What are the Biggest Issues People will be Voting for in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly Election Made Simple

Northern Ireland has a habit of voting for Parties that stand for Green and Orange issues, which has worked for every Party, especially the DUP and Sinn Féin.

But what are the other big issues that people will be voting for in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly Election? In this blog, I’m going to summarise what a few of these issues will be.

1: The Northern Ireland Protocol

Although it may prove not to be the most important issue, the NI Protocol is still a big issue, especially in the Unionist / Loyalist community.

For anyone who doesn’t know what it is, the Protocol is part of the Brexit deal that has been signed by Westminster, which has caused a lot of division since it was negotiated and signed into law in 2020.

Simply put, those who see themselves as Unionist / Loyalist view the Northern Ireland Protocol as separating them from their own country — though others would argue that the Protocol hasn’t actually removed Northern Ireland from the UK.

2: Cost of Living Crisis

2022 has seen the cost of living go up in the UK, with petrol prices, the cost of heating, the cost of food and more going up.

With no one being in power in Stormont, there is no one making the decisions required to lead people through the difficult times where they can’t afford the basic needs, which those who aren’t rich will definitely feel.

3: Fixes for the Health Service

Like every other country in the world, Northern Ireland is on its way out of a global pandemic.

Every country is facing the same problems in how they can return to a new form of “normal”, but the difference is that the NHS has been struggling in the UK for years, with the Northern Ireland Health Service being especially underfunded.

Although Robin Swann has been relevantly successful as Health Minister throughout the pandemic, cracks have been noticeable since the beginning of the year.

There’s been problems in patients and their families being able to get through to emergency services over the phone, as well as with availability of ambulances, a shortage of beds, and more.

As well as this, there’s also been a move to take a house’s ownership out of an elderly person’s mortgage when they move into a nursing home, although this has been slightly more controversial.

4: Climate Change

Many people believe — with good evidence — that the world is in a climate emergency, and countless governments are in a hurry to get sorted, though no country is currently absolutely brilliant.

Yes; there are problems with various issues to do with Climate Change, from electric cars being expensive for a lot of people, to making sure Climate Change is accessible for disabled people, and making sure that no one is left behind in the discussions.

However, it is still an issue which many will judge parties for how well they do on it, hence why it’s also worth mentioning it here.

5. Employment in a Post-Pandemic World

The Coronavirus Pandemic meant non emergency sectors starting to work from home, which some sectors have now decided to keep in place, while others plan to return to working as they normally would.

However, the pandemic also saw a rise of people who were made redundant, who have remained unemployed, and also stopped the employment of young people who wanted to get started in the industry of their choice, especially in the disability community.

6: The Single-Sex Toilets, Sports and Communities Debate

Trans people of course have the right to use the toilet, as they do when it comes to them feeling like they want to join sports teams, and everything else they want to be part of.

But likewise, women have the right to have female only spaces, sports teams and groups that they get involved with, as do men.

As this topic is an ongoing one, it will obviously be a part of what might win or loose Parties the vote, with some even deciding to vote for the Party who decides that maybe having a mixed bathroom and a mixed team or group is the best way to move forward, without changing as well the ones which stay single sex.

7: To Get The Government Back.

The ability of Northern Ireland MLAs to collapse the executive does annoy a lot of people, and so, many people would be likely to vote for a party if they were likely to do something so simple as deciding to go into Stormont.

But of course, there’s a lot of other reasons why voters may decide to vote for a particular party, so these are only a few examples.