sluggerotoole--2020-09-08--#TheReset: Renewed focus on Apprenticeships can help young people deal

Richard Kirk is CEO of Belfast-based Workplus , which was set up to help businesses explore apprenticeships as a way of finding new talent or up-skilling existing employees .
Here he argues that apprenticeships can help young people to “ earn , learn and be part of the solution ” to the oncoming economic crisis… At the end of August , some Southern states in America braced itself for Hurricane Laura – the region ’ s most powerful hurricane in over a century and the joint fastest in Louisiana ’ s history .
Residents ‘ battened down the hatches ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ began to rebuild .
A devastating impact and a long road to recovery .
If you were standing beside a Louisiana resident surveying their home in ruins , I ’ m guessing you wouldn ’ t be saying to them that the eye of the storm had passed , so you ’ re over the worst of it .
No , you would know that the real work – the ‘ hard graft ’ – is only just beginning .
The COVID-19 ‘ storm ’ has been to the UK economy what Hurricane @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across Louisiana .
Damaging , devastating , with no quick fixes .
As we begin to emerge from the eye of the COVID storm and survey the damage , we are asking how we rebuild well , what we do to recover and become more resilient .
Mick Fealty ’ s September headline very much resonated with me : ‘ Time to wake up to Covid ’ s economic challenges and get beyond our long , sleepy capture by the status quo.
’ Hear , hear !
I listened with interest to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ulster Bank Economist Richard Ramsey .
In that interview , they covered – among other subjects – the topic of young people , noting that young people tend to get hit in recessions more so than other age groups .
That certainly concurs with Ulster University ’ s Economic Policy Centre ( UUEPC ) which recently predicted that youth unemployment in Northern Ireland could rise to 26 % ( PDF ) by the end of 2020 .
UUEPC has also stated that the economy could take up to five years to rebound whilst @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a decade to return to pre-COVID levels .
If such statistics become a reality , its implications would be profoundly impactful and deeply scarring for our 18 – 25 year olds .
So what can we do ?
It is time for an apprenticeship revolution – and the wheels are already in motion .
It is time to really ‘ wake up ’ to the role apprentices can play in Northern Ireland ’ s economic recovery .
Apprenticeships not simply for young people , but also for re-skilling and ‘ returners ’ .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Northern Ireland staring universal credit square in the face .
Apprenticeships occupy a unique space , bringing together employer , educator , government and apprentice – it is collaboration in its purest form .
It ’ s a win for everyone .
For the apprentice , it ’ s a job , continued education , and that all important connectedness and mentoring .
For the business , it is fresh talent .
And for the economy , lower youth unemployment and stemming the leak of unpaid student loans and talent pipeline .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fiscal Studies found that three-quarters of graduates will never clear their debt . )
The recent announcement by Economy Minister Diane Dodds of funding support for employers of apprenticeships is warmly welcome .
Employers need this kind of incentive right now and apprentices need a greater diversity of apprenticeships opportunities .
The culture is changing around apprenticeships .
They are no longer limited to the traditional trades but have broadened across roles e.g .
marketing , IT , sales , engineering and are now on offer up to degree level .
They are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s as they are for those leaving school with basic GCSE grades .
If I can be permitted to use the storm analogy again , wouldn ’ t it be short-sighted to rebuild in exactly the same way as before ?
When we are thinking about rebuilding , strengthening society , giving hope to our young people , let ’ s think differently with a fresh approach and new confidence about apprenticeships .
Apprenticeships will help businesses , and allow our young people to earn , learn and – vitally – be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” by IFA teched is licensed under CC BY

Richard Kirk is CEO of Belfast-based Workplus, which was set up to help businesses explore apprenticeships as a way of finding new talent or up-skilling existing employees. Here he argues that apprenticeships can help young people to “earn, learn and be part of the solution” to the oncoming economic crisis…
At the end of August, some Southern states in America braced itself for Hurricane Laura – the region’s most powerful hurricane in over a century and the joint fastest in Louisiana’s history. Residents ‘battened down the hatches’ and, when the hurricane passed, began to rebuild. A devastating impact and a long road to recovery.
If you were standing beside a Louisiana resident surveying their home in ruins, I’m guessing you wouldn’t be saying to them that the eye of the storm had passed, so you’re over the worst of it. No, you would know that the real work – the ‘hard graft’ – is only just beginning.
The COVID-19 ‘storm’ has been to the UK economy what Hurricane Laura has been to homes and livelihoods across Louisiana. Damaging, devastating, with no quick fixes. As we begin to emerge from the eye of the COVID storm and survey the damage, we are asking how we rebuild well, what we do to recover and become more resilient.
Mick Fealty’s September headline very much resonated with me: ‘Time to wake up to Covid’s economic challenges and get beyond our long, sleepy capture by the status quo.’ Hear, hear! I listened with interest to the #Reset Podcast, with Mick interviewing Ulster Bank Economist Richard Ramsey.
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In that interview, they covered – among other subjects – the topic of young people, noting that young people tend to get hit in recessions more so than other age groups.
That certainly concurs with Ulster University’s Economic Policy Centre (UUEPC) which recently predicted that youth unemployment in Northern Ireland could rise to 26% (PDF) by the end of 2020. UUEPC has also stated that the economy could take up to five years to rebound whilst unemployment is set to take up to a decade to return to pre-COVID levels.
If such statistics become a reality, its implications would be profoundly impactful and deeply scarring for our 18 – 25 year olds. So what can we do?
It is time for an apprenticeship revolution – and the wheels are already in motion. It is time to really ‘wake up’ to the role apprentices can play in Northern Ireland’s economic recovery. Apprenticeships not simply for young people, but also for re-skilling and ‘returners’. The alternative is having talented people across Northern Ireland staring universal credit square in the face.
Apprenticeships occupy a unique space, bringing together employer, educator, government and apprentice – it is collaboration in its purest form. It’s a win for everyone. For the apprentice, it’s a job, continued education, and that all important connectedness and mentoring.
For the business, it is fresh talent. And for the economy, lower youth unemployment and stemming the leak of unpaid student loans and talent pipeline. (A 2017 report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that three-quarters of graduates will never clear their debt.)
The recent announcement by Economy Minister Diane Dodds of funding support for employers of apprenticeships is warmly welcome. Employers need this kind of incentive right now and apprentices need a greater diversity of apprenticeships opportunities.
The culture is changing around apprenticeships. They are no longer limited to the traditional trades but have broadened across roles e.g. marketing, IT, sales, engineering and are now on offer up to degree level. They are as much for pupils with straights A’s as they are for those leaving school with basic GCSE grades.
If I can be permitted to use the storm analogy again, wouldn’t it be short-sighted to rebuild in exactly the same way as before? When we are thinking about rebuilding, strengthening society, giving hope to our young people, let’s think differently with a fresh approach and new confidence about apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships will help businesses, and allow our young people to earn, learn and – vitally – be part of the recovery solution.
Engineers_10” by IFA teched is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-09-09--It could be years before we know exactly how Johnson’s ‘sabre rattling’ turns out…

So Brian reckons that the British government ’ s threat to defy international law may turn out to be nothing more than a ploy .
It ’ s certainly got people on both sides of the water excited , with remain parties in NI saying NO , and former Taoiseach Varadkar dismissing it as sabre-rattling .
The actual Taoiseach only noted that “ that negotiations are intensifying and stories like this will be part of that negotiation process ” .
Well , quite .
In fact not only have we ( at time of writing ) not even seen the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be enacted , and then enforced in a parliament wary of Johnson ’ s flying trapeze .
What tends to be forgotten these days ( and what was more obvious in the days of the SALT I , SALT II , and START talks ) is that that these are basically political negotiations , not the sort of tested legal process you ’ d engage to buy a house .
And , this seems much more a political than a diplomatic move .
So what ’ s behind it all ?
Well , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brian highlighted earlier , it is part of Johnson reaching out to Dublin to ensure that whatever border arrangements are arrived at , that they are no more arduous in the Irish Sea than they would have been on the Irish mainland .
This is the devil that rarely if ever was allowed to speak its name under Leo Varadkar .
So what if the protocols were to alienate Northern Ireland from its natural market in Great Britain ( where about 50 % of NI ’ s trade goes ) ?
But such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mouth of the Carlingford Lough .
That bit was fudged , and it ’ s in this fudge that Johnson seems now to be trying to make a play .
What will be the arrangements for a border in the Irish Sea , and who ultimately will get to decide whether they are fit for purpose ?
If they aren ’ t is Johnson man [ Or mad ?
– Ed ] enough to ditch the whole thing and force the UK to stride out truly on his own [ Hoping it will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Most of this ( like those early disarmament talks ) will go right over the heads of most ordinary people with the more pressing issues of the lockdown to sort out .
But Slugger understands that the current Taoiseach , Micheál Martin has no intention of gratuitously adding more fuel to any public fire .
Ultimately the truth is that this is an issue with what type of border we will be dealing with in the future rather than where it is going to be .
The very same trade issues that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trade border on land still remained after the protocol agreement put them on the sea .
Besides , who will thank any politicians for going out of their way to make GB goods dearer in Derry and in Letterkenny ?
Maybe some kind of all islands solution that doesn ’ t also put the Republic ’ s access to the EU at risk , is where we ’ ll all end up ?
It could be years before we know for sure what the outcome is .
Photo by Free-Photos is licensed under @ @

So Brian reckons that the British government’s threat to defy international law may turn out to be nothing more than a ploy. It’s certainly got people on both sides of the water excited, with remain parties in NI saying NO, and former Taoiseach Varadkar dismissing it as sabre-rattling.
The actual Taoiseach only noted that “that negotiations are intensifying and stories like this will be part of that negotiation process”. Well, quite. In fact not only have we (at time of writing) not even seen the bill yet, the bill has to be enacted, and then enforced in a parliament wary of Johnson’s flying trapeze.
What tends to be forgotten these days (and what was more obvious in the days of the SALT I, SALT II, and START talks) is that that these are basically political negotiations, not the sort of tested legal process you’d engage to buy a house. And, this seems much more a political than a diplomatic move.
So what’s behind it all? Well, going by the Tony Connelly piece that Brian highlighted earlier, it is part of Johnson reaching out to Dublin to ensure that whatever border arrangements are arrived at, that they are no more arduous in the Irish Sea than they would have been on the Irish mainland.
This is the devil that rarely if ever was allowed to speak its name under Leo Varadkar. So what if the protocols were to alienate Northern Ireland from its natural market in Great Britain (where about 50% of NI’s trade goes)? But such a sea border would extend below the mouth of the Carlingford Lough.
That bit was fudged, and it’s in this fudge that Johnson seems now to be trying to make a play.
What will be the arrangements for a border in the Irish Sea, and who ultimately will get to decide whether they are fit for purpose? If they aren’t is Johnson man [Or mad? – Ed] enough to ditch the whole thing and force the UK to stride out truly on his own [Hoping it will all hold together? – Ed].
Most of this (like those early disarmament talks) will go right over the heads of most ordinary people with the more pressing issues of the lockdown to sort out. But Slugger understands that the current Taoiseach, Micheál Martin has no intention of gratuitously adding more fuel to any public fire.
Ultimately the truth is that this is an issue with what type of border we will be dealing with in the future rather than where it is going to be. The very same trade issues that became clear around the issue putting the trade border on land still remained after the protocol agreement put them on the sea.
Besides, who will thank any politicians for going out of their way to make GB goods dearer in Derry and in Letterkenny? Maybe some kind of all islands solution that doesn’t also put the Republic’s access to the EU at risk, is where we’ll all end up? It could be years before we know for sure what the outcome is.
Photo by Free-Photos is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-09-09--#TheReset: Sheer fluidity of technological change means our cultural industries should be more centr

#TheReset: Sheer fluidity of technological change means our cultural industries should be more central than ever

It ’ s hard to think of a working sector in society that delivers quite so much social , cultural , and economic benefits to society at large but where the living for those talented individuals who often devote their lives to it is quite so precarious than in the Arts and Cultural industries .
In today ’ s Cargo of Bricks , I speak to Ali FitzGibbon and discover how the long slow and steady bottom-up development of Northern Ireland ’ s cultural industries over the last thirty years provided the backbone for the recent big payoffs from TV @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to see any peace dividend… In it we cover… • The Covid lockdown ’ s withdrawal of vast numbers of people from the workforce has shown just how crucial culture and the arts are to us .
But the pipeline behind NetFlix , the BBC , and even the National Theatre in London and the Abbey in Dublin has halted , and creators are not getting paid .
• Local companies export new and very different accounts of life in Northern Ireland from the more negative ones the world has been used to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affairs .
How do we maintain those connections when travel is more limited than before .
• More generally let ’ s review what work is , and how we pay for it .
The current basic income support regime was designed for full-employment .
Portfolio work in the unsubsidised cultural industries left many ineligible for government support during Covid , and unable to pay their mortgages .
It ’ s clear that , with some few exceptions , Northern Ireland ’ s politicians have been happy to take the low hanging fruit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sector , but have been reluctant to take seriously how its ground-up activities might be maintained and invested in .
The average artist is not wealthy or markedly different from other citizens , and most are not looking for government handouts , just a means of being able to continue to do their work .
Lip service is paid to words like sustainability and resilience until they have been tested ( and found wanting ) with lockdown .
The sheer fluidity of technology is asking questions of our society to which we have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ creativity and the ability ( or indeed , willingness ) to ask new questions about who we are and where we are going at the centre of our concerns not leaving them to labour at the edge .
If you would like to get involved in # TheReset , either as an individual or as part of an organisation , please do get in touch by emailing us at [ email protected ] with an idea for inclusion in a range of articles or events over September and October .
In the meantime @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bricks and In Conversation and subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you get your quality podcasts .

It’s hard to think of a working sector in society that delivers quite so much social, cultural, and economic benefits to society at large but where the living for those talented individuals who often devote their lives to it is quite so precarious than in the Arts and Cultural industries.
In today’s Cargo of Bricks, I speak to Ali FitzGibbon and discover how the long slow and steady bottom-up development of Northern Ireland’s cultural industries over the last thirty years provided the backbone for the recent big payoffs from TV and film, but which has yet to see any peace dividend…
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In it we cover…
The Covid lockdown’s withdrawal of vast numbers of people from the workforce has shown just how crucial culture and the arts are to us. But the pipeline behind NetFlix, the BBC, and even the National Theatre in London and the Abbey in Dublin has halted, and creators are not getting paid.
Local companies export new and very different accounts of life in Northern Ireland from the more negative ones the world has been used to hearing from us through news and current affairs. How do we maintain those connections when travel is more limited than before.
More generally let’s review what work is, and how we pay for it. The current basic income support regime was designed for full-employment. Portfolio work in the unsubsidised cultural industries left many ineligible for government support during Covid, and unable to pay their mortgages.
It’s clear that, with some few exceptions, Northern Ireland’s politicians have been happy to take the low hanging fruit offered by Northern Ireland’s arts sector, but have been reluctant to take seriously how its ground-up activities might be maintained and invested in.
The average artist is not wealthy or markedly different from other citizens, and most are not looking for government handouts, just a means of being able to continue to do their work. Lip service is paid to words like sustainability and resilience until they have been tested (and found wanting) with lockdown.
The sheer fluidity of technology is asking questions of our society to which we have no clear answers means we should put creativity and the ability (or indeed, willingness) to ask new questions about who we are and where we are going at the centre of our concerns not leaving them to labour at the edge.
If you would like to get involved in #TheReset, either as an individual or as part of an organisation, please do get in touch by emailing us at [email protected] with an idea for inclusion in a range of articles or events over September and October.
In the meantime, you can catch up Cargo of Bricks and In Conversation and subscribe on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your quality podcasts.


sluggerotoole--2020-09-10--Shock tactics won’t help, but they needn’t kill all hopes of reaching a final Brexit deal

I don ’ t doubt that UK ministers want a free trade deal and more with the EU .
But rather than agree a comprehensive deal on what they regard as the EU terms , they are insisting on defining the terms of resumed British sovereignty first and proposing to bounce their unilateral decisions off the EU case by case as issues arise .
The procedure for this is the EU/UK joint committee created by the Withdrawal Agreement which is meeting today .
There is also a specialist committee for consulting on the Ireland/NI Protocol .
It therefore looks as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one , leaving the details to be negotiated through the committees over years .
Problem is , getting the EU to agree to this procedure is hardly helped by breaking the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement on which the procedure itself is based .
How does Northern Ireland come into it ?
As the region will remain essentially within the single market , the EU writ is bound to run .
Even here though , the UK government is being allowed to manage the new customs and regulatory rules required , subject to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ little problem about scrapping most customs formalities on goods from NI to GB .
GB to NI is a different matter as it potentially involves exports into the EU .
Here lies the crux of conflict between the two sides .
GB to NI , the British are claiming the right to interpret the customs rules of the Protocol but have not suggested a radical review .
Indeed by donating £200 million towards setting them up the government are admitting they will not be frictionless .
Making these complex arrangements work as smoothly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of unity for the Assembly .
The public will be a lot more concerned at the prospects of rising prices in the shops due to hold ups at the ports than over the refined topic of a breach of international law .
A bigger issue for EU is British state aid , the right to subsidise firms anywhere in the UK , potentially giving the UK an unfair advantage over EU firms in their own countries by exporting to the EU through the open door of the Irish border .
As the Protocol @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the UK that unfair advantage in trading with the continent , the EU could refuse to allow the UK government to subsidise a firm anywhere in the UK which trades with Northern Ireland .
That can ’ t be right .
So that ’ s one reason why Johnson has introduced the now notorious Internal Market Bill disapplying this part of the Withdrawal Agreement and so breaking international law .
By unilaterally setting rules for internal trade affecting all four parts of the UK on leaving the EU , the government has incurred @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scotland and Wales .
Uniform rules might be thought of as a common good .
But the Bill allows the UK government to spend money within the devolved government ’ s competences , violating the Sewell Convention which although not a law , normally requires them to be consulted on matters on which they have a clear interest – like state aid for new or struggling companies .
Ignoring Scottish and Welsh sensitivities – as they did over the Brexit referendum of 2016 – looks like laying the groundwork for a more aggressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is most under threat .
Culture is named as one of the targets .
Might Westminster vote money to promote the Irish Language in order to win brownie points with nationalists ?
It ’ s almost certainly wrong to suppose that this Bill by itself necessarily demolishes the whole pack of cards of the Withdrawal Agreement and even the Good Friday Agreement .
Serious pressure would mount however if either the EU or the UK walk away and we are left with a vacuum which could be filled by a hard border @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Without exaggerating the threat to peace , Boris Johnson can hardly have failed to spot the potential and will surely try to prevent it .
At the very least , the UK government should suspend the passage or the operation of the Internal Market Bill against progress in the ongoing negotiations with the EU .

I don’t doubt that UK ministers want a free trade deal and more with the EU. But rather than agree a comprehensive deal on what they regard as the EU terms, they are insisting on defining the terms of resumed British sovereignty first and proposing to bounce their unilateral decisions off the EU case by case as issues arise. The procedure for this is the EU/UK joint committee created by the Withdrawal Agreement which is meeting today. There is also a specialist committee for consulting on the Ireland/NI Protocol. It therefore looks as if any deal would be a basic one, leaving the details to be negotiated through the committees over years. Problem is, getting the EU to agree to this procedure is hardly helped by breaking the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement on which the procedure itself is based.
How does Northern Ireland come into it? As the region will remain essentially within the single market, the EU writ is bound to run. Even here though, the UK government is being allowed to manage the new customs and regulatory rules required, subject to EU approval. There appears to be little problem about scrapping most customs formalities on goods from NI to GB. GB to NI is a different matter as it potentially involves exports into the EU. Here lies the crux of conflict between the two sides. GB to NI, the British are claiming the right to interpret the customs rules of the Protocol but have not suggested a radical review. Indeed by donating £200 million towards setting them up the government are admitting they will not be frictionless. Making these complex arrangements work as smoothly as possible ought to be a focus of unity for the Assembly. The public will be a lot more concerned at the prospects of rising prices in the shops due to hold ups at the ports than over the refined topic of a breach of international law.
A bigger issue for EU is British state aid, the right to subsidise firms anywhere in the UK, potentially giving the UK an unfair advantage over EU firms in their own countries by exporting to the EU through the open door of the Irish border. As the Protocol stands, and in order to deny the UK that unfair advantage in trading with the continent, the EU could refuse to allow the UK government to subsidise a firm anywhere in the UK which trades with Northern Ireland. That can’t be right. So that’s one reason why Johnson has introduced the now notorious Internal Market Bill disapplying this part of the Withdrawal Agreement and so breaking international law.
By unilaterally setting rules for internal trade affecting all four parts of the UK on leaving the EU , the government has incurred the wrath of the devolved governments of Scotland and Wales. Uniform rules might be thought of as a common good. But the Bill allows the UK government to spend money within the devolved government’s competences, violating the Sewell Convention which although not a law, normally requires them to be consulted on matters on which they have a clear interest – like state aid for new or struggling companies. Ignoring Scottish and Welsh sensitivities – as they did over the Brexit referendum of 2016 – looks like laying the groundwork for a more aggressive strategy to promote the UK brand where it is most under threat. Culture is named as one of the targets. Might Westminster vote money to promote the Irish Language in order to win brownie points with nationalists?
It’s almost certainly wrong to suppose that this Bill by itself necessarily demolishes the whole pack of cards of the Withdrawal Agreement and even the Good Friday Agreement. Serious pressure would mount however if either the EU or the UK walk away and we are left with a vacuum which could be filled by a hard border and a collapse in British-Irish relations. Without exaggerating the threat to peace, Boris Johnson can hardly have failed to spot the potential and will surely try to prevent it.The prospect of facing international isolation for breaking international law can also hardly appeal. At the very least, the UK government should suspend the passage or the operation of the Internal Market Bill against progress in the ongoing negotiations with the EU.


sluggerotoole--2020-09-10--Michelle O’Neill asks to be let back into the big politics of Northern Ireland again…

Michelle O ’ Neill ’ s admission of her party ’ s wholesale transgression against Covid rules is interesting not for the usual Connelly House strangulation of the English language ( to avoid anyone interpreting it as an actual apology ) , but how it shows a party stranded on the outside asking to come in again .
That ’ s healthy in a number of ways .
One , the penny seems to have dropped with the old guard who still plainly call all the big shots in Northern Ireland at least , that trying to play the opposition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down well with their voters ( the only thing party cares about ) .
Two , actually doing the right thing ( even if it makes life harder for ordinary people ) is actually working for those taking the tougher and less popular decisions .
Covid has generated a whole stack of problems that are going to need short , medium , and long term solutions .
We have travelled a very long way since December when the party began to accept their boycott of Stormont was not only not working , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republic .
It ’ s probably significant that this interview was done with RTÉ and not UTV , BBC or Sky in that respect .
The mangled prose of her HQ written statement gilded over a fair amount of cracks… “ It wasn ’ t my intention this would happen , but it did , I accept this and I regret this is the case .
“ I accept that we have not been able to deliver clear messaging in the format that was the practice before this controversy.
” “ This ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s public health messaging capacity had been undermined by the row ” .
Indeed , it has been all .
All over Northern Ireland youngster ’ s have been following Sinn Féin ’ s ‘ let it be ’ attitude to the health crisis , with post A level parties kicking off all over Northern Ireland .
Otherwise the messaging has been relatively clear and consistent from the other four member parties of the Executive .
But none of them are in the mood for a fight over a misdeamour most likely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s autocratic internal leadership .
Arlene Foster was generous in her acknowledgement of Mrs O ’ Neill ’ s statement [ or non apology – Ed ] , and switched the focus onto the wider responsibility that both of them now owe to the wider public of Northern Ireland… As David said on U105 this morning , in practical terms , this is probably enough to get the joint ministerial show back on the road again , but it is no guarantee for how long it will stay there for .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vice President Michelle O ’ Neill ” by “ Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and Vice President Michelle O ’ Neill ” is licensed under “ Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and Vice President Michelle O ’ Neill “

Michelle O’Neill’s admission of her party’s wholesale transgression against Covid rules is interesting not for the usual Connelly House strangulation of the English language (to avoid anyone interpreting it as an actual apology), but how it shows a party stranded on the outside asking to come in again.
That’s healthy in a number of ways. One, the penny seems to have dropped with the old guard who still plainly call all the big shots in Northern Ireland at least, that trying to play the opposition whilst supposedly in government is not going down well with their voters (the only thing party cares about).
Two, actually doing the right thing (even if it makes life harder for ordinary people) is actually working for those taking the tougher and less popular decisions. Covid has generated a whole stack of problems that are going to need short, medium, and long term solutions.
We have travelled a very long way since December when the party began to accept their boycott of Stormont was not only not working, but actually impairing their electoral chances in the Republic. It’s probably significant that this interview was done with RTÉ and not UTV, BBC or Sky in that respect.
The mangled prose of her HQ written statement gilded over a fair amount of cracks…
“It wasn’t my intention this would happen, but it did, I accept this and I regret this is the case. “I accept that we have not been able to deliver clear messaging in the format that was the practice before this controversy.”
“This” was is the fact that “Stormont’s public health messaging capacity had been undermined by the row”. Indeed, it has been all. All over Northern Ireland youngster’s have been following Sinn Féin’s ‘let it be’ attitude to the health crisis, with post A level parties kicking off all over Northern Ireland.
Otherwise the messaging has been relatively clear and consistent from the other four member parties of the Executive. But none of them are in the mood for a fight over a misdeamour most likely forced upon the dFM by her party’s autocratic internal leadership.
Arlene Foster was generous in her acknowledgement of Mrs O’Neill’s statement [or non apology – Ed], and switched the focus onto the wider responsibility that both of them now owe to the wider public of Northern Ireland…
Statement by DUP Leader Arlene Foster MLA @DUPleader pic.twitter.com/Ozr8w6SMNV — DUP (@duponline) September 10, 2020
As David said on U105 this morning, in practical terms, this is probably enough to get the joint ministerial show back on the road again, but it is no guarantee for how long it will stay there for.
“Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and Vice President Michelle O’Neill” by “Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and Vice President Michelle O’Neill” is licensed under “Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and Vice President Michelle O’Neill“


sluggerotoole--2020-09-10--#TheReset-We cannot build back better if we don’t put our environment at the heart of it.

Ian Humphreys is the Chief Executive of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful .
The Reset is an apt description for the type of change that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented to us over the past six months .
Our lives have been changed and priorities re-evaluated as we grapple with an uncertain future .
For the environment sector , we have long argued ( perhaps too meekly ) for a new way of doing things .
Our lifestyle of increasing carbon emissions and ignoring the consequences of waste has caused real harm for our environment , both now and well into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lockdown , we saw the rivers clearing in places like Venice and falling levels of pollution across the globe as traffic disappeared almost overnight .
People spoke about how nature was healing itself .
Yet we all know that lockdown was an exceptional and unsustainable long-term approach to the pandemic .
However , there are aspects of new thinking that we need to continue with if we are to reset the essentials of how we treat and value our fragile environment .
We ’ ve all had our ‘ wobbbles ’ and felt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the pandemic , as we forcibly had to adjust to very different ways of working which , for some , were nigh on impossible : how did parents working from home with young children running around manage ?
During these anxious and stressful times our local parks and green spaces provided an essential safety valve .
We could go out and reconnect with nature .
As everything in the world changed around us , the one constant all of us had was that our local parks and country walks would be there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ places gave us time to exercise , take a break from the mounting bad news and have some distanced engagement with other people .
So protecting our parks and recognising the value in maintaining and investing in them is something that we have to place a greater value on in the years ahead .
Science had already proven their benefits for mental health and overall well being ; the difference now is that many of us have all experienced it personally .
We have also seen the opportunity to relegate the use of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ , placing greater value in other ways of getting around .
Walking to our destinations if they are close by , taking a bit of extra time and cycling or using a bus or train all have benefited our local environment .
The reduction in car journeys had a massive effect on reducing invisible airborne pollution that , as an example , is linked to one in every 24 early deaths in Belfast .
Like our green spaces , our public transport network continued throughout the lockdown responding to the crisis by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ services as safe as possible with a range of measures and travel advice to protect everyone .
Part of our reset has to be to invest more in these essential services .
While the pandemic has provided us with some ways to look forward , it has in some respects seen us take steps backward .
Everyone wants to protect themselves and others .
I welcome that and believe we must do everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID 19 .
However , we have seen a rise in single use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ equipment such as face masks and gloves .
Over the past few years , we had begun to make significant progress in tackling our plastic problem and now is definitely not the time to go back to our old ways : Now is the time to think differently .
Innovations around reusable PPE are happening and scientists have reported on the safety of using reusable cups and ( appropriately triple-layered layered ) face masks .
The key seems to be the simple act of washing them properly after each use .
We also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ littering .
Sadly , for some in our community , they are not simply using bins provided or taking their rubbish home .
Leaving your waste for a key worker to clean up is simply irresponsible and , in the case of PPE , is unnecessarily putting others at risk .
Even if it doesn ’ t hurt a person right there and then , it heads off into the environment , killing and maiming our wildlife and costing millions to clean up .
For a reset on our environment , we need @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the mindset of those who see no problem in not picking up after themselves .
There remains much work to be done , but we can not take our foot off the peddle if want to achieve the very real financial , personal health and environmental benefits – surely a cause worth fighting for .
As we rebuild from COVID-19 , you will hear policy makers using the phrase “ build back better.
” I fundamentally agree in the need for better .
That better has to start with protecting and enhancing our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constant place of escape during a lockdown , the beaches that allowed us to clear our heads and the scenery that will support not just our local population but also encourage others to visit us , when it is safe to do so all must be better valued .
The one thing I am sure of is that we can not build back better if we don ’ t put our environment at the heart of it .
If you would like to get involved in # TheReset , either as an individual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ please do get in touch by emailing us at [ email protected ] with an idea for inclusion in a range of articles or events over September and October .
Photo by Min An is licensed under CC0

Ian Humphreys is the Chief Executive of Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful.
The Reset is an apt description for the type of change that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented to us over the past six months. Our lives have been changed and priorities re-evaluated as we grapple with an uncertain future. For the environment sector, we have long argued (perhaps too meekly) for a new way of doing things. Our lifestyle of increasing carbon emissions and ignoring the consequences of waste has caused real harm for our environment, both now and well into the future.
At the height of lockdown, we saw the rivers clearing in places like Venice and falling levels of pollution across the globe as traffic disappeared almost overnight. People spoke about how nature was healing itself. Yet we all know that lockdown was an exceptional and unsustainable long-term approach to the pandemic. However, there are aspects of new thinking that we need to continue with if we are to reset the essentials of how we treat and value our fragile environment.
We’ve all had our ‘wobbbles’ and felt the emotions, stresses and strains caused by the pandemic, as we forcibly had to adjust to very different ways of working which, for some, were nigh on impossible: how did parents working from home with young children running around manage? During these anxious and stressful times our local parks and green spaces provided an essential safety valve. We could go out and reconnect with nature. As everything in the world changed around us, the one constant all of us had was that our local parks and country walks would be there for us. Every day these special places gave us time to exercise, take a break from the mounting bad news and have some distanced engagement with other people. So protecting our parks and recognising the value in maintaining and investing in them is something that we have to place a greater value on in the years ahead. Science had already proven their benefits for mental health and overall well being; the difference now is that many of us have all experienced it personally.
We have also seen the opportunity to relegate the use of cars for transport to ‘last resort’, placing greater value in other ways of getting around. Walking to our destinations if they are close by, taking a bit of extra time and cycling or using a bus or train all have benefited our local environment. The reduction in car journeys had a massive effect on reducing invisible airborne pollution that, as an example, is linked to one in every 24 early deaths in Belfast. Like our green spaces, our public transport network continued throughout the lockdown responding to the crisis by making their stations, bus and train services as safe as possible with a range of measures and travel advice to protect everyone. Part of our reset has to be to invest more in these essential services.
While the pandemic has provided us with some ways to look forward, it has in some respects seen us take steps backward. Everyone wants to protect themselves and others. I welcome that and believe we must do everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID 19. However, we have seen a rise in single use plastics as people rely on disposable protective equipment such as face masks and gloves. Over the past few years, we had begun to make significant progress in tackling our plastic problem and now is definitely not the time to go back to our old ways: Now is the time to think differently. Innovations around reusable PPE are happening and scientists have reported on the safety of using reusable cups and (appropriately triple-layered layered) face masks. The key seems to be the simple act of washing them properly after each use.
We also have noted a rise in complaints about littering. Sadly, for some in our community, they are not simply using bins provided or taking their rubbish home. Leaving your waste for a key worker to clean up is simply irresponsible and, in the case of PPE, is unnecessarily putting others at risk. Even if it doesn’t hurt a person right there and then, it heads off into the environment, killing and maiming our wildlife and costing millions to clean up. For a reset on our environment, we need to focus on changing behaviours and tackling the mindset of those who see no problem in not picking up after themselves. There remains much work to be done, but we cannot take our foot off the peddle if want to achieve the very real financial, personal health and environmental benefits – surely a cause worth fighting for.
As we rebuild from COVID-19, you will hear policy makers using the phrase “build back better.” I fundamentally agree in the need for better. That better has to start with protecting and enhancing our environment. The parks that were our constant place of escape during a lockdown, the beaches that allowed us to clear our heads and the scenery that will support not just our local population but also encourage others to visit us, when it is safe to do so all must be better valued. The one thing I am sure of is that we cannot build back better if we don’t put our environment at the heart of it.
If you would like to get involved in #TheReset, either as an individual or as part of an organisation, please do get in touch by emailing us at [email protected] with an idea for inclusion in a range of articles or events over September and October.
Photo by Min An is licensed under CC0


sluggerotoole--2020-09-11--#TheReset – Simon Hamilton on what will Belfast be for?

Simon Hamilton is an ex DUP MLA & Finance Minister .
He is currently Chief Executive of Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce .
You can follow him on Twitter Back at the beginning of 2020 , I wrote a piece that appeared in the local press in which I predicted that “ better times were ahead ” for Belfast .
The rationale for my optimistic outlook was that , with a deal struck on Brexit , a Conservative Government at Westminster with a whopping majority and the restoration of the Stormont Executive , business had what it had sorely @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of stability .
How wrong I was .
Less than 2 months later , the Belfast economy was in lockdown , with businesses closed completely or with staff swiftly sent home to work remotely .
The economic effect of the restrictions imposed to help stop the spread of COVID-19 have reached far and wide , but the city has borne the brunt .
At the height of lockdown , a Belfast Chamber survey found that just 6 % of the city ’ s businesses remained physically open , whilst Google mobility data showed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and recreation activity in Belfast between early April and mid-May .
Thankfully , things have started to improve with most businesses now open again and the city is certainly busier than it was , but Belfast ’ s recovery is slow .
Year on year footfall in the city centre is still significantly down and the casualties are beginning to mount .
Stores such as Eason ’ s and DW Sports have closed their doors and others like Marks and Spencer and Debenhams have announced big job losses .
With each passing day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery is getting a little rockier .
The new Executive didn ’ t have much time to get its feet under the table before the pandemic struck .
Before even being able to set out its collective , long term vision for the region , it has had to swiftly spend close to £2 billion to tackle COVID-19 and plan its response to a sharp recession that wasn ’ t on the cards when Ministers were appointed back in January .
Ordinarily , one would automatically expect that , whatever interventions or incentives @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a recovery plan , they would rely on Belfast to perform strongly with cities , the world over , seen as crucial to any economy .
But that accepted wisdom is being challenged by COVID-19 in a way that no other crisis – not the financial crash , not Brexit , not climate change – in the last two decades has tested it .
Cities have come to be seen as the epicentres of the coronavirus .
It began of course in Wuhan , a city of 11 million in central China @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York and London was blamed for the spread of COVID-19 .
The abandonment of city centre offices with , according to Belfast Chamber analysis , only 5 % of office workers back at their desk full time , hasn ’ t , thus far , caused businesses significantly difficulties with anecdotal evidence of productivity either unaffected or even up and indeed , in some cases , local firms have been able to win business from competitors in countries with far less reliable telecommunications .
The resultant reduction in commuting saw once jam-packed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ considerably .
With the contrast between thriving towns and even neighbourhoods less than a mile away from Belfast city centre , it is a troubling time for the city ’ s economy and conjures up so many questions including fundamental ones .
As one person put it to me during a conversation a few months ago , how the city responds to the coronavirus pandemic is answered by the question “ what will Belfast be for ?
” .
Such a question would have been unimaginable even a few short months ago .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chamber hosted our BelFastForward conference .
After hearing about how New York and Vienna had successfully regenerated and the encouraging beginnings that we were making in our own city , it ’ s safe to say that no one left the conference thinking that Belfast had anything other than a very bright future ahead of it .
We certainly didn ’ t have to ask the question “ what will Belfast be for ” .
It was obvious what it is was for .
It was the economic driver of the entire region @ @ @ @ @ @ @ NI ’ s jobs , 25p in every £1 of rates revenue and half of all out of state visitor spend .
It was so crucial to the whole region ’ s economy that it led the OECD to conclude in 2008 that NI “ will only succeed if the city of Belfast , its capital , major business and employment hub , infrastructure platform and largest settlement , is also able to succeed ” .
Cities everywhere are struggling .
Belfast ’ s story is repeated in places like London , Dublin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from an absence of students , international tourists and office-based workers .
When the impact is , potentially , so profound , it is understandable why we are all searching for instant answers about what this all means but it still feels much too early to sign the death certificate for the city as the primary economic unit .
As American academic Richard Florida recently said , “ predictions of the death of cities always follow shocks like this one .
But urbanisation has always been a greater force than infectious disease ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this time will be no different .
Cities haven ’ t been uniformly impacted by COVID-19 .
The far lower levels of deaths in incredibly densely populated cities like Singapore , Hong Kong and Seoul suggest that the speed of government action and the extent of lockdown restrictions matter more than the size of the city .
Even London , so hard hit initially , has , more lately , had an infection rate much lower than the rest of the UK .
Besides , Belfast benefits from being more of a ‘ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s megacities .
Belfast is big enough to have many of the amenities of a larger city but small enough to retain a strong sense of community and have some amazing coast and countryside right on our doorstep .
Plus , we possess the added advantage of being at such an early stage in our regeneration journey .
That permits Belfast to build into our many regeneration schemes the sort of space that citizens will seek in a post-COVID-19 world rather than have to expensively retrofit as other cities will have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspect , flexible working is here to stay , Belfast , with spaces like Glandore , the Ormeau Baths and Clockwise , the office market was already adapting to a trend that had been in motion for some time even before the pandemic .
Ultimately , what has sparked the growth of cites remains unaltered and , if anything , enhanced by the restrictions the pandemic has placed on everyday life .
We are , fundamentally , social animals .
Not being able to see family , friends and work colleagues .
Not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Donegall Square and watch the world go by .
Not being able to go for a pint or a meal in the Cathedral Quarter .
Not being able to stroll around our favourite shops .
We missed all of those things and the human interaction they involve .
Well-paying jobs are only part of the equation .
The energy , vibrancy , diversity and lifestyle that only a city can bring are equally valuable if not more so in attracting that all-important young talent .
As a PwC report put it “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a city ” and Belfast ’ s pulse has been beating strong and will do so again soon .
But whatever this means for cities , the question “ what will Belfast be for ” is still very relevant and one we can ’ t and shouldn ’ t ignore .
Just because COVID-19 may not prove to be a mortal threat to the city , it doesn ’ t mean we shouldn ’ t embrace some of the change it has brought .
One of the abiding lessons that the last number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city ’ s economy really is an ecosystem .
Each very different sector has , as a member recently described to me , a ‘ critical dependency ’ on each other .
It might be hard to conceive of two more different business models than the bar in the Cathedral Quarter and the tech firm writing code for a New York based bank .
But both rely on each other .
The bar needs the tech sector worker to come in for a pint with colleagues after work on a Friday , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and lifestyle generated by our retail , hospitality , leisure and tourism sectors that help attract the talent the tech businesses needs to succeed .
In embracing the more positive aspects of change created by the pandemic , we should ensure that it is built on the bedrock of a strong economy and successful sectors like fintech and cyber security and medical technology that our city so excels at and for which future demand will be high .
Naturally , that will require what might be described as a more conventional response from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ help rekindle our economy .
One of the most welcome announcements in reaction to the catastrophic impact the coronavirus is having on our economy was focused on the city with the decision to match fund the Government ’ s contribution to the Belfast Region City Deal taking the total public sector investment to £700 million , recognising that our capital city will be at the heart of our region ’ s economic future .
Accelerating the implementation of the City Deal would be an excellent start .
The finance is in place .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ it includes are potentially transformational .
It is a recipe for real success , but Belfast Chamber believes that the need to build Belfast back better presents us with a once in a generation opportunity to do even more .
It might seem odd for the Chief Executive of the city ’ s biggest business organisation to say this , but the answer to the question – “ what will Belfast be for ” – goes far beyond the economy .
Belfast Chamber believes that we should make the social and urban regeneration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ renewal our shared ambition .
Our focus should be on making Belfast an even better place to live , work and play – that ‘ holy trinity ’ of any successful city .
Belfast ’ s future can not be based just upon retail any more than it can be based solely on offices .
It has to become a place where we do more than work .
It has to be about those experiences that you can only have in a city the size of Belfast .
That mix of independent retailers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pubs and restaurants as well as arts , culture and leisure , standing alongside our offices .
But above all , Belfast must become a place that more people call home .
The absence of any significant residential population in the city centre is one of the less spoken about legacies of our Troubles .
As drastically as the city has changed since those dark days , city centre living is a trend where we haven ’ t kept pace with other UK cities .
Although Belfast ’ s city centre population grew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , that does not compare favourably to those in Liverpool , Birmingham , Leeds and Manchester who saw the number of people living in the heart of their cities increase by 181 % , 163 % , 150 % and 149 % respectively between 2002 and 2015 .
With around 5,000 people living in central Belfast , our city centre has approximately 7 times fewer inhabitants than Manchester .
Stimulating more city centre living is by far the most sustainable way to achieve the Belfast Agenda target of growing the city ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide a much-needed boost for the city centre ’ s retail and hospitality sectors in addition to breathing life into Belfast and making it a 24/7 city .
It would equally act as a catalyst for and need to be accompanied by a reshaping of the city , with the creation of more open and green space , the serious softening of the ‘ ring of steel ’ around the city centre formed by the inner ring road and the Westlink and the taking forward the work started already by Infrastructure Minister on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ private car and more pedestrian , cyclist and public transport friendly .
Over the course of the past six months , we have witnessed the creation of new cycle lanes and pavements cafes popping up across the city .
These initiatives have been temporary or born our of necessity but it is clear that , regardless of COVID-19 , these and other measures will be essential to making Belfast a much more liveable city that isn ’ t just all about being an economic driver for the whole of Northern Ireland , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ choose to live in and visit time and time again because of all that it will have to offer .
Tying all of this together is absolutely key .
It will involve multiple partners across the public and private sectors and creating a vision is one thing but delivering it is quite another .
That ’ s why Belfast Chamber thinks the time is right to consider the extent of the levers and powers that Belfast as a city has to realise a regeneration project of the magnitude we need .
Our competitor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ increasing these further .
They enjoy control over regeneration , transport and housing – the basic necessities of urban life .
Successful cities have also channelled powers through development corporations and taxation levers through enterprise zones .
These are tools that are effective in stimulating regeneration and attracting investment to areas of need .
In contrast , Belfast lacks the powers and hasn ’ t yet utilised the levers to deliver change where it is needed and if this gap isn ’ t addressed , then we could fall further behind as cities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovery .
Rather than retreat from the city , perhaps now is the time to not only dream big but to put in place the vehicle that can deliver that dream of a revitalised city that has the capacity to fulfil its obvious potential .
Belfast will rise again .
Business in the city has endured much down through the years and always exhibited a tremendous resilience and ability to bounce back .
We have all the assets we need to succeed – the talent ; the world leading sectors and universities ; @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cultural offering .
Let ’ s use this opportunity to make the most of them and ensure that Belfast not only recovers but is built back better .
This post is part of our # TheReset series in association with Ulster Bank If you would like to get involved in # TheReset , either as an individual or as part of an organisation , please do get in touch by emailing us at [ email protected ] or [ email protected ] with an idea for inclusion in a range of articles or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Belfast City Hall ” by D-Stanley is licensed under CC BY

Simon Hamilton is an ex DUP MLA & Finance Minister. He is currently Chief Executive of Belfast Chamber of Trade and Commerce. You can follow him on Twitter
Back at the beginning of 2020, I wrote a piece that appeared in the local press in which I predicted that “better times were ahead” for Belfast. The rationale for my optimistic outlook was that, with a deal struck on Brexit, a Conservative Government at Westminster with a whopping majority and the restoration of the Stormont Executive, business had what it had sorely missed for some years – a sense of stability.
How wrong I was. Less than 2 months later, the Belfast economy was in lockdown, with businesses closed completely or with staff swiftly sent home to work remotely. The economic effect of the restrictions imposed to help stop the spread of COVID-19 have reached far and wide, but the city has borne the brunt. At the height of lockdown, a Belfast Chamber survey found that just 6% of the city’s businesses remained physically open, whilst Google mobility data showed a decrease of 74% in retail and recreation activity in Belfast between early April and mid-May.
Thankfully, things have started to improve with most businesses now open again and the city is certainly busier than it was, but Belfast’s recovery is slow. Year on year footfall in the city centre is still significantly down and the casualties are beginning to mount. Stores such as Eason’s and DW Sports have closed their doors and others like Marks and Spencer and Debenhams have announced big job losses. With each passing day, it feels like the road to recovery is getting a little rockier.
The new Executive didn’t have much time to get its feet under the table before the pandemic struck. Before even being able to set out its collective, long term vision for the region, it has had to swiftly spend close to £2 billion to tackle COVID-19 and plan its response to a sharp recession that wasn’t on the cards when Ministers were appointed back in January. Ordinarily, one would automatically expect that, whatever interventions or incentives the Executive would reach for as part of a recovery plan, they would rely on Belfast to perform strongly with cities, the world over, seen as crucial to any economy.
But that accepted wisdom is being challenged by COVID-19 in a way that no other crisis – not the financial crash, not Brexit, not climate change – in the last two decades has tested it.
Cities have come to be seen as the epicentres of the coronavirus. It began of course in Wuhan, a city of 11 million in central China, and population density in places like New York and London was blamed for the spread of COVID-19. The abandonment of city centre offices with, according to Belfast Chamber analysis, only 5% of office workers back at their desk full time, hasn’t, thus far, caused businesses significantly difficulties with anecdotal evidence of productivity either unaffected or even up and indeed, in some cases, local firms have been able to win business from competitors in countries with far less reliable telecommunications. The resultant reduction in commuting saw once jam-packed roads virtually empty and pollution levels lower considerably. With the contrast between thriving towns and even neighbourhoods less than a mile away from Belfast city centre, it is a troubling time for the city’s economy and conjures up so many questions including fundamental ones. As one person put it to me during a conversation a few months ago, how the city responds to the coronavirus pandemic is answered by the question “what will Belfast be for?”.
Such a question would have been unimaginable even a few short months ago. At the end of February, Belfast Chamber hosted our BelFastForward conference. After hearing about how New York and Vienna had successfully regenerated and the encouraging beginnings that we were making in our own city, it’s safe to say that no one left the conference thinking that Belfast had anything other than a very bright future ahead of it. We certainly didn’t have to ask the question “what will Belfast be for”. It was obvious what it is was for. It was the economic driver of the entire region. It accounted for 30% of NI’s jobs, 25p in every £1 of rates revenue and half of all out of state visitor spend. It was so crucial to the whole region’s economy that it led the OECD to conclude in 2008 that NI “will only succeed if the city of Belfast, its capital, major business and employment hub, infrastructure platform and largest settlement, is also able to succeed”.
Cities everywhere are struggling. Belfast’s story is repeated in places like London, Dublin and Glasgow. They too are suffering from an absence of students, international tourists and office-based workers. When the impact is, potentially, so profound, it is understandable why we are all searching for instant answers about what this all means but it still feels much too early to sign the death certificate for the city as the primary economic unit. As American academic Richard Florida recently said, “predictions of the death of cities always follow shocks like this one. But urbanisation has always been a greater force than infectious disease”. And there is some suggestion that this time will be no different.
Cities haven’t been uniformly impacted by COVID-19. The far lower levels of deaths in incredibly densely populated cities like Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul suggest that the speed of government action and the extent of lockdown restrictions matter more than the size of the city. Even London, so hard hit initially, has, more lately, had an infection rate much lower than the rest of the UK.
Besides, Belfast benefits from being more of a ‘Goldilocks’ sized city than the world’s megacities. Belfast is big enough to have many of the amenities of a larger city but small enough to retain a strong sense of community and have some amazing coast and countryside right on our doorstep. Plus, we possess the added advantage of being at such an early stage in our regeneration journey. That permits Belfast to build into our many regeneration schemes the sort of space that citizens will seek in a post-COVID-19 world rather than have to expensively retrofit as other cities will have to. And, even, as I suspect, flexible working is here to stay, Belfast, with spaces like Glandore, the Ormeau Baths and Clockwise, the office market was already adapting to a trend that had been in motion for some time even before the pandemic.
Ultimately, what has sparked the growth of cites remains unaltered and, if anything, enhanced by the restrictions the pandemic has placed on everyday life. We are, fundamentally, social animals. Not being able to see family, friends and work colleagues. Not being able to sit with a coffee in Donegall Square and watch the world go by. Not being able to go for a pint or a meal in the Cathedral Quarter. Not being able to stroll around our favourite shops. We missed all of those things and the human interaction they involve. Well-paying jobs are only part of the equation. The energy, vibrancy, diversity and lifestyle that only a city can bring are equally valuable if not more so in attracting that all-important young talent. As a PwC report put it “quality of life is the heartbeat of a city” and Belfast’s pulse has been beating strong and will do so again soon.
But whatever this means for cities, the question “what will Belfast be for” is still very relevant and one we can’t and shouldn’t ignore. Just because COVID-19 may not prove to be a mortal threat to the city, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t embrace some of the change it has brought.
One of the abiding lessons that the last number of months has taught me is how the city’s economy really is an ecosystem. Each very different sector has, as a member recently described to me, a ‘critical dependency’ on each other. It might be hard to conceive of two more different business models than the bar in the Cathedral Quarter and the tech firm writing code for a New York based bank. But both rely on each other. The bar needs the tech sector worker to come in for a pint with colleagues after work on a Friday, whilst it is the buzz and atmosphere and lifestyle generated by our retail, hospitality, leisure and tourism sectors that help attract the talent the tech businesses needs to succeed. In embracing the more positive aspects of change created by the pandemic, we should ensure that it is built on the bedrock of a strong economy and successful sectors like fintech and cyber security and medical technology that our city so excels at and for which future demand will be high.
Naturally, that will require what might be described as a more conventional response from the Executive to the current crisis to help rekindle our economy. One of the most welcome announcements in reaction to the catastrophic impact the coronavirus is having on our economy was focused on the city with the decision to match fund the Government’s contribution to the Belfast Region City Deal taking the total public sector investment to £700 million, recognising that our capital city will be at the heart of our region’s economic future. Accelerating the implementation of the City Deal would be an excellent start. The finance is in place. The infrastructure, regeneration and tourism projects it includes are potentially transformational. It is a recipe for real success, but Belfast Chamber believes that the need to build Belfast back better presents us with a once in a generation opportunity to do even more.
It might seem odd for the Chief Executive of the city’s biggest business organisation to say this, but the answer to the question – “what will Belfast be for” – goes far beyond the economy. Belfast Chamber believes that we should make the social and urban regeneration of Belfast as well as its economic renewal our shared ambition. Our focus should be on making Belfast an even better place to live, work and play – that ‘holy trinity’ of any successful city. Belfast’s future cannot be based just upon retail any more than it can be based solely on offices. It has to become a place where we do more than work. It has to be about those experiences that you can only have in a city the size of Belfast. That mix of independent retailers and flagship stores, brilliant cafes, pubs and restaurants as well as arts, culture and leisure, standing alongside our offices.
But above all, Belfast must become a place that more people call home.
The absence of any significant residential population in the city centre is one of the less spoken about legacies of our Troubles. As drastically as the city has changed since those dark days, city centre living is a trend where we haven’t kept pace with other UK cities. Although Belfast’s city centre population grew by 31% between 2001 and 2011, that does not compare favourably to those in Liverpool, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester who saw the number of people living in the heart of their cities increase by 181%, 163%, 150% and 149% respectively between 2002 and 2015. With around 5,000 people living in central Belfast, our city centre has approximately 7 times fewer inhabitants than Manchester.
Stimulating more city centre living is by far the most sustainable way to achieve the Belfast Agenda target of growing the city’s population by 66,000 by 2035 and would provide a much-needed boost for the city centre’s retail and hospitality sectors in addition to breathing life into Belfast and making it a 24/7 city. It would equally act as a catalyst for and need to be accompanied by a reshaping of the city, with the creation of more open and green space, the serious softening of the ‘ring of steel’ around the city centre formed by the inner ring road and the Westlink and the taking forward the work started already by Infrastructure Minister on making the city less reliant on the private car and more pedestrian, cyclist and public transport friendly. Over the course of the past six months, we have witnessed the creation of new cycle lanes and pavements cafes popping up across the city. These initiatives have been temporary or born our of necessity but it is clear that, regardless of COVID-19, these and other measures will be essential to making Belfast a much more liveable city that isn’t just all about being an economic driver for the whole of Northern Ireland, but is also a place that people will choose to live in and visit time and time again because of all that it will have to offer.
Tying all of this together is absolutely key. It will involve multiple partners across the public and private sectors and creating a vision is one thing but delivering it is quite another. That’s why Belfast Chamber thinks the time is right to consider the extent of the levers and powers that Belfast as a city has to realise a regeneration project of the magnitude we need.
Our competitor cities have far greater powers and are increasing these further. They enjoy control over regeneration, transport and housing – the basic necessities of urban life. Successful cities have also channelled powers through development corporations and taxation levers through enterprise zones. These are tools that are effective in stimulating regeneration and attracting investment to areas of need. In contrast, Belfast lacks the powers and hasn’t yet utilised the levers to deliver change where it is needed and if this gap isn’t addressed, then we could fall further behind as cities elsewhere also start turning their attention to recovery.
Rather than retreat from the city, perhaps now is the time to not only dream big but to put in place the vehicle that can deliver that dream of a revitalised city that has the capacity to fulfil its obvious potential.
Belfast will rise again. Business in the city has endured much down through the years and always exhibited a tremendous resilience and ability to bounce back. We have all the assets we need to succeed – the talent; the world leading sectors and universities; the retail, hospitality, leisure and cultural offering. Let’s use this opportunity to make the most of them and ensure that Belfast not only recovers but is built back better.
This post is part of our #TheReset series in association with Ulster Bank
If you would like to get involved in #TheReset, either as an individual or as part of an organisation, please do get in touch by emailing us at [email protected] or [email protected] with an idea for inclusion in a range of articles or events over September and October.
“Belfast City Hall” by D-Stanley is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-09-12--Boris Johnson has thrown everything up in the air. The EU has to bring them down to earth

In its story today the Times slips in unattributably Johnson ’ s terms for a deal .
The right of government to subsidise company development is the Trojan horse that has emerged as the biggest obstacle to a deal because it continues to apply to GB as well as NI , leaving a remnant of EU regulation at the heart of the UK that the sovereignty zealots find intolerable .
On this apparently esoteric topic depends much of the future character of the relationships between the UK and Europe , the different parts of the UK , and in Ireland @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the stumbling block but the EU allows for state aid .
UK and EU negotiators are to meet in two weeks to thrash out the level of customs checks required under the Irish protocol , on goods and produce moving between Britain and Northern Ireland .
The joint committee will also try to agree on whether export declarations are needed for Northern Irish firms sending goods into the UK and what constitutes a state subsidy under the agreement .
A senior source said that if a satisfactory agreement could be reached then it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the threat to give ministers the power to override the agreement .
“ The expectation is that we will be able at the joint committee to resolve these questions , ” they said .
“ We hope against hope that we never need to go there .
And if it is the case that an agreement was secured at the joint committee then we would not need to exercise those powers .
We could drop them from the bill.
” The question is whether the bad blood of the past five days will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Boris Johnson ’ s decision to deploy the “ nuclear ” option was the result of EU provocation over exports of British meat .
This could have stopped Britain sending some foods to Northern Ireland , which the government could not countenance .
And so a strategy , discussed for months , was deployed by which the UK would threaten to legislate to let ministers override the withdrawal agreement .
Whitehall knew the move was incendiary .
The issue was not helped when the plan leaked .
There is still irritation in Brussels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where perceptions have been reinforced that Mr Johnson can not be trusted .
If the EU agrees to ease the passage of goods GB to NI within the next fortnight , he will promise not to self harm by removing the breaches of international law Boring old details to be worked out in the joint committee .
To say the least , the contrast in negotiating styles is stark .
But is Johnson ’ s offer a runner ?
The British government has always loathed what it signed up to .
Boris Johnson @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Protocol ’ s implications , to the exasperation of the partners with whom he had just signed the treaty .
What this week ’ s Internal Market Bill does ( and what the Finance Bill is expected to do ) is neuter the things London hates : tariffs applying to goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland , exit summary declarations for goods moving from Northern Ireland to GB , and the application of EU state aid rules .
There are other obligations London hates : the chore of building EU @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Northern ports to carry out checks on live animals , animal-derived products , and food coming in from GB .
Brussels is now waiting to see if the Agriculture Bill will try to swot aside those obligations as well .
Already the BBC has reported that Northern Ireland ’ s Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots wants to suspend work on BCPs because the Internal Market Bill means all bets are off .
From the word go , the UK portrayed the Joint Committee as a place where they could keep negotiating the Protocol .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the European Union additional flexibilities and sensible practical measures across all aspects of the Protocol… ” ( according to the New Decade , New Approach paper which enabled the restoration of the Assembly ) .
Not so , said the EU .
The Joint Committee is there to implement what has already been negotiated .
The Joint Committee ( and its specialised subcommittee ) did have discretion to look for flexibilities so long as they were compatible with the legal framework .
Indeed , workstreams were under way to look at , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be handled , and what might be done to ease the burden of exit summary declarations .
One element of the Protocol which is not within the remit of the Joint Committee is state aid… .Despite the lack of media attention , in reality state aid was a very hot potato from the start .
The EU made it clear that , if Northern Ireland was to remain within the orbit of the single market then EU state aid rules would apply , and they would have a reach-across effect on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ closely involved throughout that period , nothing was hidden , and Boris Johnson and his team were fully cognisant of all the state aid implications ( and , indeed , the details around tariffs and exit summary declarations ) .
So why did Downing Street detonate the Protocol at the most sensitive point of the future relationship negotiations ?
Why too did Johnson decide to use the most toxic issue that had bedevilled the divorce ( Ireland ) and is still bedevilling the future relationship ( state aid ) ?
“ Number 10 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out for full independence on state aid in any EU trade deal would be hugely undermined by the ‘ oven ready deal ’ Boris Johnson signed last October , ” said Paul McGrade , a former Foreign Office and European Commission official and a senior counsel at Lexington consultancy .
Another theory is that London is deliberately using the Protocol as a wedge to open up the entire state aid issue in the hope that they can hammer out a last-minute grand bargain : delete the state aid reach-across , and even some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ discuss what you ’ re proposing on the broader state aid relationship .
“ If there ’ s no agreement on state aid , ” mused one EU official close to the negotiations , “ it might be a too-clever-by-half strategy .
“ You tell the chief negotiator , look , we will deny it if you discuss it any further , but do you think there is a case for having a single state aid system [ for the EU and UK ] which is wider , but which means we overwrite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Agreement ?
” It seems implausible , not least because trust lies at the heart of the EU ’ s negotiating position .
The UK approach has been “ trust us ” , not just on state aid but on many of the key future relationship topics , like food safety , animal health , data protection and so on .
By throwing out far-reaching parts of the Protocol without warning , the bar for the EU to trust the UK has been placed dizzyingly high .
On the other hand whatever the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ across ” to GB , potentially affected any company that does business in NI , is excessive .
An agreement might be reached pragmatically .
If the UK agree not to dump say cars with old tech into the EU but would agree to share new tech with the EU that stumbling block could be removed .
The Time and RTE agree on one thing ; trust is more vital than ever .
Let ’ s make the EU take their threats off the table and pass this Bill “ …Our partners know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is their friend , their biggest single export market and committed forever to the peace and security of the European continent .
They know that there are ways in which we want to continue and even deepen our relations , not just in trade .
Our negotiators believe that there may be a serious misunderstanding about the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement that we reached last October .
You may remember those days .
They were torrid .
We were negotiating with one hand tied behind our back , since Parliament had voted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ right to walk away .
We had a deadline of October 31 – which Parliament decided to flout .
MPs were in a state of constant turmoil and recrimination .
And yet , provided it was applied in good faith , the Withdrawal Agreement we reached was extremely good .
We excised the baleful presence of the Northern Ireland “ backstop ” , which effectively kept this country locked in the EU ’ s legal orbit , forced to accept EU laws , unable to do free trade deals .
We made sure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom , and able to take part fully in new free trade agreements ( such as the one Liz Truss has just done with Japan ) .
And we also took steps to protect free movement at the all-important border between Northern Ireland and Ireland .
We agreed that , in some limited ways , Northern Ireland would continue to conform with EU law for four years .
We agreed that this limited alignment would end , unless the Northern Irish assembly voted to continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ light-touch checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland , in case they should go on to Ireland , in order to avoid checks at the North-South border .
And on the basis of that excellent deal we left the EU – and so it is deeply regrettable that what seemed so simple and clear to us is seen very differently by our EU friends .
We decided in the Withdrawal Agreement to create a Joint Committee , in which we would thrash out the details of these new arrangements .
It is here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are now hearing that , unless we agree to the EU ’ s terms , the EU will use an extreme interpretation of the Northern Ireland protocol to impose a full-scale trade border down the Irish Sea .
We are being told that the EU will not only impose tariffs on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland , but that they might actually stop the transport of food products from GB to NI .
I have to say that we never seriously believed that the EU would be willing to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to blockade one part of the UK , to cut it off , or that they would actually threaten to destroy the economic and territorial integrity of the UK .
This was for the very good reason that any such barrier , any such tariffs or division , would be completely contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement .
By actively undermining the Union of our country , such an interpretation would seriously endanger peace and stability in Northern Ireland .
This interpretation can not have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the protocol ( it certainly wasn ’ t ours ) – and it is therefore vital that we close that option down .
We want an agreement in the Joint Committee on how we can implement the protocol .
We have consistently shown that we are willing to help our friends – to the extent that is possible and reasonable – to protect the integrity of their Single Market and to keep a fluid North-South border .
But we can not leave the theoretical power to carve up our country – to divide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ international organisation .
We have to protect the UK from that disaster , and that is why we have devised a legal safety net – in the UK Internal Market Bill – to clarify the position and to sort out the inconsistencies .
This Bill protects jobs and growth across the UK by preventing barriers to trade between the nations and regions .
It means that anything approved for sale in Scotland or Wales must be good for sale in England or Northern Ireland , and vice-versa .
The Bill gives freedoms and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ previously set out in EU law .
That is why , as we now come out of the EU , it is absolutely vital .
It is now also clear that we need this Bill to protect the free flow of goods and services between NI and the rest of the UK , and to make sense of that commitment in the EU withdrawal agreement – that NI is part of the UK customs territory .
It is therefore crucial for peace , and for the Union itself .
We must get this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my fellow parliamentarians that we can not go back to the dark days of last year – the squabbling that so undermined our negotiators .
If we fail to pass this Bill , or if we weaken its protections , then we will in fact reduce the chances of getting that Canada-style deal .
As it happens , I believe that this country will prosper mightily in either event .
We could do very well indeed if we left on Australian terms .
But there is no doubt that , in the short @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be better and smoother – and that is what we are pitching for .
So let ’ s end any potential for misunderstanding .
Let ’ s remove this danger to the very fabric of the United Kingdom .
Let ’ s make the EU take their threats off the table .
And let ’ s get this Bill through , back up our negotiators and protect our country ”

The roller coaster continues.
In its story today the Times slips in unattributably Johnson’s terms for a deal.
The right of government to subsidise company development is the Trojan horse that has emerged as the biggest obstacle to a deal because it continues to apply to GB as well as NI, leaving a remnant of EU regulation at the heart of the UK that the sovereignty zealots find intolerable. On this apparently esoteric topic depends much of the future character of the relationships between the UK and Europe, the different parts of the UK, and in Ireland north and south.
State Aid is the stumbling block but the EU allows for state aid. UK and EU negotiators are to meet in two weeks to thrash out the level of customs checks required under the Irish protocol, on goods and produce moving between Britain and Northern Ireland. The joint committee will also try to agree on whether export declarations are needed for Northern Irish firms sending goods into the UK and what constitutes a state subsidy under the agreement.
A senior source said that if a satisfactory agreement could be reached then it would not be necessary to make good the threat to give ministers the power to override the agreement. “The expectation is that we will be able at the joint committee to resolve these questions,” they said. “We hope against hope that we never need to go there. And if it is the case that an agreement was secured at the joint committee then we would not need to exercise those powers. We could drop them from the bill.”
The question is whether the bad blood of the past five days will make compromise harder.
Sources insist that Boris Johnson’s decision to deploy the “nuclear” option was the result of EU provocation over exports of British meat. This could have stopped Britain sending some foods to Northern Ireland, which the government could not countenance.
And so a strategy, discussed for months, was deployed by which the UK would threaten to legislate to let ministers override the withdrawal agreement.
Whitehall knew the move was incendiary. The issue was not helped when the plan leaked.
There is still irritation in Brussels and, more importantly, Dublin, where perceptions have been reinforced that Mr Johnson cannot be trusted.
If the EU agrees to ease the passage of goods GB to NI within the next fortnight, he will promise not to self harm by removing the breaches of international law Boring old details to be worked out in the joint committee. To say the least, the contrast in negotiating styles is stark. But is Johnson’s offer a runner?
RTE’s Tony Connelly muses over the prospects
The British government has always loathed what it signed up to. Boris Johnson and others lost no time in denying the Protocol’s implications, to the exasperation of the partners with whom he had just signed the treaty.
What this week’s Internal Market Bill does (and what the Finance Bill is expected to do) is neuter the things London hates: tariffs applying to goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, exit summary declarations for goods moving from Northern Ireland to GB, and the application of EU state aid rules.
There are other obligations London hates: the chore of building EU Border Control Posts (BCPs) at Northern ports to carry out checks on live animals, animal-derived products, and food coming in from GB.
Brussels is now waiting to see if the Agriculture Bill will try to swot aside those obligations as well. Already the BBC has reported that Northern Ireland’s Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots wants to suspend work on BCPs because the Internal Market Bill means all bets are off.
From the word go, the UK portrayed the Joint Committee as a place where they could keep negotiating the Protocol. London said it aimed “to negotiate with the European Union additional flexibilities and sensible practical measures across all aspects of the Protocol…” (according to the New Decade, New Approach paper which enabled the restoration of the Assembly).
Not so, said the EU. The Joint Committee is there to implement what has already been negotiated.
The Joint Committee (and its specialised subcommittee) did have discretion to look for flexibilities so long as they were compatible with the legal framework. Indeed, workstreams were under way to look at, for example, how consignments for supermarkets could be handled, and what might be done to ease the burden of exit summary declarations.
One element of the Protocol which is not within the remit of the Joint Committee is state aid…
.Despite the lack of media attention, in reality state aid was a very hot potato from the start. The EU made it clear that, if Northern Ireland was to remain within the orbit of the single market then EU state aid rules would apply, and they would have a reach-across effect on the rest of the UK…
According to sources closely involved throughout that period, nothing was hidden, and Boris Johnson and his team were fully cognisant of all the state aid implications (and, indeed, the details around tariffs and exit summary declarations).
So why did Downing Street detonate the Protocol at the most sensitive point of the future relationship negotiations? Why too did Johnson decide to use the most toxic issue that had bedevilled the divorce (Ireland) and is still bedevilling the future relationship (state aid)? “
Number 10 seems to have belatedly realised that holding out for full independence on state aid in any EU trade deal would be hugely undermined by the ‘oven ready deal’ Boris Johnson signed last October,” said Paul McGrade, a former Foreign Office and European Commission official and a senior counsel at Lexington consultancy.
Another theory is that London is deliberately using the Protocol as a wedge to open up the entire state aid issue in the hope that they can hammer out a last-minute grand bargain: delete the state aid reach-across, and even some other Protocol irritations, and we can discuss what you’re proposing on the broader state aid relationship.
“If there’s no agreement on state aid,” mused one EU official close to the negotiations, “it might be a too-clever-by-half strategy.
“You tell the chief negotiator, look, we will deny it if you discuss it any further, but do you think there is a case for having a single state aid system [for the EU and UK] which is wider, but which means we overwrite the state aid element of the Withdrawal Agreement?”
It seems implausible, not least because trust lies at the heart of the EU’s negotiating position. The UK approach has been “trust us”, not just on state aid but on many of the key future relationship topics, like food safety, animal health, data protection and so on.
By throwing out far-reaching parts of the Protocol without warning, the bar for the EU to trust the UK has been placed dizzyingly high.
On the other hand whatever the logic, the degree of “ reach across” to GB , potentially affected any company that does business in NI, is excessive. An agreement might be reached pragmatically. If the UK agree not to dump say cars with old tech into the EU but would agree to share new tech with the EU that stumbling block could be removed.
The Time and RTE agree on one thing; trust is more vital than ever.
Extracts from Boris Johnson’s Daily Telegraph article making his case follow
Let’s make the EU take their threats off the table and pass this Bill
By Boris Johnson
“…Our partners know that, whatever happens, the UK is their friend, their biggest single export market and committed forever to the peace and security of the European continent. They know that there are ways in which we want to continue and even deepen our relations, not just in trade.
Our negotiators believe that there may be a serious misunderstanding about the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement that we reached last October.
You may remember those days. They were torrid. We were negotiating with one hand tied behind our back, since Parliament had voted to deprive the UK side of the right to walk away. We had a deadline of October 31 – which Parliament decided to flout. MPs were in a state of constant turmoil and recrimination. And yet, provided it was applied in good faith, the Withdrawal Agreement we reached was extremely good.
We excised the baleful presence of the Northern Ireland “backstop”, which effectively kept this country locked in the EU’s legal orbit, forced to accept EU laws, unable to do free trade deals. We made sure that Northern Ireland was explicitly recognised as part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom, and able to take part fully in new free trade agreements (such as the one Liz Truss has just done with Japan). And we also took steps to protect free movement at the all-important border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
We agreed that, in some limited ways, Northern Ireland would continue to conform with EU law for four years. We agreed that this limited alignment would end, unless the Northern Irish assembly voted to continue it. We agreed to do some light-touch checks on goods arriving in Northern Ireland, in case they should go on to Ireland, in order to avoid checks at the North-South border.
And on the basis of that excellent deal we left the EU – and so it is deeply regrettable that what seemed so simple and clear to us is seen very differently by our EU friends.
We decided in the Withdrawal Agreement to create a Joint Committee, in which we would thrash out the details of these new arrangements. It is here that things risk coming unstuck. We are now hearing that, unless we agree to the EU’s terms, the EU will use an extreme interpretation of the Northern Ireland protocol to impose a full-scale trade border down the Irish Sea.
We are being told that the EU will not only impose tariffs on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, but that they might actually stop the transport of food products from GB to NI.
I have to say that we never seriously believed that the EU would be willing to use a treaty, negotiated in good faith, to blockade one part of the UK, to cut it off, or that they would actually threaten to destroy the economic and territorial integrity of the UK. This was for the very good reason that any such barrier, any such tariffs or division, would be completely contrary to the letter and the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement.
By actively undermining the Union of our country, such an interpretation would seriously endanger peace and stability in Northern Ireland. This interpretation cannot have been the real intention of those who framed the protocol (it certainly wasn’t ours) – and it is therefore vital that we close that option down.
We want an agreement in the Joint Committee on how we can implement the protocol. We have consistently shown that we are willing to help our friends – to the extent that is possible and reasonable – to protect the integrity of their Single Market and to keep a fluid North-South border.
But we cannot leave the theoretical power to carve up our country – to divide it – in the hands of an international organisation. We have to protect the UK from that disaster, and that is why we have devised a legal safety net – in the UK Internal Market Bill – to clarify the position and to sort out the inconsistencies.
This Bill protects jobs and growth across the UK by preventing barriers to trade between the nations and regions. It means that anything approved for sale in Scotland or Wales must be good for sale in England or Northern Ireland, and vice-versa.
The Bill gives freedoms and certainties for businesses and citizens that were previously set out in EU law. That is why, as we now come out of the EU, it is absolutely vital. It is now also clear that we need this Bill to protect the free flow of goods and services between NI and the rest of the UK, and to make sense of that commitment in the EU withdrawal agreement – that NI is part of the UK customs territory. It is therefore crucial for peace, and for the Union itself. We must get this Bill through.
So I say to my fellow parliamentarians that we cannot go back to the dark days of last year – the squabbling that so undermined our negotiators. If we fail to pass this Bill, or if we weaken its protections, then we will in fact reduce the chances of getting that Canada-style deal.
As it happens, I believe that this country will prosper mightily in either event. We could do very well indeed if we left on Australian terms. But there is no doubt that, in the short term at least, the Canada deal would be better and smoother – and that is what we are pitching for.
So let’s end any potential for misunderstanding. Let’s remove this danger to the very fabric of the United Kingdom. Let’s make the EU take their threats off the table. And let’s get this Bill through, back up our negotiators and protect our country”