In the second of three articles Alanbrooke looks at Irish affairs In the previous article I looked at economics which is quite a hurdle. This article looks at the longer term issue of the impact of putting two sets of people together. In Ulster the past always lies ahead of us, so somewhere along the line somebody needs to be squaring circles. The North, trapped in its history and with a victim mentality, somehow needs to fit in to a fast…
In the first of three articles Alanbrooke looks at Irish affairs The fallout from the Brexit vote has led to more interest in the future of Northern Ireland than is usual. In particular the issue of a one state Ireland has bubbled back to the top of the political discussion with, as ever, strong views on either side The modern Irish state is not the Ireland of old; it is a successful, self-confident country which has worked its way to…
There’s a widespread assumption that the party that supports TMay’s minority government, the DUP with its 10 MPs, is rock solid in its view on Brexit and there’s no wiggle room. That perception is certainly a good bargaining chip for its relations with London but is this view correct? Could it be less united and less supportive of Brexit as might appear. Last night the person I go to on Northern Ireland politics who has proved to be solidly reliable…
UK supreme court backs bakery that refused to make gay wedding cake https://t.co/fEoUi7dyUH — The Guardian (@guardian) October 10, 2018 George Bernard Shaw is one of those writers, like Spenser, Milton and Dr Johnson, who is now much less read than known. Nowadays all that most people know of him is My Fair Lady (ironically, he refused permission in his lifetime to allow Pygmalion to be adapted into a musical) and the odd quotation. One of those quotations came to…
Tory indifference towards the Union and opposition to Brexit in Northern Ireland makes a united Ireland a real possibility writes Keiran Pedley I cannot have been the only person that was astonished at Northern Ireland secretary Karen Bradley’s recent admission that she knew nothing of the place before taking office. I am probably being naïve, but you would have thought that someone appointed to such an important role would at least possess a passing knowledge of its history and the…
https://youtu.be/KfI9VrbFI2E The CON MP ” fundamentally misunderstands” Ireland’s history There are several interesting elements of The Moggster’s latest contribution to the Brexit debate. First, he has shown that he understands that the land border in Northern Ireland is a critical issue in the Brexit negotiations. Secondly, he has shown, by harking back to the Troubles with such breezy insouciance, that he fundamentally misunderstands the history of the island of Ireland. And thirdly, in telling us that no checks on the border…
Kenneth Allen / Bloody Sunday mural, Bogside Why the border issue is so important to both sides Why, when we’re busy trying to Brexit, is everyone hung up on Northern Ireland? Why should we let this small part of the UK, with a population just larger than Newcastle’s, dictate seemingly our entire Brexit settlement? Terrorism, people say. But we don’t give in to terrorists, so why does Northern Ireland and its terrorists get such special treatment? For most people in the UK,…
That'll be a yes, then. ????????Watch what happened when Commons Speaker John Bercow asked MPs whether they supported @stellacreasy's call for an emergency debate on the abortion law in Northern Ireland.Read more here: https://t.co/jFxFfx6GSg pic.twitter.com/malB2EgO3r — BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 4, 2018 Stella Creasy gets her debate on NI Abortion law: fascinatingly Karen Bradley, Penny Mordaunt, Michael Gove and Greg Clark indicate their support for tomorrow's discussion — Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) June 4, 2018 For the next week or…