Colum Eastwood says he went to Gaza 12 years ago and saw the “devastation wrought upon ordinary people … by the Israeli government”. He says he’s “looking at a genocide unfolding before his very eyes”. He says he wants to be in the next parliament to stop the British government sending arms and components of arms to Israel.

When asked if he will visit the White House next year if US president Joe Biden is re-elected and the Israel-Gaza conflict is ongoing, Sinn Féin’s Chris Hazzard says his party “will continue to go wherever we need to go to be the voice of the Palestinian people where their voice needs to be heard”. Tara Mills says many of Sinn Féin’s supporters were aghast at the party’s St Patrick’s day visit to the White House.

Naomi Long responds by saying that although she didn’t go to the White House celebrations this year, she isn’t going to dismiss the “value of it either”. She says she wants to see international law upheld.

Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP), says he thinks it’s wrong that when political leaders talk about Israel-Gaza that they don’t think about the antisemitisim faced by the Jewish community in Northern Ireland and across the world.

Robinson says there should be a ceasefire and a release of hostages. He adds: “What’s going on at the moment is a human tragedy. I can see very clearly there should be a ceasefire and the hostages should to be returned to their families.”

Robbie Butler says it is a humanitarian disaster. He says a dialogue is needed and there has to be a two-state solution.

Naomi Long says although good projects are being funded, this would also have been the case under European funding.

UUP deputy leader Robbie Butler says politicians should make Northern Ireland “work to take that into a more prosperous future”.

In answer to the third question and on the prospect of a united Ireland, Colum Eastwood says “this for me is a very attractive proposition … This place is an economic basket case.”

DUP leader Gavin Robinson says he accepts that Northern Ireland is “chronically underfunded” by Westminster, but says it benefits from “being part of the fifth largest economy in the world”. He highlights the NHS, pointing to costs attached to accessing things like healthcare “over the border”.

Naomi Long disagrees on Robinson’s point about levelling up funding having benefited Northern Ireland. She says it’s been an “unmitigated disaster”.

As you may have noticed, we’re running a bit of a delay. The live debate has now finished. There will be a few more updates and then we’ll head to the closing remarks from the five politicians.

Joel from Belfast asks the third question of the evening.

Question three: “All parties and the British government acknowledge this place has been historically underfunded. So what’s the point in being part of the union?”

Naomi Long answers first. She the Alliance party doesn’t sit on the fence and is “in favour of a united community in Northern Ireland”. She says their priority is to “reunite people in Northern Ireland”.

Long says her party “want to be part of the conversation about constitutional change”. She says: “We are open to those conversations but what we are not going to do is vote along ideologically-driven lines”.

Robbie Butler, deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist party (UUP), is also asked by Tara Mills where the leader of his party is this evening. He says Doug Beattie had “other arrangements”.

Sinn Féin’s Chris Hazzard is repeatedly asked by Tara Mills where Michelle O’Neill is this evening. Hazzard says she’s busy on the campaign trail.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood says “it’s very hard” for the public to trust political leaders “when two of them aren’t even here”. He said at the UTV debate, there were two missing then also. He says he “just doesn’t understand that”.

“The first thing politicians around here tonight can do is all commit to not bring Stormont down again, but they won’t do it,” says Eastwood.

Naomi Long disagrees with Robinson that progress has been made from the collapse of the Assembly. She says there’s no doubt that the collapse of the Assembly has “damaged our public services … and public confidence”.

She says that “it has damaged public confidence, because people now know our Stormont as it stands today is no more stable than the day before it collapsed the last time”.

The second question of the night comes via Carmen from Belfast.

Question two: “How can the leaders possibly ask the public to trust them again after years of political breakdown and controversy?”

Tara Mills turns to Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist party (DUP), and says the DUP’s slogan “making NI work” is a bit rich as the party suspended government for two years. He says he doesn’t accept it and thinks it’s inappropriate of Mills to put it that way. The audience laughs at his reponse.

“We would far rather government had not come down at all and people recognise this place works properly and positively on the basis of consensus,” says Robinson. He adds that the DUP wants to “build on the good progress we have made” which “would not have been made without our stance”.

Naomi Long says that any time the health minister tries to progress, parties take up placards opposing any changes or reform to the health service. She says “we have a notional health service, not a national health service in Northern Ireland”.