OMG WTF!

On the 11th of April I watched Nolan Live for the first time in years and it was the complete antidote to a sleeping pill. I thought it was going to see Jeffrey and Michell, instead we got Edwin and Sorcha. Edwin who is not exactly an intellectual heavy weight, punched above his weight and at least to me, came across as clear, polite, engaging and keen to get a solution to the movement of goods from GB to the North. He also made it clear that getting back to Stormont was a priority but the issues around the protocol must be resolved and let us be clear there are issues that need sorted. Sorcha was sanctimonious with a vacant look, all wrapped up in the classic Alliance vanilla approach to problem solving. Her main thrust was to try and pin the last 15 years of the Executive’s failures on the DUP’s decision not to join an executive. An executive for that period they were part of, along with the UUP, SDLP and Sinn Fein. They are also the party on the so-called liberal left that signed up to Lyons £150M immoral and populists the High Street Voucher Scheme. All done in the face of the sanctimonious clapping for care workers who put their lives at risk for 10.00 per hr. Where was Naomi’s outrage then? Look, there is enough blame to go round regarding the dysfunctional nature and ineptitude of governance here, let alone the mediocrity elected to serve in it.
Sorcha acknowledged that all the parties agreed that the protocol requires changes, this despite her party leader suggesting last year, that it should be vigorously enforced. However, the problem remains that they cannot agree on the extent of the changes and simply put, that means the parties are not agreed on anything.

Edwin’s solution was that goods going into the Eu (ROI) through Northern Ireland will be checked at Northern Ireland ports to ensure the integrity of the single market, with the “quid pro quo” that goods coming from GB to service the Northern Ireland market/consumer would be subject to no checks or any unnecessary paperwork.
This is reasonable but to be fair, but you did not need to be a rocket scientist to have work that out. Sorcha’s response was the predictable as it was annoying, all wrapped up in a holier than thou political psychobabble.

Then there was Rachael’s story, a heart wrenching story of a woman with MS who cannot get a care package. This in effect highlighted the failures of Stormont to address the issue of social care which have existed for well over a decade. As we would expect, empathy for Rachael was free flowing, though I thought her story was disturbing it was the wrong time and venue to broadcast it.

One caller said that a majority of the electorate voted for parties that accepted the protocol. What the caller failed to acknowledge was that the majority of the electorate did not understand the Withdrawal Agreement never mind the protocol. Of the few who may have read it, even fewer understood its implications and quite frankly at that stage most did not give a toss. People voted on the simple principle of remain or leave and I voted to remain.

Then we had the pleasure of Emer Currie Northern Ireland spokesperson for Fine Gael who was basically Neale Richmond in drag though clearly not as grumpy looking as him. She started with the predictable “B” word and said the Eu were in a solution mode, whatever that looks like. When asked what has the Irish government have done to move the dial and what flexibility have they shown, the answer was political waffle. Then the revelation from her that the solutions to the protocol lie within the legal framework of the protocol and all that is needed is a chance for them to be found. The question is why a solution has not been found, because in the interim the microbiologists developed a Covid vaccine in under a year.
In addition, she could not give a straight answer to a question, what is more important the protocol or the GFA.
For someone who voted and advocated for remain I continue to be shocked at the lack of political pragmatism and belligerence shown by the Eu and evermore disappointed by the stance taken by Coveney and Varadkar. Niall Fitzgerald former CEO of Unilever expressed the sentiment that at the start of the negotiations the Irish government should have been acting as the pragmatic bridge between the UK and the Eu, not the European Commission’s ankle kicker it has turned out to be.
This is not a get out of jail free card for the lying Boris, his Tory government and Lord Frost’s bullshit, though when does political pragmatism trump political grandstanding.
Finally, this protocol issue has given Jamie and Jim a platform that neither deserve and an additional benefit of sorting out the protocol is that we would hear less of them on the radio and see even less of them on Nolan Live, now that would be music to all our ears and visual bliss for our eyes. There are many pressing issues that need to be resolved which effect the daily lives of our fellow citizens so, getting our political representatives agreeing to sit under one roof would be a start but do not be expecting too much on the delivery side.

Let us know what you think in the comments section👇