Councillor McAllister said the DUP – along with the SDLP and UUP – last year voted against steps Alliance had taken to try and increase openness and transparency at Belfast City Council. However, she said the overwhelming public mood for revealing political donors to local parties, a practice Alliance already does voluntarily, meant she had made the right decision in highlighting the lack of transparency from those parties on the Council.
“The DUP, UUP and SDLP all tried and failed to bully me for the ‘crime’ of standing up for openness for the citizens of Belfast. Today’s revelation the DUP’s Brexit donor was a shadowy group of which there appears to be not much information underlines the fact I did the right thing in doing so.
“The public want to have their politicians and parties fully accountable. It is not simply enough to say you are – you need to follow through. That includes voluntarily publishing all major donors in line with UK legislation, a move Alliance already does. There is nothing stopping the other parties doing exactly the same right this instant.
“If people want true openness and transparency in their politics, it is clear Alliance is the only party who can deliver that and the only party with enough influence to potentially do so around the Executive table.”