Browse content similar to 02/12/2012. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good morning. Welcome to the Sunday Politics. Sorting out the deficit | :00:41. | :00:51. | |
:00:51. | :01:23. | ||
And in Northern Ireland: Money is too tight to mention. The Finance | :01:23. | :01:30. | |
Minister on the State of Stormont's coffers. And politicians agree to | :01:30. | :01:40. | |
:01:40. | :01:40. | ||
Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2129 seconds | :01:40. | :37:09. | |
Hello and welcome to Sunday Politics in Northern Ireland. More | :37:09. | :37:12. | |
cuts to the welfare budget are expected to be announced by the | :37:12. | :37:16. | |
Chancellor, George Osborne, in his Autumn Statement on Wednesday. With | :37:16. | :37:19. | |
the Executive here divided over the current round of cuts, a row over | :37:20. | :37:22. | |
the cost of delaying public service pensions, and the price of | :37:22. | :37:25. | |
devolving corporation tax still to be resolved. The Finance Minister, | :37:25. | :37:28. | |
Sammy Wilson, is with us to talk about tough financial times. And | :37:28. | :37:31. | |
the Christmas decorations might be up at Belfast City Hall, but a | :37:31. | :37:33. | |
disagreement about flying the Union flag means there's not much festive | :37:34. | :37:43. | |
cheer in the chamber. This is a unique and historic opportunity for | :37:43. | :37:49. | |
the Unionists to prove that what they are talking about, they mean. | :37:49. | :37:53. | |
To discuss all of that, and to give us their views on the fall-out from | :37:53. | :37:55. | |
the Leveson Inquiry, I'm joined by the Sunday World's Northern Editor, | :37:55. | :37:58. | |
Jim McDowell, and by Sinn Fein councillor and media entrepreneur, | :37:58. | :38:08. | |
:38:08. | :38:13. | ||
Mairtin O Muilleoir. First to be age old issue of flax. Inside the | :38:13. | :38:19. | |
building of the continental market the mood is Bar humbug as there is | :38:19. | :38:26. | |
a vote tomorrow to remove the Union flag over at city hall. The | :38:26. | :38:32. | |
Alliance Party holds the power of balance in the chamber but there is | :38:32. | :38:37. | |
still huge disagreement over the issue. I would be proposing that | :38:37. | :38:43. | |
the Union flag flies with dignity and respect over City Hall on the | :38:43. | :38:48. | |
designated days. There is a lot of talk about this being a shared | :38:48. | :38:54. | |
society, with shared spaces, that this is a city hall for all. This | :38:54. | :38:59. | |
is a unique and historic opportunity for the Unionists to | :38:59. | :39:05. | |
prove that what they are talking about, they mean. To to maintain | :39:06. | :39:13. | |
the flag 365 days per year is recognition that Belfast is part of | :39:13. | :39:19. | |
the United Kingdom. It is the most common practice in Northern Ireland. | :39:19. | :39:27. | |
It is the most common practice throughout GP. The air has been a | :39:27. | :39:36. | |
long standing policy of no flags for us. There is no flag that | :39:36. | :39:40. | |
represents everyone in this city. In an ideal world we would have no | :39:40. | :39:49. | |
flag flying over this or any public building. Now we will discuss this | :39:49. | :39:56. | |
issue. Presumably, a Sinn Fein will have to support the flying of the | :39:56. | :40:05. | |
Union flag on designated days, isn't that the only option? | :40:05. | :40:08. | |
Relationships in City Hall are probably the best they have ever | :40:08. | :40:18. | |
:40:18. | :40:22. | ||
been. By was the issue raised? There was a two you process in | :40:22. | :40:28. | |
looking at the flying of flanks. The agreement at the moment is that | :40:28. | :40:34. | |
the flags should come down but also we need to remove the flag from | :40:34. | :40:41. | |
City Hall and have a civic flag. A remove the flag entirely from | :40:41. | :40:51. | |
:40:51. | :40:51. | ||
Belfast City? Exactly. It is clear that Unionists would rather have | :40:51. | :40:57. | |
the Union flag. That is the we it is in the rest of Northern Ireland | :40:57. | :41:07. | |
and the UK. It is 2012 and it is a changing city. We are seeing change | :41:07. | :41:12. | |
in our relationship and certainly flying the flag 365 days per year | :41:12. | :41:20. | |
is not tenable. Surely not find it at all flies in D face of your | :41:20. | :41:30. | |
:41:30. | :41:31. | ||
commitment to a shared society? -- flies in the face. You cannot have | :41:31. | :41:37. | |
that flag 365 days per year. If they want to talk about a | :41:37. | :41:43. | |
compromise we are prepared... you are prepared to compromise? | :41:43. | :41:52. | |
That is right. A Unionists see the spectre in front of them the two | :41:52. | :42:02. | |
:42:02. | :42:09. | ||
flats, the trickle are as well. Try colour flag. That is what | :42:09. | :42:15. | |
Unionists are worried about. Republicans think that is perfectly | :42:15. | :42:25. | |
:42:25. | :42:27. | ||
reasonable. Unionists do not look to London, they look who Dublin. | :42:27. | :42:32. | |
That is amateur's conversation that we have to have. They still see | :42:32. | :42:38. | |
Belfast as the main melting point of dealing with these Union and | :42:38. | :42:45. | |
Great Britain. It is this spectre. I am not advocating for seeing they | :42:45. | :42:51. | |
are correct. I am seeing that we need to move on and whether it is a | :42:51. | :42:57. | |
civic flag which no one has any problem with, some see the dry | :42:58. | :43:04. | |
colour flag over City Hall as a betrayal of their position. Both | :43:04. | :43:09. | |
camps want everything their own way and they are not prepared to give | :43:09. | :43:16. | |
anything to the other side at the moment. This is probably be | :43:16. | :43:23. | |
calloused I ever remember politics in the city Hall. It used to be a | :43:23. | :43:29. | |
crucible of conflict. There were physical fights in the city Hall. | :43:29. | :43:37. | |
Alarms were set off in the chambers. This is not the biggest of issues. | :43:37. | :43:45. | |
Flags do not kill people. What they represent me kill people. But some | :43:45. | :43:55. | |
:43:55. | :43:57. | ||
colours on a flagpole. It is unfair for the Unionists to see that. -- | :43:57. | :44:05. | |
say that. I think it is vital that we do not treat the minority that | :44:05. | :44:12. | |
way. What you said was that you would like to see no Union flag | :44:12. | :44:19. | |
ever over City Hall. My preference is for a civic flag, my second | :44:19. | :44:24. | |
preference is for both flags. emotion the other day was to remove | :44:24. | :44:33. | |
the flag 365 days per year. Civic flag or be two flags is what | :44:33. | :44:43. | |
:44:43. | :44:45. | ||
we would prefer. What will happen tomorrow night? The Alliance | :44:45. | :44:51. | |
Party's amendment will be voted on first of all. If you bought for | :44:51. | :44:57. | |
that and support that, that is what will happen. If you bought that | :44:57. | :45:02. | |
down the other motion to fly it not at all will be lost so you will end | :45:02. | :45:10. | |
up with its 365 days per year. You get me an alternative that makes | :45:10. | :45:19. | |
sense. The reality is that the majority in the committee have | :45:19. | :45:26. | |
voted. At this stage we know the status quo will be different from | :45:26. | :45:33. | |
that ember 4th. What is your understanding? Was my brief | :45:33. | :45:39. | |
exposition of what will happen fairly accurate? I think that is | :45:39. | :45:46. | |
what it looks like. The other thing is on protocol. It will have to go | :45:46. | :45:54. | |
back to committee enemy. For her both flanks, if that was the | :45:54. | :45:57. | |
compromise as Sinn Fein said, they would have to come back to the | :45:57. | :46:06. | |
committee. What I would say is, if we want to build the city together | :46:06. | :46:16. | |
and this year the majority saw as fund the Jubilee celebrations. We | :46:16. | :46:23. | |
also realise it is a changing city. I have never seen a minority | :46:23. | :46:32. | |
treated this well as the Unionists. They have a flag on the dome of | :46:32. | :46:39. | |
City Hall 365 days per year. essay is what rubs the union nerves | :46:39. | :46:49. | |
:46:49. | :46:49. | ||
raw. This thing is being thrown at them like a battle cry. We have got | :46:49. | :46:54. | |
the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, coming here. We have come | :46:54. | :47:00. | |
on leaps and bounds but what message does it send to her and, by | :47:00. | :47:07. | |
extension, to the wider world, that we are, yet again, fighting about a | :47:07. | :47:15. | |
flag in Belfast? It is not just about be patriotism. It looks again, | :47:15. | :47:24. | |
it is the old saw of sectarianism. If we get a more down or two mobs | :47:24. | :47:28. | |
down at city hall, one for the flag going up and one for the flat | :47:28. | :47:35. | |
coming down... We spend a lot of time in America are trying to court | :47:35. | :47:42. | |
Americans to get investment into Ireland winning a different hat. | :47:42. | :47:49. | |
think it will be about the unity among other parties in Northern | :47:49. | :47:53. | |
Ireland. That will be the message. Do you think Hillary Clinton does | :47:53. | :47:58. | |
not understand why refight about flags and allegiances? Of course | :47:58. | :48:06. | |
she does. There is a peace agreement here and there has to be | :48:06. | :48:15. | |
compromised. Unionists will have to compromise. We have to embrace what | :48:15. | :48:25. | |
:48:25. | :48:41. | ||
is happening here. When the Union flag flying over City Hall on 17 | :48:41. | :48:51. | |
:48:51. | :48:53. | ||
days per year be better than 365 days? We have our own opinions. | :48:53. | :49:03. | |
:49:03. | :49:03. | ||
a look at the week in 60 seconds. An escape from this present and the | :49:03. | :49:09. | |
justice minister signals and leaves a think over its closure. -- | :49:09. | :49:17. | |
signals at rethink. And plans to cut legal aid on civil cases. | :49:17. | :49:24. | |
public eye are the ones who will suffer. And accusations of the | :49:24. | :49:27. | |
press breaking their habit of interfering in the lives of | :49:27. | :49:34. | |
innocent people. Changes to the industry cannot be realised without | :49:34. | :49:42. | |
legislation. And the Deputy First Minister notices that MLAs ski away | :49:42. | :49:49. | |
from question-time. I think it is a disgrace that so many were not | :49:49. | :49:56. | |
present to answer their questions. I do not know what he is pointing | :49:56. | :50:01. | |
to these die for. If he is looking for divine intervention I am happy | :50:01. | :50:07. | |
to pray with them. Gareth Gordon with that brief look at the past | :50:07. | :50:14. | |
week. Now, let us talk about the Leveson Inquiry. Do you think he | :50:14. | :50:20. | |
probably got it right? He had a very difficult path to walk, a lot | :50:20. | :50:25. | |
of compromises to make and the opinions to take on. Did he come up | :50:25. | :50:32. | |
with a magical solution to a very difficult problem? No, he did not. | :50:32. | :50:38. | |
I even heard from a solicitor who takes libel cases saying he had | :50:38. | :50:43. | |
hoped Lord Leveson would drag the inquiry on for another year because | :50:43. | :50:50. | |
of the atmosphere that the inquiry has created, papers we be willing | :50:50. | :50:56. | |
to bend more in civil cases. I think it is a waste of time and | :50:56. | :51:03. | |
money. As a newspaperman and newspaper editor I do not see | :51:03. | :51:13. | |
:51:13. | :51:14. | ||
regulations on the ink that Prince the press being a good thing. | :51:14. | :51:22. | |
would be an entirely independent organisation. We are talking about | :51:22. | :51:28. | |
a situation where something like Ofcom would have statutory | :51:28. | :51:35. | |
regulation of the press along with an independent body. It has to be | :51:35. | :51:41. | |
independent and there should be no smoking gun held to anyone's head | :51:41. | :51:48. | |
saying we will approach a Ofcom if this does not work. And you run a | :51:48. | :51:54. | |
newspaper. Winning your media hat, are you concerned about the | :51:54. | :52:02. | |
implications and what they might mean? I disagree fundamentally with | :52:02. | :52:09. | |
him as a newspaper man among other things! I do not think newspapers | :52:09. | :52:17. | |
have to be dejected and in this be a. I think the press had a moral | :52:17. | :52:22. | |
vacuum. There was no moral compass within the British press and I | :52:23. | :52:28. | |
think they have brought this upon themselves just as bankers brought | :52:28. | :52:35. | |
this upon themselves. I have no fear, have I know I'll run a small | :52:35. | :52:43. | |
local newspaper, but no fear of statutory regulation. We have | :52:43. | :52:50. | |
seemed serious issues from some Irish tabloids recently. It is a | :52:50. | :52:55. | |
small cabal of powerful people that run the press. They have their | :52:55. | :53:05. | |
:53:05. | :53:06. | ||
golfing friends. It is the same in Ireland. That lack of integrity and | :53:06. | :53:10. | |
respect and ethics within the press is something that affects both | :53:10. | :53:20. | |
:53:20. | :53:21. | ||
islands. Based on the Levenson results. We all want to retain the | :53:21. | :53:25. | |
freedom of the press but at the same time I do not see anything to | :53:25. | :53:34. | |
fear from the best. You and the people you see, it is the closest | :53:34. | :53:44. | |
:53:44. | :53:44. | ||
you get to political control. party is close to political control. | :53:44. | :53:51. | |
How is it political control? It is the BBC director who would be | :53:51. | :53:57. | |
answerable. He is answerable to the Trust and Ofcom but not the Prime | :53:57. | :54:07. | |
:54:07. | :54:09. | ||
Minister. You would be hard pressed to say the BBC is not independent | :54:09. | :54:14. | |
of the public. If you are talking about political control or anything | :54:14. | :54:20. | |
and you belong to a party that controls its own newspaper, what | :54:20. | :54:25. | |
went into that was propaganda on behalf of Sinn Fein. What Sinn Fein | :54:25. | :54:31. | |
do now, there ministers are the most obtuse and difficult to get to | :54:31. | :54:39. | |
for any journalist. A hang on! I am talking about the printed | :54:39. | :54:45. | |
press asking for a straight answers. Everything is spin-doctored and | :54:45. | :54:51. | |
controlled. I asked for a comment the other day about an attack on | :54:51. | :54:57. | |
the black mountain on the day of the Queen's visit. I asked for a | :54:58. | :55:02. | |
comment from the MLA and I had to go through the press of us for a | :55:02. | :55:08. | |
statement. I could not even phoned the MLA, as he would not give me a | :55:08. | :55:14. | |
quote or comment. I think it is astonishing and contradictory that | :55:14. | :55:19. | |
you would say Sinn Fein wants State regulation of the press when they | :55:19. | :55:28. | |
are already notorious for their control of the press. We have to | :55:28. | :55:35. | |
help the Sunday World or Belfast Telegraph or whomever. Speaking as | :55:35. | :55:41. | |
somebody involved in newspapers and as a politician I think the press | :55:41. | :55:46. | |
are or reading increased regulation. No one in newspapers has anything | :55:46. | :55:52. | |
to fear from that except the small cabal who want to contact their | :55:52. | :55:58. | |
friends rather than going through official channels. The Strait | :55:58. | :56:04. | |
jackets are already on. I am going to wind you up, the Sinn Fein have | :56:04. | :56:14. | |
at fantastic press officer! have got State sponsored censorship | :56:14. | :56:18. | |
through the privacy laws and you have got the criminal law. What is | :56:18. | :56:23. | |
being talked about, the moral compass and all the rest, it is a | :56:23. | :56:29. | |
criminal offence that should have been dealt with by the police. More | :56:29. | :56:35. | |
cuts to welfare, still law announcement on corporation tax. | :56:35. | :56:45. | |
:56:45. | :56:46. | ||
And no further guaranteed that the air passenger duty cuts will happen. | :56:46. | :56:50. | |
Is it all doom and gloom on the economic front, or might the | :56:50. | :56:53. | |
Chancellor have a splash of good news in the middle of the week? | :56:53. | :56:56. | |
Let's hear from the keeper of the purse locally, Finance Minister, | :56:56. | :57:06. | |
:57:06. | :57:07. | ||
Sammy Wilson. I thought you started an hour later than you did. It is | :57:07. | :57:13. | |
very nice to see you, better late than never. Let's talk about Air | :57:13. | :57:17. | |
Passenger Duty first. On Friday the NI Affairs Committee floated the | :57:17. | :57:20. | |
idea of reducing or abolishing short-haul APD to make this place a | :57:20. | :57:22. | |
more attractive destination for people to visit and do business | :57:22. | :57:30. | |
with. But you're not convinced, Why? We had to get the legislation | :57:30. | :57:35. | |
hurried through quickly otherwise you would have lost many flights | :57:35. | :57:39. | |
that the dead have. It is up now to the Executive to work out whether | :57:39. | :57:45. | |
or not they wish to have further devolution of the air passenger | :57:45. | :57:50. | |
duty. The important question is whether or not the �9 million it | :57:50. | :57:56. | |
would cost to produce the air passenger duty, whether that �90 | :57:56. | :58:00. | |
million would be better spent on other things rather than on a | :58:00. | :58:06. | |
reduction on duty which might not be all that well targeted. We would | :58:06. | :58:10. | |
probably see some people benefited who may be engaging in activities | :58:10. | :58:17. | |
that are not all that beneficial. We are pushing it in a general | :58:17. | :58:24. | |
sense as far as the UK as a whole is concerned. The aviation industry | :58:24. | :58:30. | |
across the UK is at a disadvantage. As far as Northern Ireland is | :58:30. | :58:34. | |
concerned, I would like to know whether the benefits outweigh the | :58:34. | :58:38. | |
cost and, indeed whether there are other things we could spend �9 | :58:38. | :58:45. | |
million on that would have a greater benefit. What about the | :58:45. | :58:49. | |
suggestion of the view that we would hear something from the | :58:49. | :58:53. | |
Chancellor during his Autumn Statement on the reduction of | :58:53. | :58:59. | |
corporation tax in Northern Ireland, is that going to happen? I do not | :58:59. | :59:07. | |
think so. We have taken it as far as we can. The report that has gone | :59:07. | :59:10. | |
to the Prime Minister and Chancellor, it is now a political | :59:10. | :59:15. | |
decision. I think it is getting mixed up with the Scottish | :59:15. | :59:20. | |
referendum. We are not expecting any announcement in the Autumn | :59:20. | :59:25. | |
Statement. We have been pressing the Government to give us some | :59:25. | :59:31. | |
certainty. We do not need it devolved immediately. There is a | :59:32. | :59:37. | |
long lead-in period when you tried to sell Northern Ireland on the | :59:37. | :59:44. | |
issue of low taxation. And you want it to happen? I have always | :59:44. | :59:49. | |
expressed the view that it cannot be at any price. Our negotiations | :59:49. | :59:54. |