Soapbox

How the big UK parties utilise technology for canvassing & voter management…

Soapbox on November 24, 2016, 5:27 pm

| Readers 550

UK political parties and constituencies are going through a period of ‘change-and-upgrade’ in relation to their campaign practices and constituency management. Ever since social media became a must-have for politicians there has been a pressure to manage their public life through digital means. In most respects, the US still leads the way in this type of engagement and there, politicians have now moved to digital organising to manage everything from volunteers to canvassing to donations. Even though politics is different …

Building Peace – Twenty Years On

Soapbox on November 14, 2016, 12:57 pm

| Readers 313

The recent visit by Juan Manuel Santos, the President of Colombia, to Belfast served to highlight the status that the Northern Ireland peace process has among those working to end conflicts around the world, while the narrow rejection of the Colombian peace agreement in the referendum on October 2 evidenced the difficulties in bringing a sustained violent conflict to an end. The Colombian President cited the ‘perseverance and tenacity’ of those involved in peacebuilding in Northern Ireland in ending a …

Re-member this Remembrance Sunday…

Soapbox on November 13, 2016, 7:00 am

| Readers 846

We’re coming to the time of year now when we hear a lot about the issue of remembering. 11th November just past was Armistice Day, the date in 1918 when the First World War came to an end. Many will have observed a minute of silence at 11 a.m. in honour of this anniversary. This, of course, is followed by Remembrance Sunday when many people will gather in villages, towns and cities to remember and commemorate those who died in …

Real politics prefers a health service Status Quo…

Soapbox on November 7, 2016, 11:49 am

| Readers 455

The media hype on our latest could-do-better Health Service report Systems not Structures: Changing Health and Social Care, was more positive than I expected. BBC wheeled out the usual pundits. John Compton welcomed the report saying it was good to say things over and over again until the public finally heard the message. Dr George O’Neill was unusually positive but that seems to be because his Accountable Care System (ACS) approach got a good airing. At least George understands …

90% of the individuals admitted to PSNI custody suites have mental health problems

Soapbox on November 4, 2016, 8:51 am

| Readers 759

An eye-popping statistic emerged during the PSNI 15 Years On conference this week. While reflecting on the complex web of causal factors surrounding crime we learnt that ninety percent of the individuals admitted to PSNI custody suites had mental health problems. Ninety percent. Many had self harmed, some were at risk of suicide. This raises the question -is the custody suite the correct place in which to detain these people? Would an acute mental health assessment unit not be a …

Logan ‘A company should be able to endorse views they wish to endorse’

Soapbox on November 3, 2016, 1:36 pm

| Readers 1591

Phillip Logan is a DUP MLA for North Antrim The Ashers case has attracted interest from all over the globe. It’s unlikely that you will find a neutral individual when it comes to this case – most people have an opinion on the injustice or the discrimination or even the disbelief that a cake has caused such a stir. The truth is that this ruling has polarised people but it shouldn’t, it should unite us, because this ruling has implication …

Soapbox – Is the same-old same-old is going to put us in more bother than usual?

Soapbox on October 29, 2016, 9:00 am

| Readers 1326

MANY MONTHS AGO, Peter Robinson stepped down, his place taken by Arlene Foster. Thus, the Big House of unionism put their PR machine into overdrive to figure out how to make people vote for them, and came up with the idea of making Arlene look all progressive and friendly and able to take Northern Ireland forward … but without a single new policy to back any of the rhetoric up. That, of course, wasn’t enough.

Foster: Onward to the summit

Soapbox on October 29, 2016, 8:50 am

| Readers 1195

Today Arlene Foster will speak to the DUP conference for the first time as party leader. Writing for Slugger she outlines her vision and plan for the next mandate of government Detail is important. For someone from a legal background like myself this is a given. Within the DUP Conference programme, there are details that are important to me and the direction I have set for my party and for Northern Ireland. In the conference booklet I make the statement …

‘Reprobate Theology’: The Divinity and the Depravity of the US Presidential Campaign…

Soapbox on October 16, 2016, 7:10 am

| Readers 1179

(Hilary Clinton) is an abject, psychopathic demon from Hell that as soon as she gets into power is going to try to destroy the planet.

I’m sure of that, and people around her say she’s so dark now, and so evil, and so possessed that they are having nightmares, they’re freaking out.

Mr Trump: What you are talking about is assault, it is a crime, and it is not okay.

Soapbox on October 9, 2016, 7:36 pm

| Readers 1074

It’s no secret that Trump is fond of using shocking language when talking about women. Between saying about his daughter “If Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.” And bragging – which he is remarkably good at doing – that “All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.” I was beginning to think that nothing Trump said could shock me. Last week, however, a recording has emerged that …

Abandoned by tourists Istanbul is a shadow of its former glory…

Soapbox on October 8, 2016, 7:35 am

| Readers 1588

I first visited Istanbul on a four-day business trip in 2002 and was so impressed I have returned many times since; on business and for holiday. Recently, I returned from my ninth visit with disappointment at the changes. Istanbul in September 2016 is a very different city to the one I had fallen for yet I hope and believe that it will ride out the current challenges and renew the vibrancy and energy of this beautiful historic city. On the …

For Northern Ireland to continue to fight racism we need leadership from right across society…

Soapbox on October 7, 2016, 11:04 am

| Readers 809

Issues around race and immigration are making headlines in Northern Ireland and across the UK. Of course, this is nothing new, it has often been alleged that Northern Ireland stands out as a racist society. The question we face is whether this is fair comment or an exaggeration of the truth? The answer, to me at least, is that, though the great majority of people here are repulsed by racist attacks, we are a society wherein there are fault-lines of …

Respect our culture…

Soapbox on September 19, 2016, 7:19 am

| Readers 1982

I for one can’t help but feel immensely proud of Belfast when tens of thousands of us can join together to celebrate culture in a way which doesn’t involve some kind of reference to warfare or create a huge police overtime bill.

[FILM] GrassRoots: The Cannabis Revolution…

Soapbox on September 14, 2016, 2:38 pm

| Readers 522

Cannabis is a divisive topic wherever you live. I live in Norwich, in the east of England, yet I am as attached to the issue as someone with a severe chronic illness in Brighton, or London, or Belfast is. This is because I have made a feature length documentary about this very issue. To expand: it is about the largely beneficial effect that cannabis has on people with chronic illnesses. Those who feel the war on drugs has prohibited their …

SOAPBOX – Bosnia-Herzegovina and the importance of accountable structures that deliver

Soapbox on August 27, 2016, 2:08 pm

| Readers 496

SOAPBOX – CRC’s Peter Osborne reflects on a recent visit to Bosnia-Herzegovina 21 years after the end of their conflict. He asks whether the international community will let Bosnia-Herzegovina down again as it continues to come to terms with its divisions and competing identities.

SOAPBOX: Digital Government – Not Just For Geeks and Gurus…

Soapbox on August 26, 2016, 9:00 am

| Readers 382

SOAPBOX – GovCampConnect in September will explore how government and society can do digital better. The scenic Narrow Water Castle venue is deliberately halfway between Belfast and Dublin.

Refugees Welcome service launches in NI

Soapbox on August 16, 2016, 9:30 am

| Readers 1227

SOAPBOX Máirín Murray introduces Refugees Welcome NI which matches offers of accommodation in people’s homes with refugees who need somewhere to live. Could you help with accommodation or by joining the team?

David Cameron and the problem of setting real political choices

Soapbox on August 4, 2016, 10:04 am

| Readers 1175

David Cameron’s referendums were regarded as reflections of ‘the will of the people’. But is that true? Here Peter Emerson of the de Borda Insitute questions that assumption then proposes a better methodology. 2011 Referendum on the Electoral System. Cameron’s first problem? “Those damned Lib-Dems and the voting system!” Hence the first ‘which’, to silence dissent in the coalition cabinet. Many people wanted proportional representation, pr, either pr-list as in Denmark, the Irish pr-single transferable vote, pr-stv, or whatever. …

An insider’s view of the latest problems with the Belfast Ambulance service

Soapbox on July 11, 2016, 10:25 am

| Readers 2981

With the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) in the news once again, I wanted to take this opportunity to provide some insight into the ongoing internal problems within the service. This time the spotlight has been shone on staffing shortages after it was revealed that 25 shifts lay vacant last Saturday night, the equivalent of 12 ambulances unavailable to respond to emergencies. Given that there are usually around 55 ambulances to cover the whole country this represents a significant reduction …