Category: poverty

APNI, Belfast, DUP, HIV, news, Northern Ireland life, politics, poverty, SDLP, Sinn Féin, UUPLeave a comment

Is the Executive so tight that they cannot find £5000?

Michael McFarland Campbell

I was interested to notice that cancer patients in Northern Ireland are among those benefiting from a payment from the Northern Ireland Executive of a one-off winter fuel payment. Apparently this is because their immune systems are somewhat suppressed and they need to stay warm. £5000 is not much in the overall budget of the Northern Ireland Executive. At least you would not think that it is. Yet this relatively small amount of money is all that it would take to extend the payment of the winter fuel payment to one group of people who could really benefit from it. … Continue reading Is the Executive so tight that they cannot find £5000?

Rate this:

FairtradeLeave a comment

Antrim – a Fairtrade Borough

Michael McFarland Campbell

After a lot of hard work, Antrim has been declared Northern Ireland’s first Fairtrade Borough. I know that David Ford MLA who was Councillor for Antrim Town worked very hard as chair of the Antrim Council’s Fairtrade committee, before he stepped down from the Council on becoming the Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland earlier this year. Speaking before an event earlier in the year, David Ford MLA said: It’s easy to take part – just swap your usual brands for Fairtrade brands. Gone are the days when you had to search all over the town to try and track … Continue reading Antrim – a Fairtrade Borough

Rate this:

news, Northern Ireland life, poverty, Royal FamilyLeave a comment

return the Crown Estate money to the Queen

Michael McFarland Campbell

The furore about the Royal Finances in recent days should be really quite easy to fix. Stop the Civil List system, and return the surplus from the Crown Estates to Her Majesty The Queen. After all, if it is Crown property then Her Majesty should be allowed to benefit from it. There is no prohibition on HRH The Prince of Wales in respect of his rights as Duke of Cornwall, so why does Her Majesty? Do we actually know what HM Treasury has done with this money in recent years? I don’t think so. No transparency there. For reference: The … Continue reading return the Crown Estate money to the Queen

Rate this:

charitable, news, politics, poverty1 Comment

winter fuel payment – not a solution, but a temporary fix

Michael McFarland Campbell

With the news that HM Government in the United Kingdom is looking at slashing the Winter Fuel payments to those over 60 years of age, there has been quite a lot of comment on this proposal*.

Whilst reading Caron’s Musings having met her and her daughter Anna (who was signed up to the Liberal Democrats by me at the weekend), I remembered that Trevor Lunn MLA had done something about this inequality back in 2008. I know, I designed the logo that was used. Continue reading “winter fuel payment – not a solution, but a temporary fix”