Soapbox – Page 16 – Slugger O'Toole

New book lifts the lid on Ian Paisley’s Committee

Soapbox on April 16, 2022, 8:00 am

| Readers 3408

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As Northern Ireland heads into an Assembly election that is surrounded by uncertainty and division, it may be informative to look back to the Assembly’s earliest days, when optimism and hopes for a new beginning were high. In my new book, I do just that. It is November 1999 and Dr Ian Paisley – despite being an outspoken critic and opponent of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement – nominates himself to be Chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s new Committee for …

Why are the SDLP doing so badly in the polls?

Soapbox on April 14, 2022, 8:19 am

| Readers 5656

Even as, for the first time, nationalism in Northern Ireland may find itself in the symbolic driving seat of the role of First Minister, the SDLP’s polling remains stagnant. The most recent Irish News/University of Liverpool poll showed the party polling at 9.9%, which would represent a new low-mark for the party in Northern Irish elections, if the results on May 5 match the poll. It also shows them significantly behind Sinn Féin, who poll at 27% and are on …

Misinformation, harms and the dangers of online censorship – join the Battle of Ideas on Saturday #imaginebelfast

Soapbox on March 24, 2022, 8:00 am

| Readers 1317

For those who harboured hopes and continue to believe that the online exchange of information and ideas could be a boost to knowledge and debate, and even fuel a more enlightened society, questions around misinformation and harm raise important questions as to how the online experience might be defended and developed – as a site of potential liberation as it was once envisaged, and hopefully still can be. Whatever your view, these issues are surely worth discussing. Which is exactly what we’ll be doing this Saturday at the Belfast Battle of Ideas.

The North finally has a Climate Act – now what?

Soapbox on March 23, 2022, 1:40 pm

| Readers 1003

Sean Fearon is a post-growth political economy researcher The passing of a Climate Act in the North comes in a month during which even the most pessimistic members of the climate science community were profoundly shaken by developments at our planet’s northern and southern poles. Temperatures in Antarctica peaked at a staggering 40 degrees above normal levels this week, in a jolting reminder of the climate and ecological crises looming over us. It’s clear then that recent, albeit modest, advances …

The UUP’s Union of the People argument is loose ground upon which nothing permanent can be built

Soapbox on March 21, 2022, 11:29 am

| Readers 5178

desert, sand, dunes

Jamie Bryson is a unionist activist, editor of Unionist Voice and head of Unionist Voice Policy Studies. He works in public relations and law. The UUP have developed a slogan they have labelled a ‘Union of People’. It is superficially attractive, but in substance is constitutionally corrosive. A Union of people (‘UoP’) is not rooted in any entrenched constitutional law, principles or values, but rather is a moveable buzz-phrase which resolves itself to taking the form of an ever-changing collection …

Is Former Comedian Zelensky is the only Serious Leader on the World Stage?

Soapbox on March 1, 2022, 11:17 am

| Readers 1761

Matt Snape is a freelance journalist who has written for the i Paper and the Metro in the UK, Italian newspaper Il Giornale and its sister publication, Inside Over, and The American Conservative. He has also worked for Blasting News and GRV Media. With British Prime Minister Boris Johnson still somewhat distracted by a ridiculous ‘partygate’ scandal, which was triggered by parties at Downing Street that broke the UK’s lockdown laws in 2020, and his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, becoming …

The Belfast Agreement is a pig in a poke. There, I have said it!

Soapbox on February 25, 2022, 3:52 pm

| Readers 3271

agree, english, consent

Seanán Ó Coistín argues that far from offering a smooth exit from the UK the pre-conditions for a referendum in Belfast Agreement make it very tough to take NI into political union with the south. And, by the way, the name of the agreement is the Belfast Agreement. It is silly for nationalists to split hairs about the name of the agreement, considering it was signed in the second-largest city in Ireland. Recently, someone upbraided me on Twitter for calling …

Commemoration: perpetually remembering while perpetually forgetting

Soapbox on February 21, 2022, 6:07 pm

| Readers 2221

It may sound counter-intuitive, but commemoration is not an exercise in remembering better, it is an exercise in forgetting. Commemoration works by removing all the complicated and contradictory aspects of the past to make a political point in the present.

Launch of Imagine! Belfast Festival 2022. Road testing new ideas…

Soapbox on February 18, 2022, 7:41 pm

| Readers 571

The Imagine! Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics returns for its 8th annual outing next month with another huge range of events involving keynotes such as Michael Ignatieff, Tom Robinson, Kit de Waal, Michael Longley and a host of exciting arts and cultural events. Taking place during 21-27 March, the strictly non-partisan festival offers up an eclectic week of talks, workshops, theatre, comedy, music, exhibitions, film and tours and with over 150 in-person and live events, there’s bound to be something of interest …

Time for all main parties to show their true selves and support the Integrated Education Bill…

Soapbox on February 17, 2022, 2:14 pm

| Readers 2112

change, new, transformation

Noreen Campbell was a senior member of the pioneering staff team which initiated Hazelwood Integrated College in North Belfast. She has since retired as principle and as CEO of Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE). As our legislative system grinds to a halt, great efforts are being expended to ‘kill’ the Integrated Education Bill brought forward by Kellie Armstrong of Alliance. This modest bill would rectify the long -standing inequality faced by integrated schools through placing an obligation on government to support …

Will we answer Maggie’s Call?

Soapbox on February 16, 2022, 3:35 pm

| Readers 2626

Andrew Clarke is a DUP Councillor in Mid and East Antrim. Maggie Black died on 1st December 2021. Maggie was just five years old, and her sudden passing shocked the entire community around Glenarm. Shocking too, is this statistic: while the ambulance took 70 minutes to arrive, the local fire station was only seven minutes away. In medical emergencies speed is of the essence. For cardiac or oxygen incidents, each minute can make a crucial difference to survival, and to …

All eyes on South Down for the DUP but the Lagan Valley dilemma remains

Soapbox on January 30, 2022, 4:06 pm

| Readers 3911

Dr. Clare Rice is a Research Associate at the University of Liverpool South Down is a constituency that doesn’t often attract much attention when it comes to elections. A predominantly nationalist constituency, and a long-term safe Westminster seat for the SDLP, it turned a different shade of green in the 2017 election with the election of Sinn Féin’s Chris Hazzard as MP. It is a large constituency, spanning from Downpatrick to Rathfriland, Drumaness to Warrenpoint, and even includes part of …

It’s time for Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) reform

Soapbox on January 28, 2022, 11:43 am

| Readers 1103

Rachel Woods is the Green Party MLA for North Down There has been much discussion over the last few days about attitudes that people hold and have held, in our society, and rightly so. But it’s not a new conversation – it has been had for years, if not decades. It’s not just adults reflecting on the ‘mixed bag’ of RSE provision in our school life. Our young people are telling us that RSE isn’t sufficient. Research by Belfast Youth …

100 Years – a Series of Unfortunate Events…

Soapbox on January 24, 2022, 11:41 am

| Readers 6071

silent valley, ireland, uk

By Arnold Carton. I am from the unionist community & I recently retired from my job as a secondary school teacher in the controlled (state) sector. The first 100 years of N. Ireland is over; the centenary was a disappointment, with neither unionists nor nationalists satisfied and in truth, most people being indifferent. As is usual here, both communities blame the other side; nationalists feel we unionists did not sufficiently acknowledge the pain of partition (and I have some sympathy …

A Wonderful Wander Through Belfast

Soapbox on January 23, 2022, 8:00 am

| Readers 1846

Belfast’s tenth annual 4 Corners Festival (30 January-6 February), begins in a week’s time. One of the aims of the inter-church festival is to inspire people to visit and explore all four corners of the city, especially areas they have not ventured before. The festival’s popular ‘Wonderful Wander’, which takes place this year on 5 February, is a guided walk that encourages people to see Belfast in a new light. Caroline Clarke from Belfast shares her experiences of last year’s …

A new constitution for a reunified Ireland? It already exists (more or less)…

Soapbox on January 20, 2022, 12:52 pm

| Readers 5241

ireland, sea, ocean

Stephen Stewart is a Faulknerite unionist currently living in exile from Norn Iron and proudly an analogue person in a digital age. “Ireland is too small to be divided forever. Reunification is inevitable. It won’t be in my lifetime but it will happen” Sir James Craig to a senior Irish civil servant in 1938. Since the political hand-grenade that is Brexit was set off nearly five years ago, there’s been a lot of debate in Northern Irish nationalist circles about a …

The Belfast Agreement (well, the St Andrews Agreement) is close to breaking down…

Soapbox on January 19, 2022, 7:18 am

| Readers 6348

David Ford is a past leader of the Alliance Party. Here he lays out a number of scenarios which could arise in this year’s Assembly elections which suggest that the “ugly scaffolding” of St Andrews is getting close to a final nervous breakdown. Cast your mind forward three months or so. Forget about the Protocol, Article 16, collapsing the institutions. It is the afternoon of Saturday 7 May 2022. Across a few constituencies the final seats in #AE22 have still …

What is Plan B in the event of the collapse of government in Northern Ireland?

Soapbox on January 15, 2022, 10:49 am

| Readers 3139

time, plan b, alternative

Dympna McGlade is a Slugger reader from Glengormley As we enter 2022, the threats to collapse the Northern Ireland Government leaves us with uncertainty about the future. We may have differing views about the whys and wherefores of this action, and we can only guess at what governance arrangements will be set in place in the event of it happening. The one common denominator in this scenario is that we have been here before – five times before! The last …

In our democracy recourse to the law exists to afford protection of its citizens (and the Belfast Agreement)

Soapbox on January 14, 2022, 3:00 pm

| Readers 4477

legal, illegal, choose

Jamie Bryson is editor of UnionistVoice.com and head of law and public policy research within Unionist Voice Policy Studies. Here he takes on Brian Walker’s assertion that he’s agitating but trying to protect the consent principle in the GFA. In a recent article on Slugger, Brian Walker referred to me- in the context of the legal case brought against DAERA regarding the implementation of the Protocol- as an “agitator” and informed readers I had “incited” Edwin Poots. In the first …