One of the problems with politics is that politicians often think only in the short term. Their income is dependant on re-election, and their vision is stunted as a result.
Worse, politicians know that taking tough decisions has consequences – not least at the ballot box; so we end up with decision-making driven by the lowest common denominator.
The electoral cycle once worked in four or five-year jumps, and if an administration was brave at the beginning, some things of substance could be done. But today, with social media rampant, there is no window of opportunity.
Fearful of the mob, many politicians prefer to play the populist card, resorting to click bait, chasing the latest headline, and stumbling around in the gutter with ‘influencers’, trolls and conspiracists.
It’s not all their fault. Voters are very good at demanding change, but recoiling when it affects them. We are all Nimbys in our own way - Not In My Back Yard.
The best politicians – and there are a few – put the interests of their country before their self-interest. John Hume is the exemplar here, and David Trimble too. But, as I write, I cannot think of anyone today who fits the bill.
One of the ways politicians dodge difficult decisions is to kick the can down the road, giving the appearance of action, without actually having to do anything.
Those familiar with the political satire Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister (currently being repeated on BBC4 and a must-watch on iPlayer for anyone interested in politics) will know that ‘setting up a task force’ is the civil service’s weapon of choice if they want to block something.
And we’ve just seen a classic example – the announcement this past week of a task force to oversee the expansion of Magee College in Derry. With a degree of self-awareness, Minister Conor Murphy said: “It’s not there to nod and present another report that goes and sits on a shelf.” But in truth that’s what initiatives like this are designed to do, and he knows it.
The campaign for a university in Derry stretches back decades – again Hume was in the vanguard. So, on the face of it, this looks like a positive intervention from Murphy who appears to have got the message that higher education is key to stimulating economic growth.
The case for that argument is so clear-cut that only the most obtuse would deny it.
But what he does not seem to have grasped is that the Ulster University is not the answer to Derry’s needs. UU had its opportunity, but it lost its credibility when it made the strategic decision to position itself as a Belfast-based university. Along the way, it also lost the confidence of educationalists in Derry.
Actions speak louder than words, UU’s priorities are clear, and they don’t lie in Derry.
What the university has succeeded in doing is framing the debate about higher education in the north west as a resource issue for UU. And it is clear from the minister’s announcement that his department sees Ulster as the provider of higher education in the city.
For too long Derry has been the victim of Belfast-centric paternalism, forced to play second best, and live off scraps.
It is a proud and historic city, it has a reputation as a centre of learning which stretches back to monastic times, and it can – and must – have an independent university capable of making decisions which meets its needs.
At the weekend I was in St Andrews, population 16,000 – the same size as Dungannon. There is no railway station, and you get there along country roads. Yet it has one of the top universities in the world, outranking Oxford and Cambridge in UK league tables.
For too long Derry has been the victim of Belfast-centric paternalism, forced to play second best, and live off scraps
If a small town in the back end of nowhere can sustain a world-leading university, Derry can.
There’s an old joke about a tourist asking directions: “If I were you, I wouldn’t start from here.” It’s better advice than any Murphy will get from his civil servants.
Ulster University is the wrong starting point. Murphy must articulate a vision for an independent university in Derry, with strong cross-border links and a global outlook. Nothing else will do.
