Interesting addendum to Tom’s story on the possible establishment an Office of Secretary of State for the Regions. Rosa Prince has some Westminster village pump gossip that Shaun Woodward is too Tory for Gordon Brown and may be downsized and out of the cabinet, when the re-organisation eventually comes.
This is article was first published in Fortnight magazine back in February 2003. Chris Farrington is now a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellow funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences’ in the School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin. Although the circumstances it describes has changed radically and [...] read our review »
Here’s a great review of a fascinating book (H/T reader Rory) on how the Internet is destroying our capacity for intelligent, focused and critical thought. It opens thus: …here is the news that Ulin brings in this slim, meandering book: that reading is “an act of contemplation”; that such an act becomes more difficult in [...] read our review »
Secretary of State for the Regions is a ‘politally incorrect’ term in that it does reflect the fact that non iron has a constitutional link with ROI – non iron should therefore not be classified with Wales, Sctoland.
It is also a ‘politically incorrect’ term in that it will upset Republican/Nationlalist green sensitivities.
Perhaps a secretary of state for ‘Colonial land in transtion to rightful owners’ may be more apposite, or perhaps in keeping with the GFA/STA
the office should have 2 names 1 for United Kingdomers and 1 for United Irelanders.
I’m not sure why Wales,Scotland and NI even need a Secretary of state at all.
We don’t need one for Yorkshire, Cornwall or the West Midlands.
Even London has some sort of legislative autonomy without a special secretary of state.
Herbie goes Bananas,
In the case of Non Iron it is being handed back to its rightful owners under the cover of devolution – that might be one reason.
But in the case of the others you might just have hit on something there.