Borderless thoughts on Politics, Public Affairs, the media and anything else that matters from Conall McDevitt, SDLP MLA for South Belfast
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  • Parading politics is bad politics

    Posted on October 28th, 2009 Conall McDevitt 1 comment

    Over the past decade this region has transformed its relationship with parades. There are still problems but the situation is so much better today because politicians have largely stepped back and let the Parades Commission get on with doing the just it was established to do.

    Why having reached a point where the is general acceptance of a process which appears to be working would you want to hand control back to the problem – politicians?

    What the First Minister proposed yesterday in the House Of Commons makes no sense nor is it in the regional interest. But then neither does what the DUP did on Lisburn City Council when the so called “City for Everyone” ignored advice and excluded SDLP councillors from a key committee.

    Current Affairs, Good Friday Agreement 10 years on, Politics, Public Affairs, Public Relations
     

    One response to “Parading politics is bad politics”

    1. John Hart November 1st, 2009 at 20:46

      Conall

      To be honest the SDLP’s response to the Lisburn case dissapointed me.

      In my view they should have publically disowned the action of the Equality Commission. Is there no pride in consistency of principle anymore? The biggest tactical battle the party has faced in recent months has been the denial of d’Hondt to run in P&J powers which yes is a denial of democracy.

      However for years the party cried for a power sharing mechanism in Unionist councils and when they employ the one the SDLP practically invented (to NI politics and parlance) and it bites a councillor on the ass then they are smug when the Equality Commission intervenes with redress.

      It seems to me that the party has allowed its agenda to be driven by the petty parochial ambitions of a single councillor to obtain position on a committee that in reality matters little in the wider scheme of things.

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