Soapbox – Page 19 – Slugger O'Toole

Soapbox: Could our future lie in a Celtonian confederation?

Soapbox on April 13, 2021, 11:15 am

| Readers 4052

Dorcha Lee is a retired Irish Army Colonel, defence analyst, op ed writer and international election observer. He offers a thought experiment. What if Northern Ireland opted for Independence and moved towards a wider confederation? The official opening of the Celtonian Bridge over the North Channel, on the 12 July 2069, captured the imagination of millions of Celtonians, and easily eclipsed the centenary of the Moon Landing. The new double decker bridge carried the high speed rail link connecting Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, …

Space to Police

Soapbox on April 2, 2021, 1:30 pm

| Readers 5349

Simon Byrne is the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Today he writes for Slugger about the policing challenges during the COVID 19 pandemic 2021 is a defining year for policing. The Police Service of Northern Ireland will have been around for two decades. The world around us has changed so much in those 20 years and whilst new opportunities and issues have emerged, the challenges of the past still remain very much in the present for …

There is an appetite for change. The current context provides the opportunity to do just that.

Soapbox on March 26, 2021, 10:10 am

| Readers 955

Jennifer Wallace (Head of Policy, Carnegie UK Trust) and Hannah Ormston (Policy and Development Officer, Carnegie UK Trust). With the consultation on a new Programme for Government now closed, the Carnegie UK Trust discusses what’s next for how the Executive reflects and responds to the consultation submissions and the broader need to place wellbeing at the centre of public policy and services The Carnegie UK Trust welcomes the focus on societal wellbeing in the new draft Programme for Government Outcomes …

The case for a Climate Change Bill.

Soapbox on March 25, 2021, 9:20 am

| Readers 491

Ian Humphreys is the Chief Executive of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful Climate change is a global challenge, that demands a global response. When we are faced with such a huge problem, that is vast in its complexity and contains many different required responses, it can, for a small population like Northern Ireland, feel like the cost of inaction is relatively small. However, in this piece I want to outline why we cannot wait to act and why having a local …

Making Universal Basic Income a reality in Northern Ireland…

Soapbox on March 22, 2021, 11:45 am

| Readers 2259

Universal Basic Income (UBI) has come to the forefront of mainstream political and economic debate over the last year as the coronavirus pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the economic precarity faced by so many in society. A UBI would pay every individual enough money to live on with no strings attached, regardless of their income or circumstances. It would not be means-tested or taxed and would be paid directly into each person’s bank account every month. At the height of …

A reminder to drivers and cyclists to share the road…

Soapbox on March 16, 2021, 8:00 am

| Readers 797

Philip O’Neill is a Civil Servant from Belfast and a keen amateur cyclist. Spring has sprung early and is most welcome following a very challenging winter for us all. Along with daffodils, lambs and brighter nights, we now see middle-aged men oiling their chains, pumping their tyres, checking their brakes and seeing if the lycra still fits. As someone who cycles it has to be recognised that there are significant health benefits, not just physical health but getting out into …

SOAPBOX: Shared history and an inclusive look at the Centenary

Soapbox on March 12, 2021, 8:45 am

| Readers 3703

Paul Mullan is the Northern Ireland director at The National Lottery Heritage Fund. 100 years ago this year the partition of Ireland created two new states on this island, and with that the United Kingdom as we know it today was established. For some this represents an event that should be celebrated, while for others it represents something quite different, a sense of loss and discomfort. It is often said about Northern Ireland that we share a past but not …

Stormont’s economic forecasts and the 2022 Assembly election provide the opportunity for a different approach.

Soapbox on March 3, 2021, 8:14 pm

| Readers 2852

By Philip Wilson Amid the furore of recent weeks, a recent Finance Committee slipped under the radar with some interesting facts about the future of Northern Ireland’s economy. Stormont’s financial settlement for this financial year is something of an aberration as overall expenditure has risen from last year’s £24 million to £28 million for this year. Much of this must be credited to the willingness of the Treasury and Bank of England to go above and beyond in their COVID-related …

Ireland’s Future-Changing Narratives and Changing Language

Soapbox on February 25, 2021, 6:15 pm

| Readers 3796

Gerry Carlile is the CEO of Ireland’s Future The labelling of people ‘Green’ and ‘Orange’ to describe their political outlook is becoming increasingly dated. In fact, the laziness inherent in those labels are patronising and offensive. The peace process signalled an end to such broad sweeping and blunt labels to describe an increasingly complex and nuanced spectrum of political views across the north. Even a cursory analysis of those who use these descriptors reveal a certain brand of intellectual and …

Moderate Irish Nationalism is talking at Unionists, not with Unionists, and that will set us all back.

Soapbox on February 11, 2021, 8:46 pm

| Readers 6068

Philip Wilson is a Belfast-based writer who is involved in Northern Irish politics. He has a Master’s in Politics from King’s College London When Irish Nationalists like Simon Coveney and Matthew O’Toole suggest that Brexit, and not the protocol, is the problem, they deny Unionists their full place in the United Kingdom and implicitly dilute the vote of Unionists as full citizens of the UK. In no sense can this be interpreted as in the spirit of the Belfast/Good Friday …

Loyalist Women’s Engagement Survey: Part One

Soapbox on January 18, 2021, 12:00 pm

| Readers 1570

Her Loyal Voice is a blog which gives a voice to loyalist women. This is Part 1 of a series exploring the findings of their recent Loyalist Women’s Engagement Survey. What becometh a woman best, and first of all? Silence. What second? Silence. What third? Silence. What fourth? Silence. Yea, if a man should aske me till Domes daie I would still crie silence, silence. —Thomas Wilson, The Arte of Rhetorique, 1560 The silence of women’s voices endures today. Her Loyal …

The public sector is vital to N Ireland, but it needs new blood and added vibrancy…

Soapbox on December 31, 2020, 10:32 am

| Readers 4263

I have a strange feeling as I come to the end of 40 years working in the public sector and the uncertainty that a pension and life without institutionalised working will bring. Although being in the public sector, my pension could be much worse and will it be index-linked. This will also prove my dear mother right 40 years ago in telling me that getting a job in the Civil Service will set me up for a great pension. As …

Why I think Northern Ireland will still be part of the Union in another 100 years time…

Soapbox on December 23, 2020, 1:39 pm

| Readers 9371

Alex Easton is one of two DUP MLAs currently representing North Down. Here he lays out what he thinks the current strength of the case for retaining the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and why Northern Ireland needs more optimistic engagement with the future. Being passionate about the Union and never having done a piece for Slugger O’Toole before, I am hoping that those who oppose the Union will not be too hard on me for my first …

Common History, Uncommon Remembrance

Soapbox on December 18, 2020, 5:54 pm

| Readers 1794

Peter Sheridan is the CEO of Cooperation Ireland The tangled events of 100 years ago are integral to the history that has shaped our peoples in all their distinctiveness. How we recall and understand these events will continue to shape us and the choices we make into the future. Co-operation Ireland exists to promote reconciliation and to strengthen and deepen relationships on this island and between these islands. Three relationships are important to us. The north south relationship, the internal …

Why we are where we are with our high Covid-19 rates…

Soapbox on December 17, 2020, 5:29 pm

| Readers 3272

Dr Claire Donnelly is a consultant physician with expertise in infectious diseases and an MSc in epidemiology I want to try to explain from an epidemiological perspective how NI is approaching a cliff-face with Covid 19. Professor Devi Sridhar has used the analogy of boiling milk to explain this very well. Initially, it starts to boil slowly and it seems like nothing much is happening. As you get closer to the boiling point, if you take your eye off the …

Is civil disobedience an effective means of achieving political gain?

Soapbox on December 16, 2020, 1:44 pm

| Readers 1560

Julie Ann Corr-Johnson is a former Belfast City Councillor and now a Commentator. When I think of civil disobedience I think of occupation: sit down strikes in civic buildings, public and symbolic places and the blocking of critical infrastructure such as train stations, airports and ports. Examples of somewhat effective social and political movements agitating for change are dotted throughout our global history. The Glasgow Rent Strike for example. When during the First World War landlords sought to capitalise on …

How can we all be fact checkers in a pandemic?

Soapbox on December 16, 2020, 8:30 am

| Readers 616

You can play your part and think more critically about the information that is being fired at us all. Organisations can book a free online interactive training session with FactCheckNI on fact checking, where we explore: what is fact checking; why is it important; how can you do it yourself; and examine some of the tools you can use to make sure what you’re sharing both online and in your real life is accurate.

Growing up in Northern Ireland – An Odyssey…

Soapbox on December 6, 2020, 9:13 am

| Readers 4264

Sixty odd years gone and there’s still life (I think) in this old dog. It was great to sing “When I’m sixty four” at the time, now I’m looking forward to “Never thought I’d live to be a 100” by good old prog rockers The Moody Blues. However in this article I’m going to look back. When was I first aware of “themmuns”? Sometime I think between 7 and 10. I remember thinking “Catholics are somehow different and are sort …

Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival, 7th – 11th December 2020…

Soapbox on December 3, 2020, 12:07 pm

| Readers 598

The festival will run from the 7th-11th December and continues to offer a wide variety of more than 30 free online events and on-demand content focussed on aspects of human rights from home and abroad. 2020 has been an unbelievably challenging year for everyone across the world. The Covid-19 global pandemic has created a massive public health emergency, extensive loss of life and has also exposed and deepened many inequalities in our society. Rights continue to connect us and to …

The mechanics of a unification referendum need attention

Soapbox on November 27, 2020, 8:00 am

| Readers 4452

Dr Alan Renwick is Chair of the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland. He is Deputy Director of the Constitution Unit at University College London, and an expert on referendums around the world. An independent group of academics has just published a report on how any future referendums on the question of Irish unification would best be designed and conducted. The group, which I chair, has no view on whether such referendums – or unification itself …