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- Sam McBride takes the telephone receiver from his wife Suzy and grunts a quizzical 'Hello.' Slightly out of breath, he's just walked in the door of the couple's East Bay duplex, and he explains.
One of the most eagerly anticipated books on recent Northern Ireland politics had its formal launch at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast on Monday evening.
Burned, by News Letter political editor Sam McBride, is a demonstration of journalistic rigour and application which painstakingly spells out the scope of the circumstances surrounding the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scandal, the subsequent inquiry into it and the impact on Northern Irish politics, politicians and the operation of our political institutions.
And the book’s publication represents an important, self-reflective marker within Northern Irish society. While Monday night’s event offered the sold-out Lyric crowd some respite from the almost all-consuming Brexit debate, the political diversity and engagement of the audience demonstrated how indispensable the work will likely prove.
Some will care, some won't. He tried to get Nolan show cancelled, and started fighting with Sam McBride, re: a particular Newsletter article. McBride called him out for being a troll, and said he would have to submit a complaint to NL under his real name.
Introducing his account of a bizarre and at times unbelievable tale, McBride says simply that “some of the facts in this book will seem so lavishly far-fetched that I feel it necessary to assure the reader that none of this is fictitious.”
McBride made clear that the book does not set out to blame any one political group, or any members of our political institutions, but rather to tell the truth regardless. He said that while his initial motivation for the book was born out of anger, he was able to positively harness that emotion to get the answers he needed.
Conor Spackman of BBC Spotlight, who first reported on the RHI scandal, offered some very thoughtful insights into the costs of RHI – how it has not only been a waste of the public finances, but an ultimate deficit to democracy itself. He made the case that within any free and democratic society, a crucial pillar in protecting those principles is a free press. This is especially true in the context of Northern Ireland, with a society healing from conflict and trying to rebuild trust in its political institutions. Reporting the news, and increasing the public’s understanding, is more important than ever.
Comedian Tim McGarry, who writes the book cover’s backnote, was acute as ever with his rapier wit in mapping out the political landscape of Northern Ireland, speculating on why some politicians may have chosen not to attend.
Best mac os x software. Among those who did show up were UUP leader Robin Swann, UUP MLA Steve Aiken, former UUP MLA and MEP candidate Danny Kennedy, former Sinn Féin MLA Daithí McKay, TUV leader Jim Allister, SDLP MLA Claire Hanna, former Green party leader Steven Agnew, former Alliance leader and justice minister MLA David Ford, and People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll.
Stereotypes
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McBride was humble in his personal remarks and talked about his background growing up on a farm and how he was the first in his family to attend university. Sharing his wife’s perspective of growing up in an African country where there is endemic corruption, he reflected on the political system there, observing how there is an “economy of bribery” and politicians often promise to campaign against corruption, only to fall victim to it.
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He made sure to downplay the inevitable stereotypes which have come out of RHI, of greedy politicians and farmers, saying that if we give in to such stereotypes we lose our keen eye for when power has been misused, and lose our ability to hold politicians to account. It is vital we acknowledge the good about politics and politicians, he said.
He offered an example of this complex message with the front cover of the book. The photo is of Arlene Foster’s first day as First Minister on the steps of Stormont. That day, McBride says, she invited the News Letter and other papers for interviews, signalling a change in relations with the press that she wished to make from her predecessor Peter Robinson. Yet while this was taking place at the start of her tenure, the issue of RHI was starting to take form.
McBride outlined in a Twitter thread today how Foster had declined to be interviewed for the book and subsequently threatened legal action against its publication. His reporting in the News Letter had also been denounced by some of Foster’s supporters.
McBride tells the tale to illustrate that we should not shy away from complex, multifaceted stories with several strands, but embrace them. The story raises questions as to whether Foster was really trying to make a fresh start or not, but what McBride made sure to highlight is that this scandal was not one that would just burn the DUP, but also affect Sinn Féin, and display the inner workings of power-sharing, how the parties communicate within one another, the role of the civil service and the power of special advisers.
People deserve better
What has emerged from the RHI scandal, and has appeared again during the current impasse at Stormont, is that whatever shape our political institutions take in the future, an openness to reform will need to be at their centre. This scandal and the detailed reporting of it has helped in growing a desire for change and a demand for better governance.
McBride makes this case passionately, saying he has seen systems – through the experience of his wife – in which politics has failed because the people themselves have lost interest. But it’s clear, he said, that people in Northern Ireland care about politics and regardless of their background deserve better from their institutions.
Journalist Susan McKay offered an insight as to what the book will hold for the reader; addressing issues around the abuse of power, public finances and the operation of Stormont in the recent past. There was, she said, plenty of blame to go around. What was definitely on show with all the speakers and guests at the Lyric was the generally high standard of journalism in Northern Ireland – a gift we should cherish, particularly at this uncertain and unpredictable time.
We can all take comfort that while news about Northern Ireland demands discerning facts and truth, often in the midst of great complexity, we have a dedicated talent such as Sam McBride to deliver on our behalf.
Burned: The Inside Story of the ‘Cash-For-Ash’ Scandal and Northern Ireland’s Secretive New Elitegoes on general release on Wednesday 16th of October.
You can also follow Sam McBride on Twitter at @SJAMcBride.
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Sincere thanks to all of you who came to the launch of Burned last night in the Lyric Theatre & to @SusanMcKay15 & @conorspackman for outrageously kind (& in @Tim_Mc_Garry's case, outrageously funny) comments about me & the book. Thanks to Pacemaker's Laura Davison for the photos pic.twitter.com/omxhOax2fe
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— Sam McBride (@SJAMcBride) October 15, 2019