Political morality, power, education … believing you are right or being open to debate? #p4cmorals + What’s Platform for Change’s purpose?

Platform for Change’s look at political morality suffered from wet weather, a low turnout, an imbalanced panel and a topic that the room tended to engage with in a relatively passionless way. Robin Wilson chaired the evening, peppering the panellists’ contributions with quotations and observations. I’ve noted my sense of what I heard in the post below. However, for more full and exact quotes you’ll need to listen to the embedded audio. [Parts one, two, three, four] listen to ‘1/4 …

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“Morals in politics and political morality” Platform for Change discussion (Mon 24 Feb at 7.30pm in Dukes) #p4cmorals

‘Moral’ issues continue to provoke not just debate but political controversy in Northern Ireland. Most recently it was the “furore” over the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s version of the Bible in Newtownabbey. But there are many other examples including the establishment of the Marie Stopes Clinic in Belfast and the availability of abortion; the continued lifetime ban on blood donation by gay men; gay adoption; equal marriage … [Ed – advertising on cigarette packets?] How should politicians address moral issues? Platform …

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