Winner: Naomi Long.

One of the top considerations, although not the only one, was speech craft and the capacity not simply to speak without notes but to contribute fluently and combatively (if required) on the floor of the Assembly. Naomi is one of the outstanding speakers in the house, and has used her presence there to great effect in breaking what might be considered an almost impenetrable ‘sound barrier’ for one of the smallest parties in the Assembly. But she has also managed to consolidate the Alliance vote in her East Belfast constituency.

Commended: Margaret Ritchie

One of the few ministers to make it to the short list, Margaret has made a huge impact in a very short time, both in terms of how she handled her Ministerial brief and in making strong and cogent representations to the Assembly. She showed considerable personal courage in facing down the Executive over the cutting of CTI funding. She has also picked up an number of key social issues in her brief as DSD minister and run with it.

Commended: John O’Dowd.

John came into the Assembly in the November 2003 election and was considered a relative outsider. He quickly became leader of Sinn Fein in the Assembly, but only really began to shine in public when he defended his party’s controversial Education policy with a number of highly adept performances on the media. He’s battled well in difficult circumstances and is probably one of the big discoveries of talent in 2007/8 parliamentary season.

Winner: Peter Robinson.

Peter became MP for East Belfast in a memorably tight three way fight. He has fashion a strong coalition of often disparate views, and deployed his party’s resources in a strong manner. In the negotiations up to and including the St Andrews Agreement, he outmanouvered Sinn Fein, by enshring the principle of the ‘triple double lock’ on policing and justice in Westminster legislation. It’s generally thought that he further strengthened his hand with Gordon Brown earlier this year when he marshalled his nine troops into the pro government lobby in favour of passing the 42 days anti terrorism measures. 

Commended: Jim Allister.

Many people thought Jim Allister was walking into the wilderness when he resigned the DUP whip in Brussels. In fact he has fought a rearguard action against his former party making a powerful, if highly local intervention in the Dromore byelection causing the party to lose a seat in what had been strong DUP territory. What started as a ragbag movement has now incorporated into a relatively disciplined political party, the TUV. Jim is also highly respected, not to mention feared, in Brussels as an astute lawmaker and interogator of European officials.

Commended: Baroness May Blood.

May was elevated to the House of Lords in 1999, and has carved out a reputation as a strong advocate in Westminster for Northern Irish civil society. In particular she has made important contributions in the House on child protection legislation. She’s also played a role in chivvying the Northern Ireland Office to have Westminster social legislation translated into Northern Ireland. 

Winner: Daithi McKay.

Daithi was the youngest of all the MLAs elected on 7 March 2007 Assembly Election.  He polled over 7,000 votes and was elected on the first count when he topped the poll. He sits on the Policing Board. For a relative ingenue, he made immediate impacts over plans for the Giant’s Causeway Visitor’s, which ultimately derailed a dilligent research terrier like vigour and the intense scrutiny generated certainly caused more than ripples.
He has impressed with his energy courage and committment to the job. He’s also one of the first MLA’s (after Dawn Purvis of the DUP) to seriously start his own blog.

Commended: Simon Hamilton.

Simon was a favourite of the readers’ panel, and is widely admired by colleagues across party lines in Stormont. He was elected to Ards Borough Council in 2005 and became an MLA in 2007 elected on the 14th count. Since then he has brought a range of skills of legislative and communicative skills, not to mention a sense of humour in committees, which may go some way to explaining his popularity amongst other lawmakers.

Commended: Basil McCrea.

Within his party Basil has built himself and substantial profile in a relatively short space of time. A local councillor, he unsuccessfully contested the 2005 General Election in Lagan Valley for the UUP, but was elected to the Assembly in the 2007 Assembly Election, in March 2007. He is alps Party Spokesperson for Education and is a member of the Education Committee in the Assembly.

Winner: David Gordon.

David was very a popular choice for Slugger’s readers. HIs dogged determination over a long number of years has been well noted by politicians and civil servants over their years, causing some to quake in fear when he lodges a well aimed Freedom of Information request. He is widely held to played a critical role in uncovering the detail that led to the resignation of Ian Paisley from the job of First Minster. He followed a line of inquiry that required great personal courage.

Commended: Ken Reid.

Quite simply Ken has been consistently reliable and particularly well connected. Over the Blair years, he delivered much of the breaking news and giving the inside track well ahead of the pack. It was his interview in March this year in which Ian Paisley announced he would stepping down as First Minister and leader of the DUP.

Commended: Frank Millar.

Frank probably does not have the highest profile in the Northern Irish press, since he’s the London editor of a Dubin newspaper.  But he occupies a unique position in having strong contacts in three cities. His journalism consists of clear and often challenging analysis and reputation for reliable reporting. His series of interviews in the lead up to the St Andrews deal uncovered a number of previously hidden contexts to the larger public game.

Winner: NALIL (North Antrim Local Interest List).

This began as the blog of a group interested mostly in genealogy but also in history, culture and current affairs in the immediate area of North Antrim. It’s compiler and writer Nevin Taggart however has taken the blog far beyond the confines of local interest. Only just over a year old it began running some tightly researched stories about the plans for the Giant’s Causeway Visitors Centre which whetted the appetites of investigative journalists in the mainstream media and further research led to several stories in the print media and an edition of the BBC Spotlight programme.

Commended: Burke’s Corner.

A very high quality blog and one of the few written by an genuine political insider with a strong grasp of the historical and international tradition of traditional Conservativism. His writing is rounded, erudite and expressive of that basic message from Slugger’s first intensive research report into the future of Unionism; ie that it should get out more. 

Commended: 3000 Verst of Lonliness.

Another relatively youthful blog, but by a long time Slugger commenter 3000 Versts has already been picked up and recognised in the Total Politics top 100 UK blogs of the year, coming number 2 to Slugger in the Northern Irish category and an impressive five in the unaligned blogs. It’s considered by some political insiders to be well written and wise beyond the years of its author. 

Winner: Danny Kennedy.

Danny was first elected to Newry and Mourne District Council in 1985, and as such is a real veteran of local aided him in handling one of the most important committees, scrutinising and responding to the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister. He’s viewed by colleagues as being even-handed with committee members and willing to work hard on issues well beyond his comfort zone, as in the committee’s well received report on child poverty.

Commended: Mitchel McLaughlin.

Again, Mitchel is an experienced and well practiced politician, having first been elected to Derry City Council in 1985. He is Party Spokesperson on Economic and Finance issues and chairs the the Finance and Personnel Committee. He also sits on the Public Accounts Committee in the Assembly. His key strengths are the careful and robust questioning of what some might argue is the most powerful department in the adminstration. He’s probably the single chair who shows the strongest understanding of the actual brief of the committee.

Commended: Barry McElduff.

Barry was in the first intake of MLAs in 1998. Latterly he topped the poll in the March 2007 election. He was subsequently elected to Omagh District Council in 2000, which he chaired from 2001-2003. As Chair of the Committee for Culture, Arts and Leisure, he was notable for his capacity to gain cross party solidarity in the committees interrogation, most noteably over the siting of the Maze stadium.

Winner: Deirdre Nelson

Deirdre was elected in 2005 and is chair of the Cultural Services Committee in Council which among other things is responsible for oversight of the new Braid Arts Centre, museum and Town Hall complex. She’s a teacher by background. She keeps a blog-like newsroll on the Councillor.info site.

Commended: Colin McGrath

Colin came with several recommendations, both from Slugger’s readers and political insiders in Stormont and is held in high regard by colleagues. His video diaries are one of the best examples of engagement to come out of the Councillor.info site, and a primary reason why he made councillor of the week on Slugger.

Commended: Domhnall Ó Cobhthaigh

Domhnall is young, personable and extremely bright. Co-opted onto the council, he has made good use of the opportunities not simply to represent the direct interests of his own constituents to take opportunities to engage in political discourse with oppontents. he’s one of Slugger’s tips as one to watch for the future.

Winner: Belfast City Council.

The largest by far of all the councils in the current set up, the sheer scale of its operation made it difficult to ignore. But there were many reasons cited both by the readers panel and the judges that made Belfast a clear and obvious winner. Despite the scale, the council has manage to run a tight ship keeping rates steady over much of the last decade whilst avoiding debt and providing international leadership through the Open Cities project and making substantial impacts in infrastructure. There has also been a radical move away from the sometimes openly sectarian warfare in the council chamber that was commonplace even ten years ago.

Commended: Fermanagh District Council.

Obviously on a much smaller scale than Belfast but there are number of reasons why this council caught the attention of readers, the panel and the judges. There’s been substantial council led development of tourism facilities, with Enniskillen playing host to a number of international events. Over the last twenty years the council has seedfunded outward looking community groups in outlining areas like Clabby, a small rural district near Fivemiletown. And generally it was felt that despite the breakdown community relations through the Troubles, the council had found an older civility that allowed them to get things done.

Commended: Down District Council.

Down had several vocal supporters amongst the Slugger readership. After some severe criticism of the way resort facilities at Newcastle had been alllowed to decay and decline the council has put substantial resources into its renovation and renewal. In =Downpatrick it also plays host one of the few, if perhaps the only genuinely cross community St Patrick’s Day Festival.

Winner: Impartial Reporter.

There’s an old saying amongst Donegal hacks that runs, ‘the Impartial Reporter is as a impartial as the Donegal Democrat is democratic’. No newspaper can ever quite live up to the Impartial’s promise, but it is the quintessence of a well run and increasingly highly regarded local newspaper which does. Feedback from Slugger readers suggests that the paper has made successful efforts to reach across the divide in Fermanagh, and gives strong coverage of politics where it is often at its most powerful, locally.

Commended: North Belfast News.

One of a group of titles serving various parts of Belfast, they were considered to have provide an important service both in terms of reporting community stories with a strong presence of reporters on the ground, and in the fair way they give coverage to parties across the community divide.

Commended: Newry Democrat.

The smaller of two Newry titles the Democrat was praised for highlighting issues that matter to the local community. It gives serious consideration to local politics and have been involved in campaigns to increase Ambulance cover for rural areas, and one of the few larger group papers still investing in real reporting in a local context.

Maybe that can be explained away, but if God’s the writer, he’s had bunch of lousy earthly editors over the past couple of millennia. How fundamentalists can take their comparatively modern texts so literally when it’s clear how much men have changed them is a mystery as great as the resurrection - something crucial to Christian belief, but key sections of which are curiously missing from the Codex.

Cont.

To a degree, however, the current situation whereby policy is at odds with the evidence base is not surprising. Although the level of funding for sport has increased dramatically over the past ten years, the policy mechanisms it supports have not. Moreover, much of the research is relatively new and it takes time to absorb and respond to the messages it contains. The information and insights of this new research have resulted from sports policy itself, which specifically set out to learn more about sporting activity in Ireland when it established the Irish Sports Council and gave it the duty of carrying out such investigation.

Nevertheless, the picture provided by the research findings is now consistent across several large-scale surveys and is also in keeping with international evidence. There is, therefore, a strong argument for revisiting the fundamental basis for public investment in sport and bringing policy more into line with its evidence base and stated aims. It is up to policy-makers whether and how they choose to respond.

The Speaker ruled upon Ritchie’s comments saying that they were not concerned with the topic of the debate and he had received a number of complaints.  The Speaker did say that although the comments weren’t ‘unparliamentary’ – thus Ritchie avoided receiving a similar fat that was given to Iris Robinson who was banned from the Chamber for a day for unparliamentary remarks about the Health Minister which she refused to withdraw – the Speaker did however advise Ritchie to read Hansard and reflect on her remarks. 

Extract from the original debate is below (I am paraphrasing the Speaker’s ruling today – direct quotes could be taken from Hansard when published tomorrow). NOw the thing that strikes me is that the Speaker seems to have ruled on the basis of ‘a number of complaints’ made privately to his office. And yet, the Deputy Speaker does not, from reading the original transcript, appear to have accepted Mr Maskey’s original intervention as a Point of Order:

The Minister for Social Development: When I see the proposer of this motion, Mr Alex Maskey, in the context of the Markets, I think of only one thing — the events surrounding the cruel murder of Robert McCartney. I think of Mr Maskey’s remarks in the immediate aftermath of that event —

Mr A Maskey: On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker.

First, it is very regrettable that the Minister wants to introduce the tragic murder —

Mr Deputy Speaker: Is this a point of order?

Mr A Maskey: Mr Deputy Speaker, it is a point of order. Just let me finish.

If the Minister is in any way trying to align me with what was a brutal murder that I have repeatedly condemned, then she will very soon be listening to my lawyers. It is a shambles and a disgrace that the Minister is seeking to divert attention from the issue of an environmental scheme in a small residential area at a cost of less than £2 million, which she is partly to blame for delaying —

Mr Deputy Speaker: What is your point of order?

Mr A Maskey: My point of order is that —

Mr Deputy Speaker: The Member will sit down for a moment. I must hear the point of order.

Mr A Maskey: The point of order is that the Minister, in trying to deflect what does not amount to even mild criticism of her handling of this scheme — I could go much further, and criticise the Minister for her failure to look after the Markets community — has sought to associate me with a brutal murder which I am on record as repeatedly condemning.

I am advising the Minister to choose her words very carefully, because my lawyers will be scrutinising the Hansard report. The Minister will not run off at the mouth at my expense. That is my point of order.

Mr Deputy Speaker: Carry on, Minister.

The Minister for Social Development: I think of Mr Maskey’s remarks in the immediate aftermath of that event, and his stance in relation to the violence that greeted the police conducting their follow-up investigations in the Markets. More than that, I think of Robert McCartney’s partner and his two sons, now exiled in England, and of his brave sisters who were forced from their homes and who are still denied justice. I think of the so-called republicans who saw nothing that night.

I met Mr Maskey a few months ago to discuss housing in the Markets. I will meet him again soon, and I have written to him recently — a fact that appears to have escaped him. We will talk about housing. However, when he walks into my room next month all that I will see is the image of Robert McCartney holding his two young sons.

Ms Ní Chuilín: Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. I want to put on record my disgust at the Minister’s remarks. This is a debate about a motion on environmental improvement schemes for the Markets area. What the Minister said was completely out of order.

I commend Alex Maskey for moving the motion. It is the prerogative of Members to raise in the Assembly any issue that is relevant to their constituents.

If private complaints are to be given the same status as a Point of Order in the Chamber, Mr Speaker may find himself in a position where “mere anarchy is loosed upon the world Assembly?”