So the New Decade New Approach document on the face of it looks like a balanced deal, there is no Irish Language Act instead there will be a commissioner one for Irish, one for Ulster scots and from what I can tell a general cultural commissioner, my first thought in all I saw was how are we going to pay for everything but there seems to be a commitment from the British government but the amount is not stated and “subject to the conditions listed” these include better transparency and accountability (not a bad thing) and signing up to the new deal and all its components. There is also commitment from the Irish government on funding for border areas and the possibility of a highspeed rail service between Belfast, Dublin and Cork.
I have not seen any mechanism that will allow the abortion and same sex marriage bill to be rescinded within any of the text, but we will have to wait and see what type of game the DUP will play on that one.
The petition of concern might actually play a smaller roll in the future, it does seem to have been nerfed slightly, it is still in there so we will wait and see what way this can be abused again.
Overall, I see this as panic from all sides the British government knows the fallout from Brexit and the recent return of more nationalist MP’s than unionist could lead to a push for a border poll so they will throw money at us until people get a feeling of comfort again. The DUP and Sinn Fein feared an election because no doubt they would have taken a hit in the seats department and their grip on power would have slipped ever so slightly.
Will Stormont make a difference probably not too much but at least in the short-term Nurses and Teachers will get their money and the education crisis might just see some relief. I still have no faith in the place I don’t think Sinn Fein or the DUP will ever change for the better maybe one day the people will vote them out and wake up to their division tactics.
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