Health Minister confirms NI puberty blocker ban

[fromorbit]

Great news for Northern Ireland kids.

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/politics/health-minister-confirms-ni-puberty-blocker-ban-alliance-call-it-very-very-damaging-4556622

This leaves Scotland and Wales as the only places where the Health authorities haven't acted.

Thank goodness.
Come on Wales and Scotland.

Maybe very damaging to a small amount of children (unlikely). Will save and protect many many more children (very very likely!)

Glad to see this news. Thanks for sharing it. I wonder if any of the other parties supporting PBs so enthusiastically will ever think about the dangers instead just doing of this posturing.

I hope Alliance cop on to themselves soon. A party one wants to like .....

Exactly, I've voted for them for years, but l disagree strongly on this one.

Robin Swann is one of the most sensible health ministers we've had for ages, I thought he did well during COVID.

Excellent, well done NI.

Scotland, Wales, sort yourselves the fuck out.

Great news, what a relief.

I won't be holding my breath re: Alliance. They showed nothing but contempt to those of us who brought this issue to them over the last couple of years. I'm an ex party member and personally won't forget how obnoxious they've been.

🎉

Great news for the children of NI.

Alliance aka SF Lite have lost the run of themselves. Another ex voter

Excellent. The net is closing on the genderists. At some point they will have to explain themselves.

I concur with all of the above. Another ex alliance voter here who cannot vote for them anymore. I have tried and tried to get someone from the party to even engage in a conversation with me but they won’t even do that - just shut everything down. Such a disappointment.

I also agree on Robin Swann - very level headed, no notions on that one, and just altogether a wise one.

I heard at LWS Belfast that it became policy to ignore anyone who bought the issues up @PopcornAndGummyBears - so many women reported the same.

It's gutting to realise a party you believed in and canvassed for can be so dishonest and lacking in tje liberal values they claim.to hold. If they can't be trusted to acknowledge simple basic reality, I'm not going to trust them to deliver on anything more complex. Hard pass.

I’m not sure Ferring Pharmaceuticals would approve if they did 😏
https://twitter.com/RockofLifeNI/status/1767876629664055543

That’s illuminating isn’t it @UtopiaPlanitia

(I almost said something about Stormont being back with a bang & then thought people might think I was making a very unfunny joke 🫥)

@HeartofSaturdayNight I raised it via Twitter, email and with canvassers at my door and was shut down or just completely ignored each time. One of the times the canvassers came they got very flustered and tried to get out of it with vague comments about the party being inclusive for all etc, but the second time they actually turned and walked out my front gate when I asked. I have spoken to two councillors - one of whom I know personally, and one I met via a friend
who works for the party. The one I know personally refused to engage - just said it wasn’t a conversation he thought would be helpful (very patronising) and the other (who is actually one of my local councillors) told me he wouldn’t answer my questions as they didn't answer questions not asked in good faith. Then told me he needed to go and speak to someone else and walked away. I live in an area with an Alliance MP and he is incredibly unpopular too - albeit for different reasons. I think Naomi Long has them all on a very short leash with regards this issue and even if they personally disagree, they can’t say it. (Although the local councillors I spoke to definitely do agree - both quite unpleasant, patronising, arrogant men)

Wrong, and wrong. Have you not been following the growing weight of evidence on this? Why do you think they are banning them?

Codling, I think the poster is quoting this:
'The Alliance Party’s Nuala McAllister said “you gave just a one word answer to a question that will actually be very very damaging for a very small number of people in Northern Ireland”.'

Agreeing with you, in other words.

I wonder will anyone try to mention it on the Slugger O'Toole Open Sunday discussion? Robin Swann is a goodun.

Your experiences echo my own @PopcornAndGummyBears which is interesting to read. All the Alliance candidates are either young in my area (and lack necessary life experience) or they're ruthlessly ambitious. I do find mentioning their policy is actually homophobic usually acts like a cattle prod on the former. The latter do not care.

Agree NL keeps them on a tight leash. Sadly, she's always struck me, the times I've met her, as being very much out for herself.

Actually, what I wote there is not completely true: I can think of one female candidate who is bothered by this stuff but has decided not to engage, presumably to survive in the role/affect changes in other ways within the community. Its really disheartening.

Sigh. Ferring Pharma are targeting very cleverly. They've got the Lib Dems sewn up in England too.

You made me giggle-snort; ah the oul’ Norn Iron sense of humour 😬

Glad to hear this, interesting to hear there are others backing away from Alliance because of their stance on this. Have voted alliance 20+ years (living in the most DUP-ey constituency) but put UU as my 1 in the last election due to Alliance's position on this issue and also due to Robin being a good spud.

@ducktape I’m the same - my vote is split between UU and SDLP - cannot let the DUP or the independent who’s really just DUP by another name candidate in. I wish I could vote for Alliance but I can’t anymore - and yes, I’m utterly offended by the insinuation that I wasn’t asking a question in “good faith” - ie. Anyone asking these questions is just out to cause trouble, rather than being people with genuine concerns.