A little bit of politics folks`

[Shan]

what other country in the world has public representatives getting paid for not doing their job?

Hmmm different people have different concepts of what constitutes a public rep doing their job. One could argue that politicians acting against the interest of citizens constitutes them not doing their jobs. In that context every country is paying public reps for not doing their job.

That being said your overall point is a good one.

[WeeWorld]

North Down should be a safe Unionist seat but in a hugely positive step has elected an Alliance MP.
Wouldn't it be great if at the next election a safe Nationalist constituency reciprocated?
And then after that, for somewhere like North Belfast? What an amazing step
it would be for such a constituency to elect a cross-community MP.
Regular border polls would allow the identity issue to be ignored in Assembly and parliamentary elections.

[solidarity]

For a cross-community candidate to win North Belfast or most other seats, the candidate would need to be spectacularly wonderful, probably a really big name from some other field who moves into politics, Any local equivalent to Nelson Mandela around? Che Guevara? Adolf Hitler? Can't think of any others who brought enemy factions together.

Regular border polls would just be regularly kicking the hornets' nest, I'm afraid.

[Lurgan Lad]

Liam Neeson, Jimmy Nesbitt, Carl Frampton, that would be the guesses at the top of my list although would any of them want it. Maybe a priest/archbishop type person, but again probably wouldn't be a good move for them.

Agree on the border polls, if Sinn Fein were told it would be a once in a lifetime poll would they want it now or prefer to wait.

Was amazing news in North Down, a real kick up the Brennan to the DUP and hopefully we can get some kind of agreement that gets Stormont up and running.

[big mervyn]

Liam Neeson, Jimmy Nesbitt, Carl Frampton, that would be the guesses at the top of my list although would any of them want it. Maybe a priest/archbishop type person, but again probably wouldn't be a good move for them.

Agree on the border polls, if Sinn Fein were told it would be a once in a lifetime poll would they want it now or prefer to wait.

Was amazing news in North Down, a real kick up the Brennan to the DUP and hopefully we can get some kind of agreement that gets Stormont up and running.

This "once in a lifetime" lark is a crock of shyt. Why should it be once in a lifetime especially, as in Scotland's case, the English Govt substantially moves the goalposts?
Why not tack it on to the census every 10 years?

.... ans Stormont is the reason not the solution. Two many sectarian factions and petty conflicting parochial interests within them meant that the major strategic decisions that were required in Health and Education were never taken and never will be.

F*ck sake Lad. A priest/archbishop type person? Catch a f*cking grip

[Bobbievee]

Regrettably the only way to get strategic and non parochial decisions is to have direct rule.........maybe for another generation.
It has been known since the Hayes Review 40/50 years ago that we had too many major hospitals........parochial decisions since means we now have even more!

[big mervyn]

Regrettably the only way to get strategic and non parochial decisions is to have direct rule.........maybe for another generation.
It has been known since the Hayes Review 40/50 years ago that we had too many major hospitals........parochial decisions since means we now have even more!

Correct not to mention the administrative burden of 4? Health Boards when we should have one … and how many education systems and education boards do we have? state maintained, Catholic voluntary grammar, other voluntary grammar, integrated, Oirish language. Every one of them wholely or largely funded by the State. Start up an Ulster Scats Skool and my happiness will be complete

[Lurgan Lad]

Liam Neeson, Jimmy Nesbitt, Carl Frampton, that would be the guesses at the top of my list although would any of them want it. Maybe a priest/archbishop type person, but again probably wouldn't be a good move for them.

Agree on the border polls, if Sinn Fein were told it would be a once in a lifetime poll would they want it now or prefer to wait.

Was amazing news in North Down, a real kick up the Brennan to the DUP and hopefully we can get some kind of agreement that gets Stormont up and running.

This "once in a lifetime" lark is a crock of shyt. Why should it be once in a lifetime especially, as in Scotland's case, the English Govt substantially moves the goalposts?
Why not tack it on to the census every 10 years?

.... ans Stormont is the reason not the solution. Two many sectarian factions and petty conflicting parochial interests within them meant that the major strategic decisions that were required in Health and Education were never taken and never will be.

F*ck sake Lad. A priest/archbishop type person? Catch a f*cking grip

Salmond stated it was once in a generation, to say the English have moved the goalposts is nonsense given the EU referendum was based on Britain, not Scotland leaving the EU. We haven't even left the EU yet, and the terms on which trade will be based haven't been established. Crankie wants the referendum because the more you have at some point you will win one, and each one will continue to destabilise Scotland.

Don't agree on Stormont either Merv, the terms of the Good Friday agreement were what has led us to this impasse. The whole needing at least 50% of both communities to agree to any substantial change was ridiculous, if SDLP, Alliance, UUP and DUP agree on something (or Sinn Fein, SDLP, Alliance & UUP) why that was sufficient support to enact something I'll never know.

Priest/archbishop, the person I was thinking of was Black Santa but obviously like all of us he has better things to do with his time.

[big mervyn]

I think Mr Salmond's views might be somewhat discredited at the moment! Margaret Thatcher also once said that the only mandate the Scots needed was a Scottish majority of SNPs at Westminster! I still think "once in a generation" is a nonsense, and regardless of who said it, it carries no legal or moral weight if it can be demonstrated that there is a demand for one.

I agree about the terms of the GFA and the POC is rumoured to be the sticking point for the Duppers. Somewhat ironic as it was placed there primarily to protect the rights of the (at the time) Nationalist minority.

Black Santa may or may not be a decent spud but I do not want deluded God botherers running the country. Liam Beckett, the Ballymoney Black Santa might be a better choice!

[WeeWorld]

I don't think that celebrity candidates are the answer.
You want someone who lives in the constituency, has been
active in cross-community projects and has achieved
some degree of credibility on the "other" side.
Someone like that who people feel that they can trust and who
has publicly stated that they will park the constitutional issue
and purely advocate for the constituency. That would be the
type of candidate that could advance greater cohesion.

[Setanta]

In other words, anyone not in the DUP or Sinn Fein.

[Shan]

We can send up a few politicians if yer stuck for innovative thinkers and bastions of integrity.

[big mervyn]

We can send up a few politicians if yer stuck for innovative thinkers and bastions of integrity.

https://www.facebook.com/ExploreRTE/vid ... 957949974/

[big mervyn]

I'm not one for spreading rumours ...but maybe the DVLA need to consider tigjtening up the eyesight test?

[Jackie Brown]