Perhaps in the US, elections can be won on something as trivial as the economy, but not so in Northern Ireland where the maintenance of age-old sectarian division is considered essential.
In the Republic, there is an excitement about voting for Sinn Féin who have performed admirably in opposition and it is difficult to see them not dominating Irish politics from 2021 onwards, if not sooner. In the north however, most republicans I know who have been long term Sinn Fein voters, no longer consider it worthwhile voting at all and are totally disillusioned by how far we will go to implement British rule in Ireland. I guess it has to be given a fair chance and be seen to fail to break the partitionist thinking once and for all.
Anyone who believes we will be better off with partition may think twice in the coming years. Not only is an independent 6 county statelet permanently economically unviable, but we will all soon be considerably out of pocket to pay for it.
The Executive has recently borrowed 2 billion pounds which it has been using to hide the permanent and on-going cuts to the Tory block grant. In other words, Northern Ireland has been run like Rangers Football Club, borrowing to pay wages; it cannot afford to pretend it is fit for the premier league. As with Rangers, that will only lead to bankruptcy and time is running out.
This money will be gone by the end of the current budget and unless the Tories are prepared to risk losing more money on further loans with no means to repay, which I doubt, then there will be a potential 3/4 billion shortfall in next year’s budget which can only be offset by raising taxes considerably, offloading public sector jobs substantially, or a mixture of both.
Over the past 10 years, Northern Ireland’s economic growth has been stagnant which means we are falling further behind the UK average. These taxes will not be used to turn this around, but will be required to simply maintain that level of decline.
Tourism in Ireland has reached 9 million visitors per year but very few come north, as they come to visit Ireland and not the UK. Current growth potential requires an immediate 5000 additional hotel places. A unified approach accepting we are one nation and promoting Ireland could bring more of those north and by merging into an actual country with borrowing potential within the EU, those hotels could be provided by expanding the airports in Cork and Belfast and providing thousands more hotels within easy reach of both, which would more fairly distribute wealth outside of Dublin as well as provide jobs and the knock-on benefits of construction in the surrounding counties.
When are we going to put the economy first? I guess not until it hits us in our pockets.
i guess it has to be given a fair chance……….
its been near 20 yrs they were sold a pup.
“i guess it has to be given a fair chance……….
its been near 20 yrs they were sold a pup.”
I’m a believer billy, you have it, but the worst has yet to come.
Good article indeed!
I live in Maine in the US and listens to National Publuc Radio a lot and am amused sometimes by the ads or sponsorship paid for by Invest Northern Ireland, trying to entice US businesses to set up in NI. When so much of the news coming from there is about bloody yahoos worried about their tribal marches and flags and painting the footpaths red white and blue, indicating what century they are living in, why the hell would anybody want to go there??
Myself, I’m from Dublin and live my trips up north!
Brit Bua!
Our political parties are economically illiterate. Some people think this is unique to Sinn fein & that the DUP have a sounder grasp of economics. What they base this on is unclear as I’ve seen little indication the Unionist s have a better understanding than the shinners.
Take the universal support among them for lowering corporation tax. Several studies done on corporation tax ( including 1 by the british treasury when labour were in charge) have shown little prospect of significant job creation as a result of lowering the tax. Indeed there is no guarantee of even one job being created. What is to stop a business taking the extra revenue following the tax cut & giving the owners & senior managers a large pay rise?? Nothing!
Businesses will be giving a tax cut and be free to use the extra revenue whatever way they see fit. No obligation to invest the extra cash in meaningful investment or job creation.
Why do our parties support it? As far as I can see, the nationalists support cutting corporations tax because it will bring the north tax down to the level of the republic, thereby by making Ireland seem more united. While the unionist parties support it because any economic successes in the republic over the last lot of decades are due to their low corporation tax. They can’t fathom that there could be any other reasons for economic successess down south.
“Why do our parties support it?”
Corporation tax will not be lowered in the north except by tax harmonisation through unification.
Lower corporation tax is a proven means of attracting high volumes of well paid jobs, but as it requires significant investment and planning for corporate business to bring the jobs in, coupled with the fact that businesses will want cast iron guarantees that the tax rate will not change on them in the future, even if we did lower it, no one would take the risk in such a divided society as northern Ireland which is all it will ever be under british rule.
Add to that a negative GDP of 10 over billion in the north and a shortfall in even living within the means of UK subvention which will require additional new taxes next year, I don’t see northern Ireland being feasible enough never mind able to match corporation tax in the republic.
Add to that again, the fact that it took 10 years of pain before it created any value when first introduced in the republic, you are quite right Antonio that it is economic illiteracy or worse, lies and deception.
When will Unionism stop procrastinating about the future of this failed dystopian experiment ? It is financially and politically bankrupt …real politics can’t and won’t work , proper democracy can’t and won’t work …..we are compelled to share a semblance of “government” whlist opposing “politicans” can’t even exchange civilities . Racism and sectarianism is rampant but the PSNI appear like the “Keystone Cops” .Vital services are duplicated a few miles away while they prevaricate about equality …flags and Orange triumphalist marches are sacrosanct but their neighbours language and culture is derided…..it is an abysmal failure and long by time it was coffined !