politicalOD

A year after the first Covid lockdown, and just over a year of New Decade "new" Approach, the ability of our institutions to address anything much with a degree of competence seems, at best, little improved. The Storey funeral suggests everyone is confused on both law and responsibilities, including those who wrote the law and those who might be expected to uphold the law. The public does not shar...

The UK Budget this past week gave small comfort to small businesses in excluding many from the proposed corporation tax increases. In Northern Ireland that was indeed small comfort to many small businesses. They are doubly troubled. Burdened by the NI Protocol and supply issues that impact directly on competitiveness within the UK internal market, and battered by the indecision of the Northern Ire...

Risk is relative. When the COVID-19 virus has been prevalent in the community, the large numbers who require hospitalisation threaten to overwhelm the health service. That has been true without a working vaccine. Now that there is vaccines being delivered it is clear the threat to the health service will decline - the risk to the NHS declines. That changes the context for the restrictions on perso...

Ending the podcast with insightful commentary from the FT that a United Ireland is imminent because there are posh East Belfast coffee shops. Who knew? The remarkable ability to put apples and oranges together and calling it bowl of bananas is a communications trait that seems to be all too prevalent in public discourse, and perhaps the underlying theme of this Episode. The theatre of a disorganis...

The pattern of bold policy announcements followed by a failure to deliver seems to be the dominant feature of 2020. Perhaps the recent UK/EU trade agreement will be an exception as it seems to be, for now) - once the NI Protocol as 'best of both worlds' is explained. That can't be said for the New Decade heralded by the resurrection of Stormont that shows little evidence of the promised 'new appro...

The question is not whether or not there is a trade Agreement between the UK and EU in the first week of December. Rather it is a question of preparedness for either scenario. This episode looks at the monumental scale of unpreparedness, by just about everyone - it isn't just the UK Govt struggling with the reality of it all. There has been some general media reporting on this in recent weeks. We...

Groundhog Days. Once again renewable energy has hit the headlines, though it seems because the funding is covered outside the Stormont budget the schemes haven't managed to elicit the level of public interest that RHI attracted. Also in the news are voices expressing concern about the NI Protocol on Northern Ireland business (particularly retail) and on the consumer. Oddly these same voices suppor...

There seems to be a common thread around Governments' pronouncements around Brexit and COVID19 that creates uncertainty and confusion; and that is the ambiguous nature of much of the messaging. We are asked to believe what Government tells us, but find it hard to do so where what we are being told could be interpreted this way or that, and words are not followed through with effective action that...

Four topics in this episode. First mixed messaging of Covid in NI, then the botched messaging on exams. Required messaging for the Union, particularly heading into the Centenary events around 2021 and the creation of Northern Ireland. Restoring a message based on evidence and reasoned debate rather enabling nationalist slogans to become received truth and a 'black taxi' tour of recent history befo...

A small change planned for how decisions are made by Northern Ireland Ministers might be a big thing. Meanwhile the big changes needed on fundamental services that underpin any economy are not getting the focused attention needed because, look, here's a cycling strategy to get you on your bike or, there, a Boris bridge.  Sometimes we forget that for all the photo-ops and tweets, nothing actually h...

There is a new Government in the Republic of Ireland, which may bring a new approach. Damage caused by Fine Gael's aggressive attitude to North/South and East/West relations may be ameliorated by the more thoughtful Micheal Martin of Fianna Fail. The performance of Sinn Fein in Belfast this past weekend has shown how unsuited they are to any coalition, with its complete disregard for anything othe...

Rather than proposals we now have 'approaches', on the Northern Ireland Protocol as part of the UK leaving the EU, and on Legacy from Secretary of State Brandon Lewis. These 'approaches' are long on ambition, short on detail. This episode looks at issues of concern in the UK Government Approach to the Protocol, and then on the current Sinn Fein hissy fit regardingVictim Pensions. Even when legisla...

A brief gap while every day was Covid-19, a short recap on the need for accelerated Health reform. As if that were not a big enough challenge, money is being spent by the Stormont Executive while there is still no basic budget this financial year (none since 2016!), no programme for Government, and therefore no baseline to understand scale or impact of spend on future budgets. There are big decisi...

RHI has exposed weaknesses in the entire Stormont infrastructure, which were already known and ignored in favour of 'Keeping the show on the road'. Despite knowing what needed to be reformed, for 20 years, the current Health Service ought to be so much better - and isn't. We rightly praise our frontline health workers for selfless dedication. Perhaps we’d be better demanding an end to political ho...

At Stormont House, Julian Smith has left the building. While lauded for the moment of MLAs returning to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive, he hardly left behind a Northern Ireland Government that could be described as strong and stable. While Sinn Fein in particular has announced money for many, there is still no budget to understand spending/income, and a Programme for Government is due...

New Decade (barely) and we're questioning public sector competence around MOT services. The previous decade started with public disquiet around Northern Ireland's water services. In between, RHI and the rest. Meanwhile, almost 20% of current MLAs are 'co-opted'; Party appointees, serving Party first?  New Approach? We don't seem to be able to start a conversation on change.

All of a sudden, with an almost unseemly haste, a document is waved and everything on Stormont Hill is back to the nothing like normal it was before. The constructed ambiguity of this particular document means that it is truly all things to all Parties, yet perhaps amounting to nothing much. Lots of promises, but who'll be paying? 

Endless "reports' on Health reform produce little critical or cultural change in frontline delivery of services. And who pays for pay? Little confidence that an Executive would have the will (or ability) to undertake difficult decisions. Why Sinn Fein might need an Assembly far more than any other Party. Finally, Boris's plans for trade arrangements between GB and NI - who knows? Though on negotia...

At the end of the podcast we remark on how quiet the current election has been. The media gets quite self-important when challenged to tell us more than the obvious. What's behind the headline is often not the copy beneath, which leaves the reader or listener/viewer dissatisfied and wanting more. This episode is a conversation on the current state of public discourse. Perhaps a calm reflection bef...

Political Parties are on manoeuvres, heading into an election. In Northern Ireland local Parties all try to beat (up on) the DUP as a means of making themselves relevant, not actually offering anything new, positive or coherent. While across the UK the outcome of the election might offer a Conservative Government that rushes the Boris version of Brexit through before the 31 January, or not. The el...

Hubris before husband, as de Souza vows to keep fighting case which has obvious resolution. There are risks ahead for the Irish 'Father Ted' economic model, including a possible Brexit own-goal?

The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party announced he was leaving his role in due course. The Rabble Alliance in Westminster, all powered up and nowhere to go? Party Conference season's one big issue, barely mentioned in the news reports or election pitches. 

@3000Versts and @thedissenter take on politics and stuff in Northern Ireland, and elsewhere. Unionist perspective of course, but hopefully a bit wider and worldly view .  Episode one very much a trial (total experiment), with an unarticulated word or two here and there.  Inevitably, topics are 'Backstop or go' and 'David Cameron, hero or villain?'. Only about 20 minutes. Let us know what you think...