Sinn Féin have called for the erection of a new statue at Belfast City Hall. The statue of Winifred Carney, an Irish Republican hero, woman’s rights activist, trade unionist and prominent member of Cumann na mBan, has the potential to put on display a more nuanced view of our history in our public buildings. It’s a noble suggestion and one that all progressives could unite behind, but the timing could not possibly be worse.

Just as the silent vigil to ‘Big Ben’ in London yesterday exuded a deafening sense of ignorance, the time for Sinn Féin to make political suggestions of this nature is marred with the same ignorance and detachment from the social and economic surroundings inflicted upon citizens by Tory austerity, coupled with our current political impasse.

It is no secret that life in Northern Ireland, under yet another failed attempt at power-sharing, is starting to feel pain across our society. The crippling affects of welfare reform are hurtling down the track and with no Assembly to mitigate against its unforgiving outcomes, life is only destined to get harder for those most in need. The P45s handed to youth workers, the overgrown weeds on our footpaths, the money withheld from victims of institutional abuse, and the cutting back on uniform grants are just but a very small insight into the adverse affects of our current political impasse.

Sinn Féin are not alone igniting this selfish cultural war; the DUP have apparently channeled funding for their own cultural priorities: the ‘community halls fund’ became known as ‘the Orange Hall fund’. And so there are no two-ways about it. Our political process, upon which we all depend, is being held to ransom by our two largest parties. The time for Sinn Féin and the DUP to get real and release us from the shackles of their embitterment is now.

This week, northern leader of Sinn Féin, Michelle O’Neill, announced her party’s willingness to head back into talks with the DUP. It begs the question: What has really changed  between the two main parties that could not have been resolved in June?  Absolutely nothing but their game of  ‘smoke and mirrors’. Whilst the two big dogs continue to wage cultural war, the rest of us have to once again wait patiently for our elected leaders to finally get round to governing again.

This continual cultural ‘show of strength’ is rapidly unravelling the years of reconciliation that have been tirelessly fought for and, at certain levels, achieved. Should the electorate continue to tolerate this type of governance, Northern Ireland will continue to live in this type of ‘ground hog day’ politics until the devolved institutions become wholly unfit for purpose.