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General Election 2015 is a great indictment of the Northern Ireland Peace Process
It had been hoped that the religious and political binary fault line between Catholic/ Nationalist/ Irish and Protestant/ Unionist/ British was something that 20 years of the Peace Process would begin to erode. This election will suggest quite the reverse: ‘real’ politics, based on political, ideological issues rather than simple religious affiliation may be some…
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As the TV Election dominates, what are the local issues?
The TV election debate is , as to be expected, shaped and defined by the personalities and the ‘incidents’ as interpreted by the media commentators. And, of course, the political leaders (to a greater or lesser extent) play up to this. But at a local level there is another election campaign taking place. It seems…
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The televised political debate: Body language under the microsope
In 1960 politics changed forever. It was the first televised political debate in the U.S. between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. The significance of the power of television in politics is demonstrated by the fact that those who listened to the debate on the radio thought that Nixon had won, whereas those who watched…
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Vote: Politics is about more than political parties and the ballot box
Russell Brand caused a stir in the media and amongst the political classes in recent months as he questioned the value of voting in what he sees as a corrupt political system which fails to serve the poorest and most vulnerable in society. Whilst I might have sympathy with some of the things Brand says,…
