Welfare reform impasse a proper crisis says Mike Nesbitt

Mike Nesbitt, arriving with party colleague Danny Kennedy, said he was not optimistic about a resolution to the impasse

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt has said the impasse over welfare reform at Stormont is "a proper crisis".

Mr Nesbitt was speaking after Secretary of State Theresa Villiers met the political parties in a bid to resolve the dispute over the issue.

On Tuesday, the first minister said the assembly could collapse next week if welfare reform is not agreed.

Mr Nesbitt said if Westminster had to take over welfare powers it would be "a failure of democracy".

Social Development Minister Mervyn Storey will bring the Welfare Reform Bill back to the assembly next week, along with a new implementation plan.

Mr Nesbitt said Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness had talked about using a petition of concern to block the bill.

"A petition of concern would make the debate worthless, and worthless could also therefore be applied to the devolved institutions," he said.

"It's decision time, particularly for Sinn Féin."

Alliance Party leader David Ford said it was "a very dangerous situation and a potential threat to the institutions themselves".

"If there's a petition of concern against the welfare bill, I think it would seriously threaten the institutions," he said.

First Minister Peter Robinson, centre, with Social Development Minister Mervyn Storey and Finance Minister Arlene Foster, said Northern Ireland would face massive cuts if welfare reform is not agreed

"It would certainly mean that there would be no prospect of the amelioration of welfare which we had sought to provide in those discussions and we'd be left with what some people would describe as pure Tory cuts."

'Howl at the moon'

DUP leader and First Minister Peter Robinson said the executive was legally required to publish a budget by Friday of next week.

He said if Finance Minister Arlene Foster was to publish one under the present circumstances "then we would have a cut to our budget in Northern Ireland considerably in excess of half a billion pounds".

He said parties opposed to the bill "needn't whinge and moan and howl at the moon that they don't like what the Tories are doing" unless they can come up with a realistic alternative to the social development minister's proposals.

"They have the opportunity between now and Tuesday to show us what way they would change that paper from the DSD minister on welfare that would be legally competent, financially within the envelope and operationally can be done," Mr Robinson said.

Sinn Féin's Mr McGuinness said he did not "jump to ultimatums".

He said there "appears to be some appetite for people working over the course of the next couple of days to see if we can find a way through to avert a major crisis next week, but it has to be on basis of how we do protect the most vulnerable in society".

Martin McGuinness, with party colleague Conor Murphy, said work would continue to find a solution

"We've made it absolutely clear we are voting against what's in that [welfare reform] paper, unless of course we get a solution between now and then and we are asking for support from other parties for a petition of concern."

SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell said the situation was "critical".

"We are reviewing papers received from the social development minister, particularly in light of discussions held with both the secretary of state and with other parties today. We will also seriously consider the paper from the finance minister," he said.

"We believe it is possible to circumvent the looming crisis but it will require all to engage in meaningful dialogue."

The Northern Ireland parties had agreed a deal on Westminster's welfare reform in the Stormont House Agreement last December.

However, Sinn Féin withdrew its support for the bill in March.