General Election 2010 – UCUNF
Where to start?
The four stage progression I suppose, thus:
1) The bright new non-sectarian dawn.
2) Look at us we have Catholic candidates.
3) Sorry no we haven’t.
4) Oh and we’ll change our mind on standing in every seat…
Totally. Absolutely. Astonishing.
I always thought that the money was important but was it the only thing?
How did they do anyway?
Election Year 2010 2005 Delta
East Belfast 21.2% 30.9% -9.7%
West Belfast 3.1% 2.3% 0.8%
North Belfast 7.7% 7.1% 0.6%
South Belfast 17.3% 22.7% -5.4%
FST 45.5% 18.2% 27.3% I know but he would have taken the Tory whip.
West Tyrone 14.2% 6.9% 7.3%
Foyle 3.2% 2.4% 0.8%
Mid Ulster 11.0% 10.7% 0.3%
South Down 7.3% 9.9% -2.6%
East (L)Derry 17.8% 21.1% -3.3%
Newry and Armagh 19.1% 13.9% 5.2%
Strangford 27.8% 25.2% 2.6% Change based on Tory and UUP 2005 vote combined.
Lagan Valley 21.1% 21.5% -0.4%
Upper Ban 25.7% 25.5% 0.2%
North Antrim 10.9% 14.5% -3.6%
East Antrim 23.7% 26.6% -2.9%
South Antrim 30.4% 29.1% 1.3%
North Down 20.4% 52.9% -32.5%
As always Nic Whyte on Ark for the data.
That’s not a clear picture is it? What can we conclude?
1) Back in the hunt in West Tyrone where an Assembly seat is surely likely.
2) Maybe could chance their arm with 2 candidates in Newry and Armagh.
3) In South Antrim surely Empey would have won if the progression above would have stopped at 2…..and a possible gain if they only stand 2 candidates next time?
Anything else stand out?
Ulick its all there in black and white on the GAA website, every player must be a member, every member must support and further the aims, the no1. aim is political.
Comrade Stalin…..I actually marched against apartheid rugby at Ravenhill when I was a callow Queens student.
Then you should know better than to advocate it as a long-term solution in NI.
Thats probably before you were born.
I thought you were the guy who gets annoyed when age is invoked as a qualification.
Thats the system which you may or may not have voted for in 1998.
I think most people in 1998 voted (a) to indicate their support for peace and (b) with the understanding that the document in question was a stepping stone. I did vote for it and I was well aware of the consequences. The art of the possible, and all that.
And a lot of people seem to want to re-write it as an inclusive document it purported to be
While the GFA institutionalized the tribal vote, I’m not completely persuaded that it established an apartheid society. There were a number of options on the table in the mid 1990s that I can remember. One I remember in particular was the idea of regionalized policing. Which really meant an array of separate prod and taig police forces. That one was shot down during the GFA talks process. I would take that as a sign that people weren’t in favour of an apartheid system.
Hello Ian, fancy seeing you here.
Launching his leadership bid in Belfast’s Merchant Hotel today, Mr McCrea will unveil five pledges:
- No ministry until party success assured – “I intend to lead the party on the basis that the leader of the UUP will be the first minister. Until this goal is achieved I will not accept any other ministry.”
- The UUP will take the education ministry as first choice – “The party will fight the next assembly elections on the basis of ‘A vote for the UUP, is a vote to remove Ruane’. We will remove the possibility of Caitriona Ruane doing yet more damage to the education system.”
- No electoral pacts with the DUP or anybody else – “We must convince those that no longer vote that there is something to vote for. We will stand on our own two feet, we will offer our own policies, we will select our own candidates.”
- All MLAs will face a vote of confidence at the end of each year – “All members will be given an opportunity to express satisfaction of all UUP MLAs by secret ballot. The results will be made public.”
- Discipline robustly enforced – “There are too many organs of the party. The party officer team will go. The executive will be revamped to include all MLAs. Attendance at executive meetings for elected representatives will be compulsory.”
In hard-hitting comments aimed at senior party figures, Mr McCrea will say: “For far too long this party, the party for all its faults we cherish has been choked by a culture of cronyism, of rule-bending intellectual poverty.
“We have been dogged by would-be leaders; behind the scenes, string-pulling unelected leaders and responsible-to-no-one leaders.
“Our message to the public has been blocked by too many voices and too many self-promotional messages.
“It has blanked out the message when it comes to the screen of public opinion.”
Tonight Mr Elliott’s campaign manager, Mike Nesbitt will be one of seven individuals hoping to be selected as one of three (eventually to be reduced to two) candidates to run in Strangford in next year’s assembly election.
Veteran UUP MLA David McNarry, who is also backing Tom Elliott, is also standing, as is businessman Bill McKendry, party officer Phillip Smith, former Ards mayor Jim Fletcher, long-standing Ards councillor Ronnie Ferguson and Andrew Cooper.
“All MLAs will face a vote of confidence at the end of each year – “All members will be given an opportunity to express satisfaction of all UUP MLAs by secret ballot. The results will be made public.”
Have you got to be mad to be in this party? That’s as daft as daft can get.
Dewi, dont blame us all for Basils daft idea! I cant believe these 5 pledges are meant to be serious.
Are these for real? or has someone taken the papers in with a spoof?
I feel stupid pointing this out, but surely the first pledge rules out the second one? How can you choose the Education Ministry while refusing to accept any other ministry? or is he simply speaking personally?
With regards Caitroina, can anyone see her being put back in the same post by SF? even if they choose education again, and try this out for a scary thought Ms Ruane Minister for Health!!!
‘Have you got to be mad to be in this party?
Probably not but it could be an asset
“There are too many organs of the party’
Aye but the main organ without which all others are turned to mush is missing -i.e a brain.
Maybe it’s time for another split ? A WUP (West Unionist Party ) led by Elliot -the titular West being both geographic and honorific to the late Harry West . This faction could e called by opponents s the ‘Whoops Party’ as a token of their esteem at this party’s tremendous capacity for scoring own goals as it careers like a crazed drunk around the political desert of NI . The McCrea faction could be called the Eastern Unionist Party or the EUP popularised as the YUPS or Yuppies .
‘That’s as daft as daft can get.’
You might think that Dewi but I could’nt possibly comment
funny thing is though most of the MLAs for the East are backing Tom.
Im not “advocating” apartheid, merely recignising thats what the solution presented to us was. As the lesser of two evils.
You might well have voted for GFA as a stepping stone to the better days of a shared future. Fair play for doing that..
The SF and SDLP voters to a greater of lesser extent thought they wwere voting for a different set of stepping stones.
And the DUP and UUP voters to a greater or lesser extent thought they were voting for a barricade not stepping stones.
We were all required to vote the same way for different things.
Creative ambiguity.
And theres no imperative for anyone to actually “do” anything at all.
We are all locked into (at best) an illusion and (at worst)….a lie