FIVE months after being elected as West Belfast MLA, Sinn Féin’s Danny Baker has expressed his frustration at the lack of an Executive and Assembly. Speaking to the Andersonstown News in an in-depth interview exploring the development of the Colin area, Mr Baker said that the DUP continuing to hold back the formation of an Executive is having a detrimental impact on his constituents as we face into worsening economic conditions this winter. “It is very frustrating for me because I have only been in the chamber a couple of times. There is only one party holding us back, preventing us from working and holding back the democratic wishes of those who elected us back in May,” he said. “I am eager to learn, and it takes a while to find your feet. For me, I learn best when I’m doing the work such as sitting on committees or using our influence but my work as a councillor will hold me in good stead when the Assembly eventually returns. “We are facing into the biggest crisis that I have ever faced. I turned 40 this year and have been through recessions but this is affecting everybody and while Stormont won’t be a silver bullet, it can help to mitigate against the worst of this crisis.” Looking back on how the Colin area has developed in recent years, Danny reflected on his childhood growing up in Twinbrook and how that compares to the facilities on offer for the current generation of young people. “I have seen the change. I was talking to A-Level students at St Genevieve’s earlier this week and I was telling them that I was doing my A-Levels when the Good Friday Agreement was signed. “It feels like a lifetime ago but I remember the '80s and the '90s, the military occupation in our areas and I am thankful that is something my kids won’t experience. “The Good Friday Agreement is the only show in town. It has saved lives, it has changed lives but we have much further to go and we need to see the full implementation of that agreement.” Danny Baker said that he has seen major investment in the Colin area following the boundary changes and the creations of Super Councils. “In my personal opinion, we were discriminated against under Lisburn Council for all of those decades. We never got the investment, but you have seen that being rectified in recent years. “I came into Council just as the Brook Leisure Centre plans were being drawn up and as the Mayor, I got to open it. “I opened a leisure centre in my community where once I used to see burnt out cars, a beat up pitch and military helicopters landing on it from my classroom in St Colm’s.
