Joe Brolly and the Freedom of Expression

In what has since become a popular area for social media discussion in the past few weeks, Joe Brolly was recently removed from a panel discussion relating to the future of the North. More importantly, this involved a debate as to the role the DUP would play in any such future, along with the extent to which their views and outlook would be incorporated into any such solution or arrangement.

In the past, this political party has faced numerous accusations of homophobia, corruption among other such controversial views, which have been for the past year either waived or ignored as being part and parcel of the organisation. During the aforementioned panel debate, however, Joe Brolly a man who can only be defined in the strictest sense as being outspoken raised his concerns as to this apparent unwillingness to call out such inappropriate views in the modern context.

This led to his subsequent ejection from the Claire Byrne show, an event which he has since described as extremely embarrassing and to have destroyed to a certain degree the level of respectability for his opinion in serious circles which he may have maintained beforehand. The justification for such was that there was no representative for the DUP present to argue their side, yet this raises a question as to whether the special treatment of this political party affects the freedom of…