Professor of Strategic Policy in Practice and co-director of the Ulster University Strategic Policy Unit | Email: s.farry@ulster.ac.uk All views are my own.

Belfast, Northern Ireland
Joined May 2012
Article from our visiting professor @UlsterUniSPU Kailash Chada on how the Corporation Tax issue can be revisited. We can't afford to sit within the current economic and policy context of minimal incentives. Time for new ideas.
The power to set a local corporation tax rate was won after years of political effort, yet it has never been used. Perhaps the mistake wasn’t the ambition itself, but the way we tried to achieve it, writes Kailiash Chada 🖋️ Read more: tinyurl.com/32mec77f
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There is also the matter of the 27/28 FY Budget. Ordinarily preparations for next year's budget would be under way. In the past, budgets have been set by outgoing Executives before an election eg 2011 & 2016.
The Northern Ireland Secretary of State has said the government's £1.5bn financial package for Stormont is his "final offer" and has given executive parties until next Thursday to respond. bbc.in/4yU8uwm
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The tragedy is that whilst there is a clear need for international co-operation and global governance to manage AI, we are in the midst of a time when the rules-based international order is at its most vulnerable point in decades.
I resigned from Anthropic today. I spent the last three years doing pretraining research at both OpenAI and Anthropic. Neither company is acting responsibly. They are racing straight to self-improving superintelligence and gambling with our lives. More thoughts below.
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In this article, I set out how some of the proposals within Burnham's 'Rewiring the State' to enhance the powers for English Mayors could work for NI, including addressing the lack of incentives for the Executive to prioritise economic growth.
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Stephen Farry retweeted
Replying to @thebonnevilles
@thebonnevilles and Stafel are playing a Belfast gig on Friday 4 Sep to raise funds and awareness for Muscular Dystrophy Ireland. Only 250 tickets available. Book 👇and wear a bad shirt! Check out "Bad Shirt Friday Charity Concert" eventbrite.com/e/bad-shirt-f… @eventbritehelp
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Positive news from the Executive. NI has been behind others on AI policy. Publication of a draft strategy is a step forward & must become a springboard for delivery. With effective guardrails in place, AI has scope to drive public sector productivity. 1/2 executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/si…
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This strategy draws from the AI Poll commissioned by @UlsterUniSPU last year to reinforce the evidence base for a citizen engagement pillar. ulster.ac.uk/__data/assets/p…
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Last week Andy Burnham set out proposals for rewiring the UK state. In particular, there are proposals being developed to allow English regions to retain a proportion of locally raised taxes, with other plans for Scotland, Wales and NI. 1/2 irishnews.com/news/business/…
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Writing in the Irish News, my colleague, Jodie Carson, sets out how Manchesterism could be an opportunity for NI. She talks about what the need for greater financial incentives for the Executive to adopt a shared plan, including the prioritization of economic growth. 2/2
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The NI Executive should be proactive in shaping how this major initiative could apply to this region. As we set out in our recent @UlsterUniSPU paper, NI lacks financial incentives to prioritise economic growth. ulster.ac.uk/__data/assets/p…
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Good to see this acknowledgement of the economic significance of localised financial incentivisation. Important for the devolved regions also.
🚨 NEW: Andy Burnham will announce next week that Mayors will receive a portion of income tax revenue to spend on their cities
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If journalists predict almost every permutation of who gets the top jobs in a Burnham Cabinet then perhaps at least one story has a good chance of being correct...
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Current focus on Manchesterism provides opportunity for renewed thinking re devolution, including re devolved regions. I am quoted in this FT piece stating that devolving powers is one thing, but it is the underlying incentivisation that drives outcomes ft.com/content/66c5fd81-24cb…
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Professor Jodie Carson of Ulster University’s Strategic Policy Unit, takes us through 33-recommendations for Northern Ireland's economic and societal transformation. Read more: tinyurl.com/ywkkkjfy
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Today, @UlsterUniSPU has published our latest report Unlocking NI’s Potential: A Framework for Economic Transformation, with 33 recommendations. This framework is best understood through the associated graphic. The full report can be accessed at: ulster.ac.uk/__data/assets/p…
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UK’s ongoing political instability raises questions re economic consequences, and impact on NI. In this context, SPU’s latest report ulster.ac.uk/__data/assets/… sets out a plan to transform NI’s future irishnews.com/news/business/…
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Ann Watt from think tank Pivotal has welcomed a new £102m transformation fund, while Professor Stephen Farry from Ulster University adds that part of the difficulty is getting agreement from all Executive parties. Watch more tonight at 10:45PM.
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Stephen Farry retweeted
A painting of the end of meritocracy: A meeting of the two largest economies and not one woman at the table.
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