Portrushian

Ireland top of the Agenda in Today’s Brexit Negotiations

Portrushian on July 18, 2017, 8:48 am | Readers 2091

Today sees Ireland take centre stage in the Brexit negotiations. The border, along with the UK’s divorce bill and the rights of EU citizens living in the UK, are the three headline areas where significant progress must be made before negotiations move towards a free trade agreement. Although Brexit Secretary David Davis has headed back to London, after spending less than an hour in Brussels yesterday, senior officials from the UK and the EU will present their position papers on …

Goldsmith’s Gamble Fails

Portrushian on December 2, 2016, 2:18 pm | Readers 978

A penny for Zac Goldsmith’s thoughts today! The now former MP for Richmond Park in Southwest London, resigned from his seat and from the Conservative Party to force a by-election in the constituency, to show his opposition to the Government’s plan to expand Heathrow. In the by-election held yesterday, Goldsmith was beaten by Lib Dem Sarah Olney, who overturned the former MP’s 23000-seat majority to win by nearly 2000 votes. Neither the Conservative Party nor UKIP stood a candidate in the …

IDS Drives a Dagger in to the Heart of Deficit Reduction

Portrushian on March 20, 2016, 6:40 pm | Readers 853

So what to make of the resignation of Iain Duncan Smith? The former work and pensions secretary resigned on Friday evening, ostensibly as a result of the fall-out from this week’s budget, most notably the proposed reduction in personal independence payments (PIPs). Set against a further cut in corporation tax to 17% (a penny for our local politicians’ thoughts?), a cut in capital gains tax and an increase in the threshold at which the 40% tax rate is paid, the …

Dungiven Sports Pavilion Development Rejected Again. But Why?

Portrushian on January 11, 2016, 6:40 pm | Readers 1622

On Wednesday of last week, Causeway Coast and Glens (CCAG) council again rejected plans to build a £2.8M leisure facility in Dungiven, Co. Derry. The majority unionist council voted 20-17 against the building of the facility on the basis that there was a funding shortfall. On the face of it this would seem to be a reasonable rationale for adopting this position, but some of the detail around the issue suggests otherwise. Dungiven, a predominantly nationalist town, had originally been …

The ‘Investigating Links in Achievement and Deprivation (Iliad)’ report

Portrushian on December 8, 2015, 4:25 pm | Readers 942

The Belfast Telegraph today published a piece about the ‘Investigating Links in Achievement and Deprivation (Iliad)’ report that has been written by a number of academics from both Queen’s University, Belfast, and St Mary’s University College, Belfast. The report hasn’t been published, but it has been leaked to the BBC. The authors studied educational experiences in three predominantly catholic districts and three predominantly protestant districts and compared their findings. They also looked at one mixed district. The findings are stark and show …

Labour Difficulty, Tory Opportunity?

Portrushian on December 7, 2015, 9:43 pm | Readers 364

Mick posted a great piece today that referred in detail to a column that the Guardian’s Zoe Williams wrote. Williams argues that Labour’s current travails will be good for the party in the long run as over time the party’s future direction will begin to formulate. It’s a similar argument put forward by Dan Hodges at the beginning of the summer. At that stage Hodges quoted a shadow cabinet minister who said that: “We need blood on the carpet. Then, …

It’s the Constitution, Stupid!

Portrushian on October 27, 2015, 9:18 am | Readers 763

Well last night was a pretty sobering night for George Osborne. The bill setting out the reduction in the income threshold at which tax credits can be claimed was dealt a serious blow in the House of Lords this evening. The Government was defeated on two votes; one to pause introduction until an independent study on the impact of the cuts has been carried out; and one to provide financial assistance to those set to lose out. For those receiving …

Could the Tax Credit Cuts be this Government’s Poll Tax?

Portrushian on October 5, 2015, 10:37 pm | Readers 534

It’s going to be interesting to see how the impending cuts to tax credits impact on the Tories. David Davis has raised concerns that this may well be this government’s poll tax, in reference to the damage done to the Thatcher Government following its introduction in 1989. On Andrew Marr’s Sunday morning show, David Cameron rejected any suggestion that he would re-visit the plan, and today Andrew Neil interviewed Conservative ministers Matt Hancock and David Gauke, both of whom struggled …

A Graduated Response?

Portrushian on September 7, 2015, 11:03 pm | Readers 2046

I’ve just listened to Liam Clarke and David McCann discuss today’s developments at Stormont on BBC Evening Extra (34 mins in), and Clarke makes a good point that the DUP have played their hand pretty well over the last few days. Over the weekend it was announced that Theresa Villiers might ask David Cameron to legislate for welfare changes at Westminster as a last resort and that they have also agreed to fund the Civil Service voluntary exit scheme. There …

The Games Politicians Play

Portrushian on September 1, 2015, 9:45 pm | Readers 2791

Not long after the murder of Kevin McGuigan and even before the PSNI’s assessment of who was involved had been announced, I remember thinking to myself that this was the excuse Peter Robinson now needed to jump ship. With the NAMA scandal whirling around him, failure to implement the Stormont House Agreement and ever-more questions about his leadership, this was a superb opportunity for him to bring down the whole house of cards using an age-old manoeuvre or diversionary tactic, …

Ideological Purity: Electoral Irrelevance?

Portrushian on July 24, 2015, 11:43 pm | Readers 867

This week, both Helen Lewis of The New Statesman, and Rafael Behr of the Guardian, have written very insightful pieces about the current debate raging within the Labour party about the ideological stance and policy positions of each of the candidates in the leadership contest, and the future direction of the party more generally. Essentially the current tension in the party is between principle and power; ideology and electability. After May’s devastating election result, the Labour Party has turned in …

niedcamp: Teachers Taking the Initiative

Portrushian on July 16, 2015, 11:05 pm | Readers 794

It is now widely accepted that reform of public services must continue over the coming years as both central and local government try to offer the same level of service with less money to spend. As a result we can expect further decentralisation, eradication or contracting out of some back-office functions and ever-closer relationships with partners in the private and voluntary sector. The education sector here in Northern Ireland has not been spared. The Education Authority, established to provide a …

Has George Osborne Already Begun Fighting the Next Election?

Portrushian on July 9, 2015, 8:24 pm | Readers 471

So Ed wasn’t so red after all. George Osborne’s budget yesterday contained at least six promises that Labour set out in their manifesto for the May elections, including further taxes on the banks, the increasing the NMW (I refuse to call it the national living wage) and (not quite) abolishing non-dom status. Indeed, poor Andy Burnham was absolutely pilloried in the Tory-leaning press for recently suggesting that Labour’s 2015 manifesto was “the best manifesto I have stood on in four …