“Nixon goes to China” is the right example to follow for Brexit. The Tories may know it already

63 Comments | Readers 1102

Nixon goes to China Talking of the wisdom of US presidents… rivalling Trump’s lunatic assumption that our border problem is like his Mexican wall, the conservative right persists in believing that the future of the UK lies in a free trade agreement under WTO rules reached by the end of October. Steve Baker, the deputy chair of the ERG  has produced a plan called A Clean Managed Brexit which relies on negotiating a free trade agreement  “but with practical contingency … Read more

Unionists and nationalists must more bravely address what we’re becoming (not just what we’ve been)…

137 Comments | Readers 2643

Good back and forth on Nolan with Alex Kane over atmosphere around talks which I reckon will eventually prove fruitful. Notwithstanding Peter’s useful warning against reading too much into the Alliance party’s recent success: the DUP and SF do have a shared problem.   The collective over playing of the constitutional card has seen a rebound which, as Matt O’Toole observes in today’s Irish Times simply resumes an established long term pattern: …unionist parties have not won an overall majority … Read more

Has a human rights culture gone too far? The subject of this year’s BBC Reith Lectures

41 Comments | Readers 1356

Lord Sumption On what authority do we create “a rights based society”?  Is everything we call rights, actually rights or just preferences? Who arbitrates between competing rights? In what way are rights superior to ordinary law?  These are basic questions which lie behind the  claim often made in Northern Ireland that all rights are beyond legitimate dispute.  They also  lie at the heart of this year’s series of BBC Reith Lectures being given by Jonathan Sumption,  a recently retired  Supreme … Read more

A rights based society? How the UK Home Office is plummeting us into a rights disaster

187 Comments | Readers 2877

When did it become acceptable for a government to disregard its duty of care to its citizens? When did the every day abuse of power become normal? We have a government department that is often described as being “a law unto itself” and that is tolerated. Either through apathy, ignorance or acceptance. The “hostile environment” is well publicised, the staggering incompetence documented and regularly reported on. Yet instead of reform or a roll back we are seeing an expansion of … Read more

Tory leadership candidates are still playing party games over Brexit and the border

60 Comments | Readers 2903

Tory leadership contenders are still tying themselves in knots over Deal or No Deal and Brexit and the border. The latest is Home Secretary Sajid Javid on the Marr show.  Sucking up to the Brexit militants of the party rank and file he would Leave on October 31 – no question –  except  – “I’m not a dictator I believe in parliamentary democracy” (phew what a relief !) .i.e. the Commons would stop him if he tried, but he doesn’t … Read more

Could Sinn Féin’s adversity be an opportunity to rediscover the heart and soul of the Belfast Agreement?

165 Comments | Readers 3855

It could hardly be a more inauspicious moment to see a range of pressures conspire to force Northern Ireland’s politicians to sit at a negotiating table in order to resurrect the institutions of the Belfast Agreement (aka, the Good Friday Agreement). The preferred use of the name of a religious festival as a proxy for its official name belies the fact that the lead nationalist party has more often been in breach of that Agreement than the lead unionist party … Read more

Seamus Mallon knows the cost of war and the importance of peace, we’d be foolish to dismiss his words.

80 Comments | Readers 1768

Seamus Mallon’s new book, which is part-memoir, part-manifesto, is flawed in many ways – but it stands out for being one of the few texts which offers a coherent vision for the future of politics in Ireland.  There has been a lot of backslapping in Irish politics over the last 10 years. We’re nearly at the end of our ‘Decade of Centenaries’ – commemorating  just about every societal shift on this island 100 years ago – and even now it … Read more

‘Citizens’ Assembly could help progress with health reform’, suggests Simon Hamilton

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The adoption of a citizens’ assembly could assist with making progress with reform of the health service in Northern Ireland, says Simon Hamilton – a DUP MLA and former health and finance minister.  He was interviewed in the latest ‘Forward Together’ podcast. Speaking about the use of citizens’ assemblies in the Republic of Ireland, Simon explains: “They shouldn’t be dismissed instantly just because you didn’t like what some other jurisdiction was doing with them.”  He adds: “I know from my … Read more

General election seat forecasts are no longer useful

39 Comments | Readers 2362

For much of the last century, general elections in Great Britain have been largely predictable affairs. Aside from the odd Liberal, SNP and Plaid Cymru MP returned here and there, Westminster elections were a battle between Labour and the Conservatives. The relationship between the opinion polls and election results was straightforward; most constituencies were either safe Labour or Tory seats, and it was well established that a few points gained or lost in the opinion polls could predict the winner … Read more

Cracking the deadlock over an Irish language Act will test whether a new political order is emerging

374 Comments | Readers 4032

If a Tele article by Nelson Mc Causland and Newsletter reports are anything to go by, agreement on an Irish Language Act and therefore the return of Stormont are as far away as ever. The problem remains over an acht na Gaelige that stands alone. As unionists perceive it, this constitutes a claim superior to their cultural needs. It was supposed to have been sorted by the draft agreement of February last year but the DUP refused to sign off, … Read more

Lyra McKee’s murder must herald a transformation from our society’s complicity to gangs

63 Comments | Readers 2319

There were two protest actions that came amongst the outpouring of grief from the murder of Lyra McKee.  Both challenged the complicity our society gives criminal gangs operating in Northern Ireland; those which shelter behind historic letters and seep through violent murals. Violent murals act to normalise their criminality, and their suffocation of working class areas across Northern Ireland. As do their gang flags. Put simply, paramilitary murals are the subliminal advertising of criminal organisations in Northern Ireland. To be … Read more

Islay: NI’s ‘Hidden’ Whisky Island Neighbour

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Longread What if someone told you we have a relatively untalked-of, world-renowned island destination, full of stunning views, good food and A LOT of even better drinks, a stone’s throw from NI’s shores? For our recent honeymoon, myself and the newly installed Mrs Johnston took to the globally celebrated, whisky-producing island of Islay. And if your first question is ‘where?’, you’re in for a shock. That’s because it’s just one hour from Ballycastle. One hour. Why have I called it … Read more

A ray of hope from Brussels to which Westminster’s clamorous politicians should pay heed

287 Comments | Readers 4091

  Time and again, the academic critics have taken apart the British approach to the Brexit negotiations with relish. But with the UK at bay and Westminster in pieces, is it not time to examine whether the EU can stretch out to help, not only out of pity but common interest? The critics’ analysis of the UK’s approach is often forensically compelling. But it’s also obvious that most are cheerleaders not only for the EU’s approach but the cause of … Read more

‘Let’s create an all-island, integrated, health service, and let’s begin now’

81 Comments | Readers 2054

There needs to be an all-island, integrated, health service, and its creation should not be dependent upon the agreement or timing of a united Ireland, argues Professor Jim Dornan – one of the architects of existing cross-border co-operation in health services.  Jim was interviewed in the latest Forward Together podcast. “In many ways Ireland is a Goldilocks sized country for health provision,” he explains.  “We can cherry pick the best of health provision throughout the world and let’s introduce it … Read more

The Alliance Party’s gains in the local and European elections won’t necessarily lead to Assembly election success

66 Comments | Readers 2905

As expected, Naomi Long won a seat in the European Parliament following the Alliance Party’s success at the local elections earlier in the month. However, it isn’t necessarily a given that the Alliance Party’s success at the local and European level will translate to success in any future Assembly election. This is because the areas that Alliance increased their vote in aren’t optimal from the point of view of maximizing their representation in the Assembly. Unlike the system in Israel, … Read more

The implications of Alliance’s successes for how our people are represented and governed can mean win:win all round

85 Comments | Readers 1866

Good to see Newton following up the implications of Alliance’s electoral successes From the Irish Times Sinn Féin and the DUP both want to preserve the veto for their own purposes. How sustainable would that be if Alliance doubled its Assembly representation, given it has just doubled its council and European votes? In theory, none of this would break the rules. In practice, it would make designation – a foundation of devolution – look redundant and perverse. Alliance’s breakthrough could … Read more

The Tory leadership debate is becoming vicious, with Brexit realism sidelined

48 Comments | Readers 1824

It’s painful to watch Tory leadership runners tying  themselves up in knots over the choice of Deal or No Deal. Some of them are ducking and diving, others  go in for the full kamikaze.  The situation is so dire that the Chancellor Philip Hammond is offering himself as  the fallback voice of sanity candidate. All of them so obviously want to keep sweet the hard line activists who’ll decide their fate that it’s almost unkind to keep baiting them. But … Read more

After just one term in local power SF’s answer has been “thanks, but no thanks”.

153 Comments | Readers 4418

To begin with the big southern election story in the media was the rise of the Greens, helped in some ways by the exaggeration of their vote  RTE/B&A exit poll. But the real story is the sheer scale of the fall of Sinn Féin and, to a much lesser extent, the far left.  Augmented this afternoon by the loss of two out of the party’s three MEPs in Dublin and South constituencies. Five years ago all three candidates came at … Read more

Sinn Féin are the Greatest Advocates for a United Ireland but are they the Biggest Barrier to it?

259 Comments | Readers 9706

In the wake of the local and European elections, North & South of Ireland, a number of things have become clear for both Unionism and Nationalism in Northern Ireland, and significantly, questions will be asked of Sinn Féin after a hammering at the ballot box. Sinn Féin have been the most vocal and vociferous advocates for a United Ireland, since their inception. It is their raison d’être and has dictated everything for them from policy to electoral strategy to fundraising … Read more

Taking Boris to Court is Really, Really, Stupid

41 Comments | Readers 2817

I can’t believe how many people on my social media feeds are cheering on the unbelievably anti-democratic and morally wrong court case against Boris Johnson over the notorious £350m a week bus slogan. But even for those who can’t see this as wrong, the stupidity of giving a master charlatan and showman like Boris Johnson his day in court should be obvious.   I have wider worries than Boris backflipping his prosecutors and using this case as a means to … Read more