The View from Northern Ireland

Author(s): Eithne McLaughlin
Document Type: Chapter
Year: 1998
Title of Publication: Social Issues and Party Politics
Publisher: Routledge
Place of Publication: London
ISBN: 0415174279
Subject Area(s): Politics

Abbreviations: NI - Northern Ireland, UK - United Kingdom, SDLP - Social Democratic and Labour Party

Background to the Research

  • To understand the framing of social policy issues in the 1997 General Election in NI, it is necessary to understand the historical impact of the politics of conflict and division on the development of and debates around, social policy in NI. For this reason, the first introductory section and the next historical background section within this chapter, provide an outline of key dimensions of the relationship between the politics of conflict and social policy in NI. The third and final section then focuses on how social policy issues featured in the 1997 General Election campaign.

Research Approach

  • The chapter is informed by the author's scrutiny of party manifestos and media coverage of social policy issues in the period running up to the May 1997 General Election. In addition the author also provides a summary of the main features of the history of social policy and its development in NI.

Main Findings

The Historical Development of Social Policy in NI

  • Three particular features of social policy in NI have made the development of, and debates around, social policy different than in Britain.
  • First, during the 1920-72 period, Unionism adopted a more residualist approach to social policy in NI than was the case in Great Britain.
  • Second, before and after the introduction of Direct Rule, non-departmental bodies (NDPBs) or 'quangos' have been more important in NI than in Britain, in delivering social policies and in public provision.
  • Third, the period following the introduction of Direct Rule has involved the introduction of social policy initiatives and which are directed at the politics of conflict, inequality and 'community relations'. These differ substantively and ideologically from those in the rest of the UK.
  • Since the introduction of Direct Rule local politicians, who have only participated in local government, have had little need or opportunity to engage with social policy other than at a superficial level. Only a handful of NI politicians through their participation as elected members of (the Westminster) Parliament, have acquired significant experience of social policy.

Social Policy in the 1997 General Election Campaign

  • Journalistic analysis of parties and their manifesto positions did not include discussion of parties' stances on social policy issues at all. Constitutional questions dominated regional coverage. However, there was some reported debate over social policy issues in constituencies where the competition was between candidates of similar constitutional orientation. Candidates used social policy issues as a vehicle through which to remind the public of the social class orientation of the other party.
  • While media coverage of social policy issues was slim, all but one of the parties' manifestos did cover social policy issues. The one that did not was that of the Democratic Unionist Party.
  • A common orientation across the parties was a desire to secure the largest possible share of UK public expenditure for NI. However, there were important differences between the parties.
  • The Ulster Unionist manifesto critiqued the proportion of Gross Domestic Product spent on social security payments, and how much these cost the UK taxpayer. The SDLP presented social security as one arm of an overall strategy to tackle poverty and promote social inclusion. The Sinn Fein policy position concentrated on unemployment, employment and economic development issues.
  • In terms of health care, the Ulster Unionist Party argued that the National Health Service was experiencing three problems: inadequate funding levels; an over elaborate system of administration, and an inability to prioritise. The SDLP argued that there should be a radical overhaul of the internal market.
  • Equality and Social Inclusion: Sinn Fein called for strengthened Fair Employment legislation whereas the SDLP called for the setting of targets for improvements in equality and strong implementation of Targeting Social Need (TSN) and Policy Appraisal and Fair Treatment (PAFT), rather than the strengthening of the Fair Employment legislation itself. The Ulster Unionists rejected any change to Fair Employment, and did not mention TSN or PAFT at all.

Conclusions

  • The approaches taken by the Ulster Unionists to a variety of social policies - social security, economic and rural development - would be likely to disproportionately benefit those on middle and higher incomes.
  • Both Sinn Fein and the SDLP advocate policies to decrease social exclusion, though they differ in terms of the mechanisms by which they believe this can be done.
  • Although none of the NI parties have a direct say in, or responsibility for, levels of taxation, it is not the case that they are therefore identical in their approach to public spending.
  • Historical political concerns about the demographic composition of NI, and therefore the constitutional persuasions of the voting population, continue to influence approaches to social policy, among some parties at least, as they did before the introduction of Direct Rule, albeit in much less direct ways.

 

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