uuptoday.org

Ulster Unionist Parades Spokesman Michael Copeland today echoed calls from the community and parade organisers that stringent steps be taken to reduce and, ultimately eradicate the consumption of alcohol in the vicinity of parades.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

“I am very aware of the very real concerns of parade organisers regarding the open consumption of alcohol in the vicinity of parades and band competitions. No one could defend the sight of hordes of youngsters, many of them in their mid-teens, toting blue bags and swigging from bottles.

I have recently worked closely with the organisers of several band parades and competitions, and, more interestingly, several parades forums. This issue is raised repeatedly. The responsibility ultimately lies with council officials and the police, the reality however necessitates the involvement of parade organisers and, in some cases, local forums.

Alcohol is central to the difficulties that affect this society in general. In the case of parades, it will, if left unchecked, totally diminish the integrity of the events. For almost a century the unionist population have on the 1st July recalled the events and honoured the memory of the Ulster Division and their comrades during the Somme offensive. Anyone attending such an event in the 1920’s under the influence of alcohol with a union flag tied round their waist would have been sent home in disgrace.

The present situation, where groups of intoxicated young people descend on parades must end as they disgrace the integrity of their own culture. Those seeking to eradicate this deserve support and funding.”

UUP Parades spokesman Michael Copeland has said he will offer Lord Ashdown a no holds barred, frank assessment of his experiences of the government’s current approach to Parading when they meet.

Lord Ashdown is chairing the Strategic Review of Parading Body (SRPB) and has asked people to come forward and share their views with him.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

“The first of what I hope will be many meetings between myself and Lord Ashdown will be a telling one. It will establish fairly rapidly whether Lord Ashdown is indeed an independent voice seeking to get the Parading issue on the right track, or whether he is shackled by, and has bought into, what I would argue to be the government’s current topsy-turvy approach to the issue.

I will offer Lord Ashdown a frank, no holds barred assessment of my experiences of interfacing with the Police and the flawed decision making processes of the Parades Commission. The Commission often seem less guided by common sense but instead seem hellbent in generating situations that effectively perpetuate self-serving outcomes to justify their own place in the process.

I have kept records of flawed determinations and their outworking on the ground. These records are detailed, numerous and comprehensive. They will, I trust, be taken on board, and will hopefully begin a process of dramatic re-appraisal of Parading and show how government, in my view, left a body in charge which has proven itself to apply indiscriminate criteria, is open to political interference and which, as a consequence, has lost the trust of one side of the community on the issue. The time for some fresh thinking is long overdue.”

East Belfast Ulster Unionist and former Serviceman Michael Copeland today appealed to the media and those feeding the current frenzy surrounding the decision by the Ministry of Defence not to send HRH Prince Harry to Iraq to stop.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

In my view this decision has been taken, not because of the danger posed to the Prince himself but to the danger posed to those around him by his presence.

I well recall during our own recent troubles being required to surrender my own ‘White Pips’ (insignia of rank) and light coloured puttees as they identified those of commissioned rank. Prince Harry is a young man, and like any young soldier will be extremely disappointed that he has not been permitted to accompany his men to this theatre of operations.

He is above all else a soldier and has received an order made by his superior officers which he must accept. The matter has not been helped by repeated media intervention and some of the comments from those that never served have not been helpful.”

UUP Parades spokesman Michael Copeland today gave a cautious welcome to the appointment of the Strategic Review of Parading Team.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

“There are a couple of high profile appointments to the Review Team and of course Paddy Ashdown is no stranger to parading himself.

Time will tell however if this newly established body is to be yet another talking shop which skirts around the tough issues associated with parading, or if it will go some way to addressing the mistakes of the Parades Commission who have allowed, and indeed contributed towards the perception that all is not equal when it comes to parading.

Parading forms an intrinsic part of Northern Irish culture and, despite a concerted effort by one side of the community to demonise this culture, the new atmosphere created by a return of devolution based on equality and mutual respect should in theory allow a lasting and equitable solution to Parading in general to be found.

Whether the Strategic Review Team will help or hinder bringing this situation about remains to be seen.”

UUP Party Parades spokesman Michael Copeland, speaking after minor disturbances in East Belfast and Bangor over the Easter break, said the political parties needed to get together and show leadership over the Parading issue in order to ensure a peaceful summer.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

“The parading season has begun and once again there were a few minor disturbances and ugly scenes over the Easter break.

Nobody wants to see these scenes and the worry is that with a lack of any fresh ideas or perspectives from government and the Parades Commission, the parading issue has the potential, if not handled correctly, to derail or jeopardise the potential good will and positive new consensus that a return of devolution may bring.

Drumcree needs a solution as do other parades that have been rendered contentious across Northern Ireland. The Ulster Unionist Party is appealing to all parties to urgently begin looking at a collective approach to the Parading issue.

Parading and the issues surrounding it cannot be swept under the carpet any longer. It is in all the parties interest to ensure a peaceful summer in Northern Ireland.”

UUP East Belfast Representative Cllr Michael Copeland has written to Margaret Ritchie, Minister Elect for Housing, inviting her to come to East Belfast and witness first hand the lack and condition of public housing available. Mr Copeland currently has somewhere in the region of 2000 cases of people who are effectively homeless or living in sub-standard accommodation.

In his letter Mr Copeland said:

“As you may be aware I am on record as repeatedly stating the case for those in our society who face in many cases insurmountable difficulties in acquiring a place to call home in my own office, we currently have on record over 2000 such cases.

Could I please formally invite you, hopefully before you take up office to visit this constituency in order that I can demonstrate to you the scale of the task, with which you will be confronted?”

In a statement today Mr Copeland added,

“Now that devolution is back on track I trust that the new Executive will address the crisis and shortcomings affecting public housing as a matter of urgency.

Year in, year out the situation gets worse. Repeated calls by myself and others to direct rule ministers prompted real concern, little action and much in the way of platitudes. Now that devolution is set to return on May 8th the new Executive and Minister Elect Ritchie in particular have a golden opportunity to put things right. I hope that she will take me up on my offer and see first hand the damage done to public housing through years of neglect by successive Direct Rule governments.”

East Belfast UUP spokesman Michael Copeland said new legislation that will limit private landlords and rack-renters from extorting tenants who dwell in sub-standard accommodation should also be applied to the Housing Executive.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

“Government recently introduced legislation designed to protect tenants from landlords renting sub-standard accommodation from hiking their prices up. This is a welcome move but it will do little unless it is applied to the government’s own housing agencies, some of whom are the biggest culprits in the supply of sub-standard accommodation.

In Northern Ireland the Housing Executive is struggling from a lack of funding and a decreasing quality in the standard of its properties which is exacerbated by an increasing level of demand.

If government are to apply new rules to private landlords then they should lead by example and get their own housing agencies in check too. With a large number of people looking for that most basic human right – a decent place to live – it is vital that the government provides not only affordable housing for those that need it most, but also ensures that the standard of that housing is up to scratch. I have to say in my experience to date of dealing with a great many housing cases, this is not the way things currently stand.”

Ulster Unionist councillor Alderman Michael Copeland has said that the relaxation of advertising in relation to gambling is a worrying step.

In a statement, Mr Copeland said: “Advertising is designed to entice people toward a product. But when that product is gambling the government must be expected to exercise a greater degree of caution.

“Many will be concerned about the perceived haste government is displaying toward liberalizing the rules on gambling. And given their track record on the mainland, what does the future hold for Northern Ireland?

“Removing the ad ban on gambling, albeit in a qualified way, is too much too soon.”

UUP East Belfast Candidate Michael Copeland said despite DUP triumphalist rhetoric they are completely unable to offer the people of Northern Ireland the political leadership required to make government work.

Mr Copeland was responding to comments made by Iris Robinson which claimed the UUP was a failed party.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

“I’m positive that most people are incredibly bored with the DUPs one sided analysis and their list of ‘achievements’. Of course it would be easy to forensically pick apart each of their claims but this would simply be a welcome distraction for Mrs Robinson.

What she and her colleagues are doing by resorting to their fundamentally dishonest and frankly laughable triumphalist rhetoric is avoid the most pertinent question on the lips of the vast majority of the people of Northern Ireland? Will there be a much needed devolved government on March 26th?

DUP attempts to try and drag the UUP into facile arguments and chest beating will not work, nor do we have the inclination to indulge this kind of political immaturity.

What we are about is making government work for the people of Northern Ireland. The people want their concerns dealt with and are not concerned by the needs and requirements of the DUP which are more about keeping a lid on splits and divisions than what is in Northern Ireland’s best interests. Does Iris really think that her party pretensions are more important to people than water charges, higher rates bills, swingeing cuts in education and an ailing national health service? If so she is massively out of touch with mainstream public opinion.

The Ulster Unionist Party is the only unionist party that is telling it straight. We will take our seats in government and govern for the good of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.

On the 7th March the people of Northern Ireland have an opportunity of moving beyond the stale, scaremongering and failed politics of the past as exemplified by the DUP and Sinn Fein and of getting the government that we all deserve”.

UUP East Belfast Candidate Michael Copeland today demanded immediate clarification from Metropolitan Police Chief Sir Ian Blair over comments given last night in television interview. Sir Ian compared the RUC to a paramilitary organisation.

In a statement Mr Copeland said,

“Regardless of the circumstances of the interview, Sir Ian, as Chief of the Metropolitan Police, should be media savvy enough to avoid the traps set by presenters. He clearly didn’t.

Whether this was simply a tripping up in interview scenario, which I think it was, or a deliberate barbed attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary, which I would like to give Sir Ian the benefit of the doubt that it wasn’t, it is nonetheless an outrageous and deeply insulting assertion.

The RUC, of which my wife was proud to be a member, held the line against paramilitaries and along with the Army, helped secure, at great personal sacrifice, the relative peace that many take for granted today.

Sir Ian must clarify, for those who are insulted and who are hurting this morning, what his views on the Royal Ulster Constabulary really are. I would like to think that he would have the decency to do so.”