I meant to bring this up last week, but forgot. Roy Greenslade in the Guardian’s media section has had a go at the London media for failing to highlight the ‘unjust activites’ of Lisburn council (extract within).
“Take a bow, the Daily Mirror. It was the only London-based national newspaper to mention the unjust activities of Lisburn council in Northern Ireland. No other paper saw fit to report that the council’s unionist majority has ensured it will not share power with nationalist councillors.
For the second year running the unionists voted themselves all the key chair and vice-chair posts of the major committees, while also taking the mayoralty.
This traditional exercise in bigotry effectively disenfranchises 20,000 nationalist voters and flies in the face of anti-discrimination legislation at the heart of the peace process.
Lisburn council’s employment record is scandalous: 16% of its workforce is Catholic yet Catholics account for a third of the population. Of 25 senior posts, only two are held by Catholics. In its recruitment advertisements, the council has refused to carry a notice welcoming Catholic applicants – as it is obliged to do by law.
These are the kind of facts readers in England, Scotland and Wales need to know if they are to understand why nationalists remain so unhappy at the lack of political progress.
It is yet another example of the failure of the press to provide vital information to voters who, ultimately, hold the fate of Northern Ireland in their hands.”
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