News that will have surely spooked both the Dodds and Kelly camps – a new Independent candidate seems about to enter the fray in North Belfast.
Martin McAuley claims he is to join the contest. You can read his manifesto here, follow him on twitter or Facebook.
Yes, the poster does say ‘Tough on crime. Tougher on women drivers’
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As there’s been a decent amount of interest I’m happy to keep my head above the parapet.
I’ll try to address some of the concerns so far.
@ ComradeStalin Of course I agree that we must fund the police effectively. They constitute a frontline service of course and must be able to do their job effectively. However, we must not ignore the inefficiencies in the service. (I encourage you all to have a look at Pete’s post above)
It’s no use throwing money at the service if it’s still leaking funds elsewhere. You have to plug the holes in the boat before you can set sail.
I agree with you though. We have an outlandish duplication of services in housing and education. In fact I can give you an example that I’ve experienced. The assembly is currently trying to promote youth participation. So to this end the assembly commission has plans to create a “youth assembly”. At the same time the department of education is creating a “network for youth”. Essentially, they’ll do the same thing. It’s an outrageous waste of money supplied by westminster. Then the local ministers will complain when they have to find efficiency savings.
@nineteensixtyseven The knife will be wielded at service duplication, at the reduction of multiple bodies created for the same purpose, reform of the civil service. Those are primary aims. Only when we have an efficient streamlined service can we begin to highlight areas for further cuts if necessary. And even then, frontline public services must be protected.
70% is significant because I intend to do the job of an MP. The power invested in any successful candidate is the power to cast a vote at Westminster. The current MP for North Belfast has attended less than half of the votes and yet boasts about his voting record in campaign literature. He has failed to meet a reasonable standard for his constituents. I don’t intend to make that mistake.
Also, bear in mind that 70% of votes does not equate to 70% of my time. I still plan to be active in the constituency and have a track record of being active.
A point to remember about my manifesto, it’s meant for the average person to read, the ordinary person who lives in the constituency. That’s why there’s a primary focus on local issues. I can handle some of the issues raised here briefly but would encourage anyone interested in these issues to attend one of our planned local meetings or debates to find out more.
Iraq is all but over, it was based on unsafe legal principles and probably shouldn’t have happened at all. More prevalent is the issue of Afghanistan. There’s no dressing the issue up, it’s ugly. The state is balanced on a knife edge. It would be foolish to withdraw troops immediately. Doing so would only jeopardise the safety of both the Afghan people and, in the long run, those living here. Troops need to be better equipped and the government must not lie to the public about defence expenditure. Only when there is relative stability can we begin to withdraw troops.
ID cards are a disastrous proposal. A complete waste of money and the creation of another layer of unnecessary identity legislation. Such proposals would only benefit fraudsters and serve to embarrass the home office in the long run.
Trident is an old weapons system for an old war. However with the new international nuclear treaties, upgrading our own systems would be counterproductive and antagonistic to the global goal of reducing weapons stockpiles. We can’t afford renewal schemes when defence funds are better placed elsewhere.
Hope that clears a few issues up.
Martin, if elected which of the two largest westminister parties would you support if you vote was essential to them forming a government?
Martin,
I think your ideas are fine (I don’t think the police are the right target for cuts at this point, though), but are you aware that “doing your job as an MP” you won’t have the means to change these inefficiencies ? Certainly you can argue that someone who votes for you is voting to endorse what you’re saying, but all of the matters you’re dealing with have been devolved to the NI Assembly.
I agree with all your points. We can’t have a slash and burn but we do need to more seriously appraise the way public money is spent in this country. The custodians of the public purse should spend the money as if it was their own.
The points about Trident, Iraq and Afghanistan, for me, come back to a related point : the UK is still acting as if it is a major world military power. Trident isn’t an independent nuclear deterrent (it’s American) and the equipment problems and loss of life in Iraq and Afghanistan show that the UK doesn’t really have the financial muscle to properly pursue major wars.
Please keep doing what you’re doing. The big parties talk about doing non-sectarian, non-tribal, bread and butter politics, but people like yourself, and Alliance, are the only people approaching the matter with a bit of sense.
Does anyone know if there are any other candidates standing other than from the 6 main parties?
There’s a claim that Martin is ‘typical’ of north Belfast folk – hardly given his privelleged education at first St Malachy’s Grammer School followed by entrance to Queen’s University!!
There’s a claim that we shouldn’t care what flag flies over City Hall, yet will the historic injustices against 6 county Irish Catholics, since the formation of the northern state, be best served by someone ignoring them or pretending they don’t exist and possibly never have?
I DEMAND TO SEE THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE !!!
Nicky, Martin may well have gone to St Malachy’s and Queen’s but he is from a working class family in the Oldpark area and he has got where he is due to hard work. Anyone in North Belfast could go to a grammar or university if they work for it which Martin, and myself, have done. And we have never claimed that we shouldn’t care about the colour of the flag over City Hall – we simply said that it shouldn’t be the sole focus of every election campaign. Everyone in Belfast has their own views on the constitutional question – I’m no different – but it shouldn’t be used as a tool to divide the electorate. We should look to the issues that directly affect the economy and the electorate instead of focussing on ONE issue. And Bubba, you could always call into the Public Records Office to see it if you want lol