PUP calls for shared North government

THE Progressive Unionist Party is calling on the British government to set up a devolved government in the North in which the…

THE Progressive Unionist Party is calling on the British government to set up a devolved government in the North in which the two communities can have "shared responsibility".

Only this system will guarantee that there will be no abuse of power, according to the party manifesto which was approved by delegates at the PUP's annual conference in Belfast on Saturday.

The party also said it remained committed to the Union and would actively work to ensure that there would be no constitutional changes which weakened it.

The PUP stated that it believed in a "just, equitable and pluralist society". It upheld the right of each individual regardless of "gender, race, colour, religion, political opinion, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, prison record or social background to be treated with equality, dignity and justice".

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The party called for a committee of eight judges - from Britain, the Republic, the North and the European courts - to oversee the introduction of a Bill of Rights.

It also said an office should be set up in Belfast to discuss human rights issues with a view to local conciliation, in the same way that the Labour Relations Agency dealt with industrial problems.

Economic regeneration, greater funding for housing, the health service and the education system, were all matters of urgency, the PUP stated.

The manifesto included a lengthy section on women's rights which demanded equal pay for work of equal value.