This afternoon we have seen the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill pass its third reading in the House of Commons. Many people start claiming that Equal Marriage is home and dry. This is quite far from the case. The Bill … Continue reading We’re being left behind in Northern Ireland: why I am a proud Liberal Democrat
With the number of local government district set to be cut from the current twenty-six to just eleven in the next couple of years there will be a drop in the number of councillors of about 120. The environment minister … Continue reading up to £35k as severance for NI councillors – DoE consults
On Monday 1 October there is a motion in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Equal Marriage: That this Assembly believes that all couples, including those of the same sex, should have the right to marry in the eyes of the … Continue reading A message to all the MLAs in Stormont #equalmarriage #religiousfreedom
At the first sitting of this mandate of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Mr Speaker Hay had his work cut out keeping Jim Allister MLA in check – here’s Wordle’s take on what the TUV leader said… Continue reading Day One of new Assembly – the clown has his first words…
The proposal that we should have the possibility of bilingual traffic signs in Northern Ireland is seen as divisive. However, I think it could have a much more positive benefit to our country in general.
Until many, mostly political unionists and cultural Protestants, stop seeing any language use other that of English as an attack on being British, we will have a hard job in using any such language. However, as I have said before, and has been said by many, if these self same people would look back in their heritage they would find that they are likely to have ancestors who used Irish, and if not Irish, then Scots Gaelic. Scots Gaelic of course like Welsh is in use on roadsigns in other parts of their so-beloved United Kingdom. In other words, they need to relearn the history of this island and come to the understanding that diversity is often a way of unifying a whole country. Continue reading linguistic diversity should be a positive benefit to all
A programme for the reform of the whole system is what is wanted. State built and State equipped school buildings in every district; management by a State department of Education… When a thorough system of secular education is advocated it is by many thought that religion is thereby endangered. This is not so. Religious instruction in schools is apt to be a mere routine which does not touch the finer feelings. Religious instruction in the schools has done much to destroy religious teaching in the home. The indifferent parent has satisfied his conscience by delegating some of his most important duties to the schoolmaster. In a country which has no State Church there is no State religion to be taught in the State Schools and it is the duty of the various religious denominations to see that their children get proper religious instruction without unnecessarily sacrificing their secular education and thereby providing third-rate education and routine religious instruction… Continue reading “We’re in a time warp: 1910, 2010, 2110?”
The most ambitious voter contact programme in British political history will be getting off the ground this weekend. The first wave of a total of 50 phonebanks will be open in cities across the United Kingdom. The cause ? The campaign for Yes to Fairer Votes for the Referendum on May 5th on the voting system used for Westminster elections. 140,000 already signed up Saturday 4th December will go down in history as the day it started. Already 140,000 people have signed up to help the campaign. I am proud to be one of them. This campaign truly is one from … Continue reading It’s a small change – but it will make a big difference
Have a look at the version of the Traditional Unionist Voice response to the draft Programme on Cohesion, Strategy and Integration below and see what phrases you can find in this. Some that have already been suggested include: Orange objects parades TUV parades within strongly sexual Unionist culture Ireland Irish people links genuinely Please find more, and add them to the comments. Maybe there will be a prize for the one judged the best by our friend in Livingston. Continue reading TUV CSI response brings out phrases they did not expect
Following an exchange between David Vance of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) and myself on Twitter last night, I agreed to read his work on the TUV’s response to the Energy consultation. TUV appreciates that a balanced energy strategy is essential and that renewable energy has a role to play in this. However, we believe that the goals set in Energy A Strategic Framework For Northern Ireland are completely unrealistic. In the Forward (sic) Minister Foster states that Northern Ireland will seek to achieve 40% of its electricity consumption from renewable sources by 2020. This target is repeated another seven … Continue reading TUV response writing: could do better
Gyronny Herald 