- First Minister is Josh
- Deputy First Minister is Lewis
- Paul is to control the purse strings as Finance Minister
- Health is in the hands of Duncan
- Social Development is taken on by Oisin
- Conor is in charge of baa..griculture
- Curtis is to run the Trade and business department
- Jodi is in charge of Education
- Peter will run Arts culture Media and SPORT!
- Megan is in charge of Employment
- Sarah is Minister for JUSTICE!
- Mr Wishart is in charge of Regional Development
- Sacha is the great protector of the environment
- While Ethan is Prime Minister
- Niamh has been appointed as Queen Niamh the first!
So the people have spoken... All positions are now filled!
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The unexpected stepping down of the current speaker Willie Hay from the DUP has left a political storm in its wake. There was a very open deal made 7 years ago between SF and the DUP that the position would switch to SF's Mitchell McLaughlin. However the DUP have not abided by this deal. The election of the Speaker was inconclusive without DUP support. What the DUP are doing is linking the Speaker issue to Welfare Reform - and SF's current failure to support this. It is one of a range of issues that the DUP and SF have failed to agree on - a worrying development in a time of political uncertainty.
Look over the issues in Mark Davenports piece above. It seems to be every week now we have a story that points to momentous political changes in the UK. It's not hard to get the impression that something has changed. That there are forces at work which are fundamentally changing the way British politics could work and function - and the way the UK could work and function too. The Scottish referendum result was a no for the break up of the union. However, it struck a warning shot to the bows of the UK establishment. The level of participation - at record levels showed the hunger for change. The depth of feelings aroused showed that people felt alienated from the Westminster establishment and longer for something more. In Scotland this seemed to mean more grass roots democracy based on social democracy - fairness ; investment and commitment to the NHS, bonded to the EU. A tangible connection to decision making between the governed and the government.
This week Has saw another broadside - this time from UKIP. For as long as time can remember there were three big parties (and really 2 main contenders) Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dem's. The introduction of Nigel Farage and UKIP is a serious and growing threat to the cosy arrangement at the top. The maverick party led by a maverick leader, have surprised everyone with their success - in Europe firstly with the majority of British MEP's in the last European election and now they have their first MP - After Tory Douglass Carswell switched parties to UKIP and successfully won the by-election with a whopping 12,000 majority. There are a number of key issues arising here:
You have been studying Politics for 1 month now. I have started this blog again to encourage discussion on key issues and debates. I am leaving this section open for you to add any ideas you think would improve the subject at AS. Ideas such as instagram (which you suggested) are great to keep the sunject fresh and involved.. so feel free to add ideas here
Shocking opinion polls have put the Assembly at all time rock bottom confidence levels with the public. 0% of 18-24 years olds felt the Assembly was performing very well - Yes 0%! This is little wonder after the disastrous financial black hole the Assembly finds itself in and the icy differences between those in the Executive who cannot seem to agree on anything. The Assembly is quite simply living beyond its means. It has not agreed on what to do with Welfare reform which has been passed elsewhere. This is leading to millions of pounds worth of fines. The DUP wants to push through the reforms. However, Sinn Fein, with an electorate to look after will not commit to the cuts - hoping the UK Exchequer will give in. The very real prospect of a suspension of the Assembly and return to Direct rule has been muted.. Can we really return to those days? Northern Ireland politics these days seems to be more of one step forward two steps back
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