A fresh political dispute has erupted over the future of the Parades Commission after the High Court quashed restrictions placed on this year’s Orange Order parade along Portadown’s Garvaghy Road.
Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart is calling for a judge-led review of the commission’s structures and accountability. The DUP representative made the demand after the commission conceded that a procedural error had occurred when restrictions were imposed on the parade.
The ruling has renewed debate across County Armagh about the long-running Drumcree dispute, with the commission’s decisions, the rights of marchers and the concerns of Garvaghy Road residents again at the centre of attention.
Why the commission’s decision was quashed
The commission had banned this year’s parade from entering the Garvaghy Road. The decision reflected every determination it had made on the route since 1998, according to the report.
However, the commission acknowledged that the decision had not been considered in its “final form” by all members before restrictions were imposed. That procedural issue led to the High Court quashing the determination.
Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster’s Nolan Show, Ms Lockhart said the ruling meant “confidence cannot be restored” in the commission. She has also contacted Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant to call for commission chair Professor Evelyn Collins to resign and for a judge-led examination of how the body operates.
Dispute over the Garvaghy Road parade
Ms Lockhart said residents of the predominantly nationalist Garvaghy Road had “nothing to be frightened of” following the judgment. She also called on Sinn Féin to clarify that there would be no violence, saying: “It is not unionism, it is not loyalism who are threatening violence here, in fact quite the opposite.”
Sinn Féin councillor Catherine Nelson said last week that talks between the Orange Order and residents about a parade on the Garvaghy Road were “off the table”. Ms Lockhart described that position as “staggering from an elected representative”.
Asked whether residents wanted a parade on the road, Ms Lockhart said the issue was about “rights”. She argued that the Portadown district had been denied those rights for 28 years and described the Parades Commission as “unaccountable for years”.
She also criticised what she called a “pre-determined outcome of no”, alleging that past determinations had often been copied and pasted. The report said she believed court proceedings had been needed to expose aspects of the commission’s processes.
What happens next
Professor Evelyn Collins said last week that she would not resign, but that the commission would work hard to regain the trust of all sections of the community.
Sir Chris Bryant said on Friday that he would take time to consider a letter from the commission setting out how it planned to restore public confidence. He added that he was “not in the business of pulling the whole thing down”.
The latest developments leave the commission facing renewed pressure over its accountability, while the long-running disagreement between the Orange Order and Garvaghy Road residents remains unresolved.