Browse content similar to 27/10/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Hello and welcome to the programme coming up: the markets seem to like | :00:27. | :00:31. | |
the latest plan to save the euro that is it time for the UK to bail | :00:31. | :00:35. | |
out altogether? Does the supermarket giant think | :00:35. | :00:39. | |
our politicians are idiots? No comment! | :00:39. | :00:45. | |
And how many -- Mary McAleese's presidency has made far unlikely | :00:45. | :00:51. | |
bedfellows. She has made it so easy for people like myself to make the | :00:51. | :00:55. | |
transition from what we used to be to what we are and what we need to | :00:55. | :00:59. | |
be forced to David Cameron play down this week's rebellion by 81 | :00:59. | :01:02. | |
Tories in the Commons boy on the referendum on Britain's membership | :01:02. | :01:07. | |
of the year. But the current instability in the euro-zone is | :01:07. | :01:17. | |
likely to keep this issue alive in the future. The DUP's MPs... | :01:17. | :01:21. | |
At Jeffrey Donaldson, the Chancellor says solving the euro | :01:21. | :01:25. | |
crisis would be the biggest boost for the British economy. In those | :01:25. | :01:30. | |
circumstances, talk of a referendum is an irrelevant distraction? | :01:30. | :01:35. | |
will cost us a huge amount of money to solve this problem that the | :01:35. | :01:39. | |
Chancellor talks about. The agreement last night means doubling | :01:39. | :01:43. | |
the amount of the bail-out. Chancellor says there will be no | :01:43. | :01:49. | |
direct input from Britain on that. Then why is he worried? Why is this | :01:49. | :01:54. | |
a crisis if this does not affect Britain? These are issues the | :01:54. | :01:59. | |
people of the United Kingdom are entitled finally to have a say on. | :01:59. | :02:06. | |
I have never, I have been an elected politician for a number of | :02:06. | :02:10. | |
years, I have never been given the opportunity to vote on our | :02:10. | :02:16. | |
membership and the nature of our membership on the EU. I have | :02:16. | :02:20. | |
watched as other European nations have had referendums on variant | :02:20. | :02:24. | |
aspects of their membership of the EU and yet the people of the UK | :02:24. | :02:29. | |
have been denied that opportunity. Isn't the time of crisis not the | :02:29. | :02:35. | |
time to do it? If they want to wait until the new year, fine but it is | :02:35. | :02:39. | |
the principle we need to agree on. Many of the main parties in | :02:39. | :02:43. | |
Westminster went to the people in the general election and promised | :02:43. | :02:47. | |
they would get a referendum. They have broken that promise and at | :02:47. | :02:52. | |
least there were 111 MPs prepared to stand up and say the British | :02:52. | :02:58. | |
people should have a say. If the pro EU spokespersons are so | :02:58. | :03:02. | |
confident in their argument, then why are they afraid of taking that | :03:02. | :03:07. | |
case to the people? It is a long time since people were allowed a | :03:07. | :03:11. | |
say. Why not have it again? This Parliament has passed legislation, | :03:11. | :03:16. | |
which means if there is any European treaty which sees more | :03:16. | :03:24. | |
power shift anywhere, there will be a referendum in the UK. That is | :03:24. | :03:28. | |
already there in legislation. But let's remember what the | :03:28. | :03:32. | |
circumstances are. There is a huge crisis going on in the euro-zone. | :03:32. | :03:39. | |
It is clear that any new bail-out will not involve funding from the | :03:39. | :03:44. | |
UK Exchequer, but the fact is the economic crisis in the euro-zone is | :03:44. | :03:48. | |
causing problems not just in the wider European economy but in the | :03:48. | :03:54. | |
world economy as well and it is affecting us in a very direct way. | :03:54. | :03:58. | |
Even for some of the measures that have been taken in the southern | :03:58. | :04:04. | |
countries are affecting firms here. I have firms in this constituency | :04:04. | :04:08. | |
that are involved and as orders dried up because of shortage of | :04:08. | :04:11. | |
public expenditure in other parts of Europe, that is affecting jobs | :04:11. | :04:17. | |
and orders here. That is the same elsewhere. Just adding to all of | :04:17. | :04:21. | |
the uncertainty of people taking the current difficulties as an | :04:21. | :04:27. | |
excuse of having another go on the Euro-sceptic agenda 1 not create | :04:27. | :04:33. | |
economic certainty we need. We will see there will be eventually and a | :04:33. | :04:36. | |
referendum in the UK because there is an act that will make that | :04:36. | :04:42. | |
happen. You mention the EU bill but doesn't it allow the government to | :04:42. | :04:47. | |
decide when the circumstances, when transfer of power is affected, the | :04:47. | :04:52. | |
government will decide whether that would trigger a referendum? | :04:52. | :04:57. | |
just the government. People can argue about where a transparent -- | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
transfer of power takes place, we can probably see a referendum | :05:01. | :05:05. | |
taking place whenever the deal is done to sort out whatever new | :05:05. | :05:10. | |
fiscal structures are put in place in relation to the Euros said. | :05:10. | :05:14. | |
You'll see the UK government using that as an opportunity to do | :05:14. | :05:18. | |
something they can present as repatriating powers, if they do | :05:18. | :05:23. | |
that, they will seek a referendum in that context as well. Do you | :05:23. | :05:28. | |
think it is right they should be a referendum? Do you accept that | :05:28. | :05:33. | |
notion? I have no objection in principle but it is important when | :05:33. | :05:37. | |
a referendum takes place that people know the circumstances and | :05:37. | :05:42. | |
people know the choices. The fact of a referendum itself does not | :05:42. | :05:47. | |
create all sorts of economic risks. The problem is we have a proposal | :05:47. | :05:52. | |
for a referendum that requires three options put in front of | :05:52. | :05:58. | |
people. I am not sure in the current circumstances how well | :05:58. | :06:02. | |
people will take to dealing with voting between three different | :06:02. | :06:06. | |
options, particularly where they do not know where anybody else has | :06:06. | :06:10. | |
agreed on some of those options. It is different to have a vote when | :06:10. | :06:15. | |
you're talking about a treaty that has been agreed. You know then what | :06:15. | :06:20. | |
the choices are, but to a Greek on options that no one else has voted | :06:20. | :06:25. | |
for is a bit of a challenge for voters. Do you think a referendum | :06:25. | :06:31. | |
should ask the question if Britain should pull out of the EU? Would | :06:31. | :06:35. | |
you like to see a calling back of powers to the sovereign government | :06:35. | :06:40. | |
of the United Kingdom? The motion put before Parliament this week | :06:40. | :06:46. | |
offered three options. One is to remain in the EU unchanged. The | :06:46. | :06:49. | |
second was to renegotiate the terms of our membership along the lines | :06:49. | :06:53. | |
you have suggested and the third was to pull out of the European | :06:53. | :06:57. | |
Union. People would be given a clear choice and actually, when you | :06:57. | :07:01. | |
look at the polls, consistently they say that is what people want. | :07:01. | :07:05. | |
They want to have a say on their future relationship with the | :07:06. | :07:09. | |
European Union and I think this would have given the government a | :07:09. | :07:14. | |
clear mandate to go and negotiate on whatever basis the referendum | :07:14. | :07:19. | |
results suggests. We are in this economic crisis, so much of our | :07:20. | :07:24. | |
trade is with the EU, that will not change whether or not we are part | :07:24. | :07:29. | |
of the EU. In terms of economic arguments, it does not matter if we | :07:29. | :07:36. | |
are in or out. The EU cost us money and jobs. The amount of regulation | :07:36. | :07:40. | |
that is proposed by Brussels. One of the big issues of business is | :07:40. | :07:45. | |
the amount of red tape that is handed down by Brussels. It gets in | :07:45. | :07:51. | |
the wake of trade. If you take a country like Norway, it has a good | :07:51. | :07:55. | |
trading relationship with the EU. It is not bother down with all the | :07:55. | :07:59. | |
bureaucracy that comes with membership. There were powerful | :07:59. | :08:05. | |
economic arguments for Britain to consider the option of leaving the | :08:05. | :08:10. | |
EU as one possible way forward. When you look at the mess the EU is | :08:10. | :08:13. | |
in at the moment, who could blame people for thinking that is an | :08:13. | :08:19. | |
option. Which way would you vote, Mark? I would not vote we leave the | :08:19. | :08:24. | |
EU. We will see a vote in a few years' time. That will see a | :08:24. | :08:30. | |
rebalancing of competence of powers of functions between national | :08:30. | :08:35. | |
parliaments and governments and the EU. I think that is sensible. Many | :08:35. | :08:45. | |
:08:45. | :08:51. | ||
thought that would happen a few years ago, there does need to be a | :08:51. | :08:55. | |
tidying up and a realignment on quite a number of issues and that | :08:55. | :09:00. | |
is one of the lessons for Europe and the Eurocrats. Let's go back to | :09:00. | :09:03. | |
what Geoffrey was talking about when he said the option in the | :09:03. | :09:08. | |
referendum was for three different options. What with the referendum | :09:08. | :09:13. | |
the side? Will it be first past the post? Maybe you do not have a | :09:13. | :09:20. | |
majority for leaving the EU. Or what if the biggest number of | :09:20. | :09:25. | |
people just voted for keeping the EU as it was, but even combined | :09:25. | :09:34. | |
more people had voted to leave the EU? That is when you can count the | :09:34. | :09:38. | |
uncertainty. You are better to have a referendum in circumstances when | :09:38. | :09:45. | |
people know what has been agreed in Europe. When we are not dealing | :09:45. | :09:50. | |
with the sort of rating crisis that is there in the euro-zone at the | :09:50. | :09:54. | |
minute. The idea of compounding that uncertainty with opportunistic | :09:54. | :09:58. | |
moves by some of the Right in Britain would be a nonsense and it | :09:58. | :10:03. | |
would do damage not just to the euro-zone and there are, next, but | :10:03. | :10:09. | |
do damage to the European economy and a vulnerable region like ours. | :10:09. | :10:14. | |
At event David Cameron said it was about timing and that he'd is why | :10:14. | :10:19. | |
he wanted to make it clear why we would not have a referendum. | :10:19. | :10:23. | |
kind of referendum that I think Mark and David Cameron are talking | :10:23. | :10:29. | |
about is different from the when I am talking about. We may well get a | :10:29. | :10:35. | |
referendum on some kind of agreement that is concocted by the | :10:35. | :10:40. | |
members of the EU. It for not asked the principal question - do you | :10:40. | :10:44. | |
wish to remain in the European Union? It will say it are you in | :10:44. | :10:48. | |
favour or against this new agreement that we have got? That is | :10:48. | :10:52. | |
different from asking people on the principle of whether they want to | :10:52. | :10:57. | |
be in the EU that is why we believe they should be given the option. | :10:57. | :11:03. | |
It isn't called a "sound bite" for nothing! As every politician knows, | :11:03. | :11:06. | |
that catchy turn of phrase, which sounded so good at the time, can | :11:06. | :11:10. | |
turn round and bite you! And for Gerry Adams that old line about the | :11:10. | :11:14. | |
IRA, "They haven't gone away, you know!" Has long outlived its value | :11:14. | :11:18. | |
and become instead an inconvenient truth! For Republicans, things have | :11:18. | :11:23. | |
moved on. The armed struggle is over, Sinn Fein is now a major | :11:23. | :11:25. | |
political party with important jobs in government, and their leaders | :11:25. | :11:28. | |
are making strenuous efforts to put that shadowy past behind them and | :11:28. | :11:31. | |
move into the sunlit uplands of Armani suits, respectability and | :11:31. | :11:37. | |
general acceptance. Gerry has reinvented himself as an | :11:37. | :11:39. | |
international peace consultant and now delivers lectures on | :11:39. | :11:42. | |
peacemaking. Yet for ambitious Republicans trying to make their | :11:42. | :11:45. | |
way in this post 9/11 world, the IRA's violent history is both a | :11:45. | :11:51. | |
hindrance and an embarrassment. Furthermore, it has also proven | :11:52. | :11:57. | |
itself to be stubbornly resistant to every attempt to bury it! Like | :11:57. | :12:00. | |
the un-dead in a Hammer Horror movie the IRA's bloody past keeps | :12:00. | :12:05. | |
popping up! It popped up again this week with the death of Colonel | :12:05. | :12:07. | |
Gaddafi - murderer, torturer, Lockerbie-bomber and supplier of | :12:07. | :12:12. | |
arms to the IRA. To have the world, and especially America, reminded of | :12:12. | :12:15. | |
the odious company they once kept, does nothing to promote the new | :12:15. | :12:20. | |
image-conscious movement that is modern Republicanism. An image- | :12:20. | :12:23. | |
conscious and modern movement, is not a term that naturally comes to | :12:23. | :12:27. | |
mind when one thinks of the Orange Order. The decision by a Belfast | :12:27. | :12:30. | |
Lodge to make a formal complaint against Unionist Party leader Tom | :12:30. | :12:32. | |
Elliott and Regional Development Minister, Danny Kennedy for | :12:32. | :12:35. | |
attending the funeral service of a murdered police officer, on the | :12:35. | :12:37. | |
grounds that he was a Catholic, displays a lack of awareness | :12:37. | :12:45. | |
bordering on the comatose. Both men were cleared at a later hearing but | :12:45. | :12:48. | |
the Order must be aware of the damage already done to the Order's | :12:48. | :12:52. | |
image and the ammunition it gives to those who accuse it of blatant | :12:52. | :12:54. | |
anti-catholic bigotry! "Blatant bullying", is how Sammy Wilson | :12:54. | :12:57. | |
describes Tesco's response to his proposed increase in business rates | :12:57. | :13:02. | |
for larger stores. His plan would raise an extra �85,000 per store | :13:02. | :13:06. | |
which he intends to pass on to smaller businesses in the form of a | :13:06. | :13:10. | |
rates reduction. However, Tesco's have responded by hinting that a | :13:10. | :13:13. | |
unilateral decision by the Northern Ireland Assembly to hike up their | :13:13. | :13:15. | |
rates might jeopardise Tesco's plans for any future multi million | :13:15. | :13:18. | |
pound developments in the Province - a veiled threat which has the | :13:18. | :13:25. | |
Finance Minister hopping mad. "They must take us for idiots," says | :13:25. | :13:32. | |
Sammy. Tesco are saying nothing! Good night. | :13:32. | :13:36. | |
The thoughts of Lindsey and there. It is generally agreed that whoever | :13:36. | :13:40. | |
tops the poll in today's presidential election will have a | :13:40. | :13:45. | |
hard act to follow. Mary McAleese's two terms as president has seen | :13:45. | :13:49. | |
remarkable shifts and the relationships on this island and | :13:49. | :13:53. | |
there are many who would say she was the driver in that change. In | :13:53. | :13:59. | |
this special report, Declan dawn assesses the McAleese years in Aras | :13:59. | :14:05. | |
an Uachtarain. An unlikely cheering in an | :14:05. | :14:12. | |
improbable place. Four an unexpected fan. Welcome to | :14:12. | :14:19. | |
President Mary McAleese's 12th July garden party. This take on the sash | :14:19. | :14:22. | |
by the National Symphony Orchestra was probably more polished than | :14:22. | :14:27. | |
most versions played north of the border that day. But then this is a | :14:27. | :14:33. | |
polished gathering. 14 years into her presidency, this annual | :14:33. | :14:36. | |
mingling of the Irish establishment with Unionists, loyalists and | :14:36. | :14:41. | |
British officials has become a central feature of Mary McAleese's | :14:41. | :14:45. | |
mission to build bridges. But once upon a time, the very notion of | :14:45. | :14:49. | |
bringing these people to this place on this day I would have been | :14:49. | :14:56. | |
unthinkable. She has not only build bridges, she has persuaded people | :14:56. | :15:03. | |
to walk across them. That is what is going on here. It is in fact an | :15:03. | :15:08. | |
extraordinary achievement. It is the culmination of years of work. | :15:09. | :15:13. | |
She sat at this store in the early days and said she would be a | :15:13. | :15:16. | |
President of reconciliation and she has certainly shown that and she | :15:16. | :15:22. | |
has certainly reached out before -- beyond any of us envisaged. At the | :15:22. | :15:26. | |
very beginning, our first off of July, I remember people coming here | :15:26. | :15:32. | |
who were so grateful that they did but never went across the border in | :15:32. | :15:38. | |
their lives. Not knowing what to expect but willing to make that act | :15:38. | :15:42. | |
and faith in us. Coming here and building up relationships that are | :15:42. | :15:48. | |
now the most important friendships we have in our lives. None the | :15:48. | :15:53. | |
verse and in less in terms of our politics but incredibly enriched by | :15:53. | :15:58. | |
having each other to call France. When Mary McAleese set out to | :15:58. | :16:02. | |
become the republic's aids present 14 years ago, have background was | :16:02. | :16:08. | |
the biggest obstacle. She was a child of the Troubles. Her family | :16:08. | :16:15. | |
home in north Belfast had been burnt out. In 1997 before the Good | :16:16. | :16:20. | |
Friday Agreement some feared that as a northern nationalist she would | :16:20. | :16:25. | |
be a tribal and divisive figure. My concern was that she would be a | :16:26. | :16:34. | |
stalking horse for Sinn Fein. That she was she was a northern Catholic | :16:34. | :16:38. | |
talking in the agreed terms of the northern Catholic. But it seemed | :16:38. | :16:44. | |
from the very outset of her presidency, Mary McAleese set-up | :16:44. | :16:48. | |
turning expectations on her head. Within days of being elected, she | :16:48. | :16:58. | |
:16:58. | :17:14. | ||
to come in after President service. Those tones have gone, when she | :17:14. | :17:18. | |
speaks from her heart, it is astonishing. She will convert | :17:18. | :17:28. | |
:17:28. | :17:30. | ||
enemies. I think of myself as an admirer. Much of what she did was | :17:30. | :17:33. | |
new territory for the Irish president. But Mary McAleese had | :17:33. | :17:43. | |
:17:43. | :17:44. | ||
only started to build bridges. Four months ago, East Belfast. Once upon | :17:45. | :17:48. | |
a time, and Irish President and especially this one would have been | :17:48. | :17:54. | |
unwelcome almost in any loyalist area in Northern Ireland. But a | :17:54. | :17:58. | |
mark of this presidency is that at times, the unthinkable has become | :17:58. | :18:04. | |
ordinary. Not that there have been no slip-ups. In 2005, during a | :18:04. | :18:09. | |
visit to Auschwitz, President back police angered Unionists by | :18:09. | :18:15. | |
comparing Northern Ireland to Nazi Germany. They gave to their | :18:15. | :18:20. | |
children an irrational hatred of Jews. In the same way that people | :18:20. | :18:22. | |
in Northern Ireland transmit to their children that irrational | :18:22. | :18:29. | |
hatred of Catholics. They it was completely wrong, what she said. It | :18:29. | :18:36. | |
was a really hurtful, unfair and incorrect comparison to make. She | :18:36. | :18:42. | |
did apologise quickly. But it was there. And you cannot take back | :18:42. | :18:48. | |
spoken words. Then, she and her husband engaged in one of their | :18:48. | :18:53. | |
riskiest moves ever. They began meeting directly with loyalist | :18:53. | :18:57. | |
paramilitary leaders. It was an initiative that pushed at the | :18:57. | :19:03. | |
boundaries of what the Irish presidency is meant to be. Although | :19:03. | :19:06. | |
he has no official constitutional role, Martin McAlees became | :19:06. | :19:10. | |
something like his wife's ambassador to loyalism. Engaging | :19:10. | :19:14. | |
with leaders on the golf course and retain the on the streets of | :19:14. | :19:21. | |
Belfast. Going out and playing golf with former terrorists in the K | :19:21. | :19:29. | |
Club has built bridges. Has it made some people slightly disquiet? | :19:29. | :19:36. | |
is an unelected person and he has been given state resources and | :19:36. | :19:41. | |
state pressings to do this job, which ready, nobody knew any | :19:41. | :19:47. | |
details about. It was done privately and we're very lucky and | :19:47. | :19:51. | |
it is testament to him that it all turned out very well in the end. It | :19:51. | :19:57. | |
was a huge risk. But the risk paid off. When people would not speak to | :19:57. | :20:01. | |
us, Mary and Martin went ahead and introduced us to the Taoiseach at | :20:01. | :20:10. | |
the time. It opened so many doors. They will always be my friends. | :20:10. | :20:13. | |
the same time, Mary McAleese was forging another important | :20:13. | :20:23. | |
:20:23. | :20:32. | ||
relationship. One that would as illicit another unlikely moment. | :20:32. | :20:39. | |
SHE SPEAKS IN IRISH. To speak those words in the Gaelic tongue was | :20:39. | :20:43. | |
significant. Her comments, here in this very building in Dublin Castle, | :20:43. | :20:47. | |
the seat of British power and influence in Ireland for hundreds | :20:47. | :20:53. | |
of years, when she closed that circle of history. The Queen's | :20:53. | :20:57. | |
visit in June, the first by a British monarch since the Republic | :20:57. | :21:00. | |
achieved independence, was a crowning achievement of her | :21:00. | :21:07. | |
presidency. Her tireless devotion to not just the South but also, | :21:08. | :21:11. | |
east, west and relations between Britain and Ireland, was very much | :21:11. | :21:16. | |
on show during those four days. scene to get on well personally? | :21:16. | :21:20. | |
They do. And that is a friendship that has been built up over years | :21:20. | :21:24. | |
because it has the shared interests that they have been building | :21:24. | :21:30. | |
relations between the countries. Not least to help Northern Ireland. | :21:30. | :21:35. | |
What was amazing was that they sob that this was no threat to | :21:35. | :21:40. | |
Irishness, no threat to the integrity or their identity. So, | :21:40. | :21:45. | |
Ireland grew up in a very big way during those three days. They were | :21:45. | :21:50. | |
magnificent days, really magnificent. Everyone felt | :21:50. | :21:54. | |
apprehensive that things would go wrong. And then they just grew | :21:54. | :22:02. | |
proud. South Lebanon. Mary McAleese's last overseas trip as | :22:02. | :22:07. | |
President and she is here to meet Irish peace keeping troops. In 1987, | :22:07. | :22:15. | |
she made the same trip as her first visit abroad. Those excursions have | :22:15. | :22:20. | |
book ended a remarkable Presidency. The times I look back on with pride, | :22:20. | :22:23. | |
Winifred became president, I said we would do our best to build | :22:23. | :22:30. | |
bridges and that is what we hopefully did. We had tremendous | :22:30. | :22:35. | |
opportunities to build relationships in places and spaces | :22:35. | :22:44. | |
were they had not been healthy. I am very pleased with that. In a few | :22:44. | :22:47. | |
weeks, President Michaelis's like this will join those of her | :22:47. | :22:51. | |
predecessors here. Such has been a success of the presidency, she has | :22:51. | :22:56. | |
even won over one of her former rivals for a place in Aras an | :22:56. | :23:02. | |
Uachtarain. In the 1987 and -- 1987 campaign, Derek Lally stood against | :23:02. | :23:07. | |
her. Was there anything you would have done differently? A lot of | :23:07. | :23:16. | |
things. But I am quite happy now I that she did a much better job than | :23:16. | :23:20. | |
I ever would have done. At the show us a press President we ever had. | :23:20. | :23:26. | |
best ever? I think so. A hard act to follow? Absolutely, and we thank | :23:26. | :23:32. | |
her for her duty and commitment to the cause. She has made it so easy | :23:33. | :23:38. | |
for people like ourselves. From what we used to be, to what they | :23:38. | :23:43. | |
are and what we need to be. Her legacy will be that she has built | :23:43. | :23:48. | |
bridges and it will never be forgotten. The reflections on the | :23:48. | :23:51. | |
presidency of Mary McAleese. Now for another in our occasional | :23:51. | :23:53. | |
series introducing the latest generation of MLAs. This week, | :23:53. | :23:56. | |
Julia Paul has been to Londonderry to meet a man whose political | :23:56. | :24:06. | |
:24:06. | :24:13. | ||
career began at the tender age of 14. I have lived all my life in | :24:13. | :24:19. | |
Derry. After a short stint in Liverpool. I have been a member of | :24:19. | :24:23. | |
the SDLP since I was 14. I was involved in other things as well. I | :24:23. | :24:29. | |
played sport. Derry has a very political city and this is a | :24:29. | :24:32. | |
political country and I saw the opportunity with the Good Friday | :24:32. | :24:36. | |
agreement to get involved and see a future that was there for all of us | :24:36. | :24:41. | |
and one we can all play our part in. I believe that we can unite Ireland | :24:41. | :24:46. | |
and we can be open and honest and it will be welcome to everybody. I | :24:46. | :24:49. | |
was asked to run for the council when it was 22, representing | :24:49. | :24:57. | |
Shantallow. I got elected. I was very proud. To represent Shantallow | :24:57. | :25:02. | |
in the city. Things went from there. I was very humble last year to be | :25:02. | :25:07. | |
elected as the mayor. In my first week, the Saville Report was | :25:07. | :25:12. | |
launched and I worked with the Bloody Sunday families and it was a | :25:12. | :25:17. | |
real honour to walk with this family is to the Guild Hall. To | :25:17. | :25:21. | |
finally see the truth being set free. That was a day that lifted | :25:21. | :25:26. | |
that dark cloud off the city. And the hope that came from that was | :25:26. | :25:31. | |
very palpable. Today's letter, we went to Liverpool to bid to become | :25:31. | :25:36. | |
the City of Culture. The winner of the competition to be the capital | :25:36. | :25:43. | |
of culture is Derry, Londonderry... That was the beginning of a very | :25:43. | :25:48. | |
good year for me and the City. And I was very proud to be involved. It | :25:48. | :25:53. | |
was also a difficult year because we had a number of attacks on the | :25:53. | :25:58. | |
city. And on the people. By dissident republicans. But what | :25:58. | :26:03. | |
came out of that, the positive was the strength and the will of the | :26:03. | :26:07. | |
people. They decided strongly they would not accept this. Derry is now | :26:07. | :26:14. | |
on the up. But for a long time, it suffered and the poverty and the | :26:14. | :26:17. | |
joblessness, and a lot of those issues are still there. Those are | :26:17. | :26:21. | |
the issues that excited me. To try to make a difference, to change the | :26:21. | :26:27. | |
face of the city. We can see the physical infrastructure, we are | :26:27. | :26:30. | |
standing on the peace bridge, that is changing, at long last. But we | :26:30. | :26:33. | |
have to think carefully and honestly about the fact that a lot | :26:33. | :26:37. | |
of our people, especially young people, are either leaving because | :26:37. | :26:40. | |
they cannot find work or they are on the dole. That is the burning | :26:40. | :26:46. | |
issue. We need to solve that into the future. If we put all our | :26:46. | :26:51. | |
shoulders to the wheel, we can solve that. I am one of the | :26:51. | :26:54. | |
youngest MLAs from one of the youngest cities in Ireland and | :26:54. | :27:01. | |
Britain. That is important, that be allowed everybody to have their say. | :27:01. | :27:04. | |
And for young people to be in the assembly. What we need to learn is | :27:04. | :27:08. | |
the lessons of the past, we have not always been good at listening | :27:08. | :27:11. | |
to young people. Politicians are good at talking down to young | :27:11. | :27:17. | |
people and telling them what they want. Without asking. That is one | :27:17. | :27:21. | |
of the biggest problems. We have to go out and listen to young people. | :27:21. | :27:25. | |
I have tried that in my role. We can all get better at that and | :27:26. | :27:28. | |
social media is a good way of engaging with young people because | :27:28. | :27:34. | |
you have to go to where they are. And it's better than standing on a | :27:34. | :27:38. | |
pedestal. Over the next four years we have a lot to do. Especially | :27:38. | :27:44. | |
around infrastructure. We can take the A five, something that needs to | :27:44. | :27:49. | |
progress. We need to get the dual- carriageway from Derry to | :27:49. | :27:53. | |
Aughnacloy. That will link Derry to the rest of the island. About time, | :27:54. | :27:57. | |
because Derry has been on the fringes of the economic expansion | :27:57. | :28:02. | |
first to -- for too long. There are powers and the Assembly who want to | :28:02. | :28:07. | |
stop that. But the people listen, they will hear, that means Derry is | :28:07. | :28:11. | |
being held back by politicians in Stormont. And some of us will not | :28:11. | :28:15. | |
accept that. And that's where we must leave it this time round. | :28:15. | :28:18. | |
We'll be back next week at the usual times. I hope you'll join us. | :28:18. | :28:28. | |
:28:28. | :28:29. | ||
Goodbye. Am I invisible?! Who will win the Irish presidential race? | :28:29. | :28:38. | |
The outcome is us on Show as a candidate going for a job interview. | :28:38. | :28:42. | |
They have the gilt edged pension that a solo, MLAs don't even employ | :28:42. | :28:48. | |
relatives. You have the job, now go and research Equality in | :28:48. | :28:52. |