There was a cameo moment during the otherwise dull Assembly debate about the long-awaited draft Programme for Government which caught our eye.
Timothy Gaston, who has stepped in to replace his boss Jim Allister as the TUV’s man up at Stormont, rose to moan about the fact that the Northern Ireland Protocol & Windsor Framework wasn’t given a mention in the document.
Tunnel-visioned Timothy, you see, like Jim and like Owen Polley, who regales us with his economic wisdom in the pages of the News Letter, thinks that the Protocol/Framework is wreaking havoc in the local economy. Hamstrung, we are, by the French & German appeasers.
But, apart from his regular trips down to the big smoke, Tim clearly doesn’t get out much. And he certainly doesn’t read the local business news. Just this week, we’ve had an upbeat prognosis on our economic performance from Ulster Bank’s Growth Tracker survey, which showed – once again – that Northern Ireland is outpacing other UK regions.
Add to that the news that the Northern Ireland employment total has just hit a record high, and you certainly don’t get the impression of a region crippled by the long and evil tentacles of continued European influence…..as Messrs. Allister, Gaston and Polley would have their followers believe.
They weren’t the only ones left disappointed by the document. Their old mates over at Conradh na Gaeilge said that it was – wait for it – ‘scandalous and disgraceful’ that the Irish language wasn’t picked out as a top priority. Did you really think it would be, lads?
As for the Programme for Government itself, yes, it’s a bit on the vague and detail-free side. But it’s a draft and we can’t do much but believe our leaders when they say that the gaps will be filled in and the detail added in due course.
Most importantly, it’s a Programme for Government in the making, and that’s what we’ve all been crying out for over recent months, weeks and even years. The very fact that we’re moving in the right direction sends the right signals out into the economy and the world of business.
The Executive says that it aims to create a sustainable and globally competitive economy here. Nothing wrong with that. The fact that the economy is already going well, and we’ve got more employment than ever, won’t do any harm as a foundation to build upon.
Business here has been doing its bit, as it always does, while waiting for our political representatives to catch up. Now that they’re making an effort, there’s a real chance that we can go forward together.
Or are we being a tad too optimistic?
Caoimhe Spells It Out
Within a few hours of the Programme for Government draft being unveiled, Caoimhe Archibald did her very best Rachel Reeves impression by talking about shortfalls in budgets and how she faced some tough choices and even tougher decisions. Sound familiar?
But, cutting to the chase, the Finance Minister’s comments should and will set alarm bells ringing in the business community. She’s talking about a ‘progressive rates system’. Now that doesn’t mean progressive in that it’ll be down there with the kids, inclusive or environmentally friendly. It means that she’ll be expecting a progressively larger take from rates.
Now the proud owners of quite a few of the houses between here and Holywood might as well kiss goodbye to a few of their hard-earned pounds. Their rates are almost certain to go up, and no one on the Nolan Show will be protesting on their behalf.
However, if she really wants to increase the take, Caoimhe Archibald has another easy option. And, both politically and for a Sinn Fein Minister, it is an easy option. It is, of course, to raise business rates.
Let’s hope she doesn’t do it. She certainly hasn’t said it in so many words.
Meanwhile, the First & Deputy First Minister, plus Caoimhe, will be off to London today (Thursday) to talk money with Rachel Reeves (or one of her juniors) and the Treasury. Given that they’ve just had to weather the storm of taking money away from the UK’s dear old pensioners, will they have the tea and scones laid out for Michelle, Emma & Caoimhe, the all-female tag team from the Emerald Isle?
Maybe, but there won’t be any brown envelope tucked under the saucer.
Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves
The draft PoG, as those of us who are experts in these things like to call it, drew an inevitable level of criticism from the broader media. They’d been waiting to pounce, Stephen Nolan-style, on the lack of detail contained in the document.
As mentioned above, it’s a whole lot better than nothing….which is where we were at this time last week.
Whilst it pains us to be so positive about our politicians, we have to say that we were impressed by the Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little Pengelly double act the other day. The Beeb’s Enda McClafferty did his best to channel his inner negativity, but Michelle and Emma did a sterling job defending their programme.
Media training is a wonderful thing. Michelle maintained her trademark smiling visage throughout. Emma’s not quite so good at hiding her irritation but managed to keep her cool despite clearly wanting to throttle McClafferty and put an end to his damn fool questions.
Ever since the chemistry between Rev. Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness that took us all by surprise, we’ve carefully watched how our First & Deputy First Ministers do their bits. It’s always worth remembering that there’s a bit of the politician’s craft at play here.
When Arlene Foster was around, the perception was that she and Michelle O’Neill didn’t get on. But, according to those in the know and behind the scenes, quite the opposite was true. They were the best-ish of mates.
Perhaps Michelle and ELP aren’t quite such bosom buddies. But they hide it well, and long may their double act continue. If they ever really fall out, we’ll all be in the s***.
To Sing Or Not To Sing
It was hard not to feel a bit sorry for Lee Carsley on Saturday. He used to be a regular visitor to Dublin having been capped 40-odd times for the country. But here he was back in town as the new manager of the England football team.
So Lee decided that discretion was the better part of valour and that standing in the Aviva Stadium belting out God Save The King might wind the locals up a tad too much. So he kept his mouth shut while his players and the English supporters did their bit…while the Irish fans tried their best to drown them out.
And, of course, he took plenty of flak, from the Daily Mail right through to good old Jacob Rees-Mogg, no longer an MP but a mouthpiece on GB News instead. Jacob called poor Lee an Irish Republican, which must be a bit of a novelty for a lad from Birmingham who played most of his career with the mighty Everton (…although not at this moment in time, it should be added).
It got us thinking. Maybe we’d be better off without the whole national anthem thing at sporting matches. But we’d miss it, wouldn’t we?
For those of us of a rugby persuasion, we’d certainly miss it. There’s nothing quite like the atmosphere before an Ireland v England game with the oval ball, when the English team have to stand around while the Irish President does his thing and then through not one but two Irish anthems, the real one and the Phil Coulter one.
And we’d miss the Italian national anthem too. The best of the lot without exception.
Cats & Dogs Top The Agenda
The American election build-up just gets better, and Wednesday’s morning’s TV debate didn’t disappoint. Not that we stayed up late to watch it live. The highlights are all anyone ever needs.
Kamala Harris seemed to do well. She was reasoned, measured and came across like a former lawyer, which is precisely what she is. Trump, as always, came across as Trump. Often unhinged and firing off in all sorts of directions, right through the headline soundbite about immigrants eating people’s cats and dogs.
For some in his supporter base, what the big man says goes. So there’ll be MAGA fans in dust bowl states locking their furry friends up lest some passing Mexican skins them and wolfs them down with a dash or two of chilli sauce. Trump supporters will vote for Trump whatever nonsense he comes up with.
As ever with the US or A, everything is completely polarised. Voters are polarised and even the media is polarised. We used to think we were polarised here in Northern Ireland, but we’ve nothing on these guys.
On balance, most commentators seemed to think that Harris had won and Trump had struggled. CNN’s flash poll after the debate suggested that two-thirds of viewers reckoned Harris was the top performer.
But The Donald thought otherwise. He reckoned it was his ‘best ever debate’ and that he’d won it ‘by a lot’.
There’s a long way to go and even when it’s over, will it be over? That’s the worrying part of the whole episode, at least for Americans.
Golf….But Not As They Know It
It’s fortunate for some of our top golfers that there are no excess baggage charges when you’re travelling by private jet. Because most of them are going to have to have brought plenty of extra jumpers and pairs of tights in order to survive Royal County Down.
These are guys, don’t forget, who stick a layer or two extra on when the temparature drops below 20 degrees. The forecast for this afternoon’s first round down in Newcastle is 11 degrees with a spot of wind and rain thrown in for good measure. Never mind posting a good score, there’ll be a few out there who’ll be happy to avoid suffering from exposure.
Compared to last weekend, when we were enjoying decent temperatures and plenty of sunshine, this weekend is going to be ‘baltic’ as they say around these parts. Still, golf is golf, sport is sport and let’s hope Royal County Down looks spectacular for the television audiences.
Our best golf courses – also some of the world’s best golf courses – are superb. But, as the Coldplay song goes (almost), nobody said they were easy.