Brian Walker – Page 49 – Slugger O'Toole

Reflections on the British-Irish Association in Oxford

Brian Walker on September 19, 2016, 5:46 pm

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A tale of two Unions: can circles be squared by a new devolution settlement? This was written for the blog of the Constitution Unit of University College London. In the wake of the Brexit vote there has been much discussion about the possibility of Scotland and Northern Ireland, where there were Remain majorities in June, preserving closer relationships with the EU than the UK as a whole. The idea that Scotland and Northern Ireland could be entirely exempted from …

If David Gordon’s appointment means better DUP/SF joint government, it can only be a good thing.

Brian Walker on September 17, 2016, 3:03 pm

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Following on Mick, it’s quite a good idea to appoint a poacher as gamekeeper. He knows where the traps are laid in advance. To Jeff Peel I don’t see that the important question is for the BBC or the Nolan show, which is a Marmite experience. It lies with the Executive. Jim Allister put his finger on it in his own way as Mark Devenport bravely reported: “How ironic that the latest appointee is the very person who hitherto would …

The Ulster Unionists and the SDLP need to form a shadow Executive. Otherwise, they face oblivion

Brian Walker on September 16, 2016, 1:50 pm

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In the tradition of political comment for decades without a government, Alex Kane’s analysis of the state of opposition at Stormont concentrates on political positioning rather than the politics of policy. He exaggerates somewhat the achievements of the two- party Executive. Foster and McGuinness have played a blinder in terms of standing together on difficult issues (look at the bringing in of Claire Sugden to Justice, the joint letter to Theresa May, the DUP’s underplaying of the McKay-Bryson story, Sinn Fein …

Brexit is not an alibi for inertia. Executive action within its own powers is needed on the economy

Brian Walker on September 15, 2016, 10:44 am

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The Executive must take action within its own powers to counteract the slowdown effect of Brexit. That’s the consensus among economic commentators. But as yet there’s little sign of that happening. The begging bowl strategy was already failing and bluster against “ austerity “ will have declining impact. And with the replacement of inclusive multi-party power sharing by a two party coalition with an opposition, there are signs that the budget process has become less transparent. According to PWC’s latest …

A time to press for Irish unity or a time to stay cool?

Brian Walker on September 14, 2016, 12:18 pm

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In contrast with Chris Donnelly’s reasoned case and the speculation that Fianna Fail may at last organise in the North, herewith Newton Emerson’s latest in the Irish Times The Troubles generation was marked by an almost total collapse in the unionist sense of Irishness, which is usually explained as a reaction to republican violence. However, I do not believe this alone can account for the extent to which I do not feel Irish in the slightest. I think it is …

Will Theresa May’s support for grammar schools help or hinder schools sharing in Northern Ireland?

Brian Walker on September 9, 2016, 12:09 pm

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Now we know why Theresa May has been so vague about Brexit. All along she has been preoccupied with – grammar schools and lifting restrictions of faith schools especially Catholic schools! Schools will be allowed to select children on the basis of ability at 14 and 16 as well as 11, Theresa May said today, as she outlined the biggest reform of the education system in 50 years. The prime minister presented her plans to allow new and expanded grammar …

“Giving meaning to Brexit”

Brian Walker on September 9, 2016, 9:34 am

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The best article I’ve read so far on the UK government’s approach to Brexit has been written by Andrew Tyrie MP, the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee for the think tank Open Europe. Problems for preserving an open border are clear if the UK leaves the customs union. But without doing so the UK cannot negotiate free trade deals with other countries. On the other hand, the analysis leaves open the possibility of an otherwise close relationship with the …

Message for the divided politicians. Read the long list. This is what really matters over Brexit.

Brian Walker on September 3, 2016, 6:53 pm

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Divisions in the Executive and the Assembly contributed to the lack of scenario planning for the referendum outcome and are inhibiting the development of a clear Brexit strategy. These are among the conclusions in a comprehensive briefing paper prepared for the Centre for Peace Building and Democracy ( chair Lord Alderdice) by Queen’s academics Professor David Phinnemore and Dr. Lee McGowan, entitled Establishing the Best Outcome for Northern Ireland. ‘Notoriously, similar strictures apply to Whitehall and Westminster, But party divisions …

David Davis’s bland assurances on an open border reveal only poverty of thinking. Where is the cunning plan?

Brian Walker on September 2, 2016, 11:34 am

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In his flying visit to Belfast yesterday, the Brexit Secretary David Davis failed to square the circle of pledging to keep an open border and controlling immigration. He seemed to equate an open border with the common travel area which of course predates EU membership. But they are not the same thing. In the old days international non-Irish immigration barely existed. The border was also a tariff wall of varying heights from 1923 onwards. While the DUP’s verdict on Arlene …

Big effort is needed to avoid polarising Brexit along Orange and Green lines

Brian Walker on September 1, 2016, 1:17 pm

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Yesterday Theresa May made it clear that while the devolved administrations will be consulted the decisions on Brexit will be taken by the UK government. The triggering of Article 50 will not require parliamentary consent and it will happen probably in January or February next year. A Norway-type deal looks ruled out because it entails free movement of people. Some immigration controls are a requirement for what Downing St is calling a “ bespoke “ solution for the UK. And …

Poor little Ireland is squeezed in the battle of the titans

Brian Walker on August 30, 2016, 1:34 pm

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The basic foundation for the Celtic Tiger and the best hope for its revival? Or a scam that makes Ireland no better than tax haven? The day of reckoning may have arrived – subject to appeal.The Commission insists that they money must be used to pay down Irish debt anyway. Ireland backs away from treating the EU Commission’s implied offer of a €13 billion windfall from Apple because of real fears that wider FDI will dry up if other foreign …

Martin McGuinness’s challenge should be accepted. Offer immunity in exchange for disclosure to those who took decisions on both sides of the long war

Brian Walker on August 29, 2016, 10:50 am

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Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt has mounted “a stinging attack” on Martin McGuinness for saying he would have “ no difficulty “ in disclosing his own role as an IRA leader in dealing with the past. An outsider would be taken aback at the vehemence of Nesbitt’s reaction. On the face of it, McGuinness’s offer sound interesting if not original, particularly with regard to timing. Is something stirring over dealing with the past as outlined in the abortive Stormont House …

Former top civil servant O’Donnell has a viable vision of Remain

Brian Walker on August 27, 2016, 10:54 am

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Former Remain supporters of the moderate tendency have gained a powerful ally in Gus O’Donnell the former UK Cabinet Secretary. The role is recognised as the fountainhead of Making It Happen in government – or explaining to ministers why it can’t happen. It’s all the more important at such a politically volatile time. In an interview with the Times (£) he gives his thoughts on referendums and the massive difficulties of disengaging from the EU ( “years and years”). He …

Theresa May must end drift on Brexit after the Bank Holiday

Brian Walker on August 26, 2016, 11:16 am

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The deeper meaning of “Brexit means Brexit” doesn’t get any easier as time goes on. Theresa May will have to clarify quickly after the Bank holiday. Arch Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith claims Article 50 will be triggered early in the New Year. “I have spoken to them and I am certain that these characters – David Davis, Liam Fox and Boris Johnson, and the prime minister by the way – are very clear that they need to get on with …

A cautious approach to the McKay affair is right. But for the sake of Executive cohesion, O Muilleoir needs to say more or stand aside.

Brian Walker on August 24, 2016, 11:19 am

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So rather than buckle down to the altogether tougher demands of trying the govern the place, the politicians are having themselves a jolly crisis. Far more fun isn’t it? And the more bizarre the better. But might there just be a chance that the Executive will in the end decide not to waste a good crisis, deal with it transparently and emerge stronger as a result? If guilt proves to be limited as is claimed, why should we all suffer? …

Revived plan to scrap the Human Rights Act adds fuel to the fires of Brexit controversy

Brian Walker on August 23, 2016, 11:13 am

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The surprising recommitment of the new UK Justice Secretary Liz Truss to a new British Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act adds a new complexity to the Brexit debate. If there are disagreements over the legitimacy of applying the Brexit referendum result to Northern Ireland and Scotland, there can be none about the central importance of the HRA to the Good Friday Agreement. Yes it’s true that the HRA is not part of the EU but EU …

Robin Chichester Clarke was the last of the gentry that treated government as part of the family business.

Brian Walker on August 22, 2016, 1:49 pm

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Robin Chichester -Clarke, the last of the old unionist gentry to hold office in either Stormont or Westminster, died a fortnight ago at home in Norfolk at the age of 88. His elder brother Jimmy, later Lord Moyola, (familiarly known as “Chi-Chi,” after a notably infertile panda) was Northern Ireland’s penultimate prime minister in the darkening years of 1969 to 1971. Their family home was the handsome Moyola Park outside Castledawson, now a golf club. They belonged to a small elite …

Why is Martin McGuinness making a stand on ” remain must remain” the obvious loser, whatever happens with Article 50?

Brian Walker on August 20, 2016, 1:14 pm

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Martin McGuinness appears to have reverted to Brexit fundamentalism in an article in the Irish Times. He describes a worst case scenario, “ the biggest constitutional crisis since partition…and insists that “Remain must mean remain.” From our perspective, what is needed now is an island-wide approach to dealing with this crisis. That is why Sinn Féin called on the Taoiseach to establish an all-Ireland forum to discuss the impact of the referendum, to develop strategies and options to ensure that …

An answer to Rentoul. Referendums like terrorism can shape events, but not always in the ways expected

Brian Walker on August 19, 2016, 6:40 pm

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Alerted by Mick on the thoughts on referendums by the Independent’s political commentator John Rentoul, I took in his part 2 “Should Referendums be banned?” This is a rhetorical question which is really in support of Rentoul’s contention that they make very little difference to the course of political events. His pieces prompted my following thoughts. Referendums like terrorism typically make considerable differences but not necessarily as intended. It is not true they never settle anything. It depends on the …

The fast sacking of Daithi McKay shows that Sinn Fein is maturing into government

Brian Walker on August 19, 2016, 12:55 pm

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There are I suppose two basic questions outstanding about the unholy alliance between the disgraced and now former Sinn Fein MLA and Finance committee chair Daithi McKay and the loyalist rascal Jamie Bryson. Who originally floated the Nama allegations which it’s suggested were accessed from an iCloud account and were not made up by Sinn Fein? Or is this a purely a pathetic piece of evasion to lessen the impact and spread the load of guilt? Secondly, was McKay acting alone with …