Stormont House Agreement – Slugger O'Toole

Politicians feel threatened by the prospect of a civic voice, argues Robin Eames

Paul Gosling on July 22, 2019, 10:00 am | Readers 1521

Politicians in Northern Ireland feel threatened by the concept of a strong civic society, but we should pursue the ambition of creating a ‘People’s Assembly’, argues Lord Robin Eames, the former Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland. Robin was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. “We’re at a very delicate stage where our society is beginning to learn that the party politic regime doesn’t necessarily reflect their deepest concerns,” he says. “I’m talking about …

New way of consulting with civic society is part of the talks negotiations, discloses Naomi Long

Paul Gosling on July 1, 2019, 8:00 am | Readers 939

Creating a new mechanism for consulting with civic society is part of the talks negotiations aimed at getting Stormont back, Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has disclosed. Naomi is a newly elected MEP, former MP and has just resigned her role as an MLA. She was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. “We need to find a role for engaging with civil society,” suggests Naomi. “I think there is a lot of good work that goes on in our …

“A leadership vacuum” that must be filled

Paul Gosling on May 10, 2019, 7:00 am | Readers 636

A leadership vacuum is causing harm across Northern Ireland, including in loyalist areas, and contributes to the lure of paramilitaries, warns victims’ campaigner Alan McBride in the latest Forward Together podcast. “I think we probably need to put a lot of investment into areas like East Belfast and the Shankill and other areas to try and improve the leadership potential,” he argues. Alan adds: “As a grassroots working class Protestant loyalist myself, I have a real feel for that community. …

The revival of dynamic British- Irish solidarity is essential for rescuing the politics of Northern Ireland

Brian Walker on May 1, 2019, 8:54 pm | Readers 1328

Perhaps the murder of a model for her generation will produce a paradigm shift in politics. Perhaps they’ll seize the emotion of the moment and strike a deal. Had it not been for Lyra’s murder, the review of the GFA institutions would have been perfunctory. Active British government involvement in the government of Northern Ireland had virtually ceased. British- Irish relations were in cold storage over Brexit. Vote harvesting is the season’s preoccupation as far as the eye can see, …

Kingsmill, Loughinisland, Stakeknife. New disclosure on collusion has begun that the State can’t control and must answer. The time has come for proper explanations

Brian Walker on June 11, 2016, 7:51 pm | Readers 1941

Hints are constantly being dropped that the Executive are close to agreement about setting up the new institutions to deal with the past, basically as laid out in the Haass report two years ago. After last week, it can’t come quick enough. A draft Bill to set up new legacy bodies is ready and waiting. A flood of consequences emerged from some of the worst incidents of the Troubles, lining up to be tackled. 70 murders connected to Loughinisland. …

Follow The Money: New Welfare Money a “sleight of hand”?

David McCann on November 24, 2015, 10:45 am | Readers 790

SHOW ME THE MONEY: This story from John Manley in the Irish News caught my eye today, who writes about an assembly question submitted by the Green party MLA, Steven Agnew on where the new money to mitigate welfare reductions is coming from.

Stormont House: A Progressive Unionist Alternative

Soapbox on November 23, 2015, 6:31 pm | Readers 1117

PROGRESSIVE ALTERNATIVE: Lowering Corporation Tax is not the magic wand which many believe it to be, argues PUP Cllr Julie Anne Corr-Jonnson. How many will invest the tax cut in nice holidays and better cars as opposed to the creation of new jobs? There are no sanctions, no prohibitions and no guarantees.

Just who has the powers over Welfare in Northern Ireland?

David McCann on November 23, 2015, 11:13 am | Readers 940

WHO HAS THE POWER? We all got a bit distracted over the resignation of Peter Robinson as DUP leader, but until we get announcement of a new First Minister and party leader, it’s back to the main issues at hand.

Is it time to reduce the number of our MLAs?

David McCann on November 22, 2015, 11:20 pm | Readers 1452

CUTTING THE MLAS: Tomorrow the Assembly will debate this motion brought forward by the Alliance party. The party claims that if this measure is introduced by the next election that it could see a saving of £11 million over the course of the next assembly term.

A Fresh Start: How does it add up?

David McCann on November 17, 2015, 10:49 pm | Readers 1769

MONEY GAME: Most of the new money is dedicated to issues that are Northern Ireland specific.
A total of £188m will be made available for security-related spending. The PSNI will get an unconditional £160m over the next five years to tackle dissident republicans and other paramilitaries.

A Deal Today?

David McCann on November 17, 2015, 10:42 am | Readers 1876

This in from the BBC Political Editor, Mark Devenport hints that we may have a deal but not as comprehensive as some might like; Expectation that politicians may press ahead without resolving legacy issues and welfare cld be dealt with Westminster leg consent motion — Mark Devenport (@markdevenport) November 17, 2015 The SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood had this to say about a possible deal today The SDLP has a high standard for any outcome in this process. After so much …

Northern Ireland’s games of simultaneous political chess continue …

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on August 7, 2015, 11:14 am | Readers 1052

Even with a budgetary crisis looming over the Stormont institutions, other threads are still being woven into the political narrative. To switch metaphors, it’s like three games of chess being played simultaneously: one short-term game against the clock, another medium-term, and a long-term strategy being played out on a third board. So in the last week I’ve heard: Gerry Kelly challenge my defeatist attitude around the inevitability of welfare cuts if the Executive collapses (and the locally-tempered reforms are lost …

The welfare crisis deepens. The DUP are making common cause with Sinn Fein over George Osborne’s cuts

Brian Walker on July 21, 2015, 11:43 am | Readers 2183

The Guardian’s Politics Live feature reports an analysis of the impact of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on the working poor. Read across locally, it has the effect of adding the DUP’s opposition to the UK’s government’s budget strategy to Sinn Fein’s, albeit on more limited grounds. The analysis was made by the highly reputable, unbiased House of Commons library and commissioned by Frank Field, the veteran free thinking Labour MP who is a leading authority on welfare and social policy. …

Theresa Villiers is a semi-detached secretary of state. She needs to focus up, or go.

Brian Walker on July 16, 2015, 11:54 am | Readers 2292

Mick’s post brings out the striking ontrast between this debate in the Dail and how Westminster is currently dealing with Northern Ireland. There is a powerful irony that Dublin is far more interested in our affairs than London, even though London as the paymasters has the overwhelming responsibility. In NI questions on the same day,Theresa Villiers limited herself to a fatalistic statement of the position on deadlock. Although she has met the parties there have been no serious attempts at …

Political leadership shouldn’t resort to the handbrake every time the speed of the car needs to be corrected

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on July 14, 2015, 5:44 pm | Readers 783

One difficulty with political negotiations in Northern Ireland is the need to negotiate in multiple planes. Firstly there has to be give and take between the DUP and Sinn Féin. Then while delicately balancing this agreed framework, equilibrium has to be maintained while the three smaller parties – SDLP, UUP and Alliance – are given their opportunity to shake the scaffolding and bolt on some of their own tweaks and issues. After the DUP and Sinn Féin had reached an …

What Austerity is what it isn’t (and, really how not to haggle)…

Mick Fealty on July 10, 2015, 2:33 pm | Readers 727

Now, notwithstanding the sage advice of Chris Dillow that “understanding support for austerity requires not an economist but a psychologist”, here’s Newton Emerson to duly report that whatever Northern Ireland is suffering, it sure ain’t austerity: HNIW9 from The Detail on Vimeo. There’s the narrow case that Newton makes here, but to that you can add the fact that the Treasury has been quietly doing what Greece has been requesting which is quietly restructuring Northern Ireland’s debt to release up …

Let us move past the age of ‘Stormont Shambles’ and work for an Official Opposition…

Soapbox on July 2, 2015, 8:42 am | Readers 1517

From Andrew Wooster, Deputy Chair of QUB Conservative Future… I recall reading the Stormont House Agreement on the 23 December 2014, and albeit a scepticism on Stormont’s ability to deliver, there was a feeling of genuine hope after the inclusion of a proposal for an Official Opposition. Since I have become politically minded, I have supported the introduction of such a structure to enable Stormont to work as a truly democratic system. The proposal was found in Article 29 of the …

“A Battle A Day” Is Creating A Political Wasteland

Gerry Lynch on June 3, 2015, 12:48 pm | Readers 2093

“It will always be a battle a day between those who want maximum change and those who want to maintain the status quo”. Recognise the quote? It came from Gerry Adams’ speech calling for the IRA to permanently abandon violence in 2005. Just a few days before the 2007 Assembly Elections that restored devolved government, Peter Robinson concurred with Adams’ assessment in a BBC Radio Ulster interview. Asked whether a government jointly led by his party and Gerry Adams’ could …

Truth or Consequences: the potential impact of un-devolving welfare

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on May 27, 2015, 12:29 am | Readers 4640

One of the more idiosyncratic aspects of life in Northern Ireland is that the sort of constitutional crisis that would leave most countries in a spate of ear-to-the-radio, markets-tumbling panic, barely passes as newsworthy. The threat of dissolution of the Assembly and the end of the power-sharing Executive is regarded with the same complete lack of interest that, say, Louis Walsh threatening to leave the X Factor again might be. Indeed, such is the widely perceived ineptitude of the devolved …

Not all the zombies are politicians. This is also civil society’s failure

Brian Walker on May 26, 2015, 11:49 am | Readers 2737

Not so long ago, Northern Ireland politics were conducted in a seething cauldron. Today they’re in zombieland. Nobody seems to know what sort of situation is facing Northern Ireland in the forthcoming days, weeks and months. Your starter for 10. Is it bailout, surrender or just staggering on? At home, nobody can be bothered even to do an informed analysis of the costs of continuing denial. Malachi, like myself no economist, is no better informed but is properly uneasy . In …