SINN Féin have finally accepted what the rest of us have known for years – Stormont is not working.

The problem has arisen because, they say, the British government does not adequately fund Stormont (which is not quite true) and the DUP is obstructive in most of what it does (which is generally true).

However, Sinn Féin’s current difficulties with a failed Stormont are largely of their own making.

They are the result of the party’s poor decision-making, as evidenced by its planned “reform” of Stormont.

That will presumably mean re-writing at least part of Strand One of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), which SF previously said cannot be altered.

So, after 30 years of supporting war and nearly another 30 years preaching peace, how did Sinn Féin manage to paint themselves into a corner in Stormont – and what can they do to get out of it?

The party’s problems stem from the GFA, which promised a solution to what had effectively been a sectarian war.

The obvious way forward was to develop a common ground on social and economic issues (the matters now being neglected by Stormont) to help foster a non-sectarian political culture. Constitutional issues could have been reserved for a Stormont committee.

Instead, the GFA claimed that the way to resolve........

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