If I could give a fixture list for next year's parades and how the Commission might treat them, there would be no job left for the Commission. But these questions deserve to be addressed. Our decision to implement North's recommendations was made on its merits. But it is also fully in line with the firm position we have taken on rights both in opposition and in government. In particular, the consultation document 'Bringing Rights Home', which set out Labour's plans to incorporate the European Convention on Human Rights into domestic law, has set the agenda for the early months of the new administration.
Rights underlie our approach.
Because they are the natural heritage of all, regardless of political affiliation. But also because we believe a system based on transparency and recognised rights stands the best chance of success even in the vexed area of marching. Over the past few years, the political spotlight on individual parades has grown ever more intense. Operational decisions have been examined as if they gave signs of the underlying balance of power between the two communities. Nothing could demonstrate more clearly the need for a rights based approach.