Monday, December 03, 2007
Sinn Féin MLA resigns from party
Sinn Féin MLA for Fermanagh & South Tyrone, Gerry McHugh, has resigned from the party although from what I can gather he intends to remain in the Assembly as an independent MLA. I’ll add his own statement on his reasons for resigning when available but, for now, here’s the party’s version of events from Sinn Féin Assembly Group Leader John O’Dowd. Adds From the Irish News [subs req]
Update The Assembly biog of Gerry McHugh now notes his Independent status.“I have been increasingly disillusioned with the totally undemocratic nature of the party and the wholly top-down dictation within it,” Mr McHugh said. “I feel the direction Sinn Féin is taking is more about appeasement of the British government and administrating British rule in Ireland rather than working towards the end of British occupation. Assembly structures support this - at both committee and plenary level unionists have majority control. What was agreed at St Andrews cannot be delivered without unionist approval.”
Also from the Irish News report
“In the new year I will hold a series of public meetings to give people the chance to discuss the issues which are a priority for them and I will be inviting like-minded people to join me,” he said.
“I want to assure the electorate that I will continue to work hard for them both nationally and locally.”
Mr McHugh said Sinn Féin’s decision to endorse policing in the north was a “factor” in his decision.
“I have no difficulties with the idea of civil policing but I have a difficulty with the excessive amounts of MI5 and military spooks operating in the six counties,” he said.
......
“The fact that the PSNI is being used by MI5 for political policing here should be a major concern for everybody here,” he said.
Mr McHugh said he could use his independent status to further republicanism.
“I think I can bring forward the political republican agenda and fellow republicans as an independent and not be constrained by difficulties we have in the assembly with parties trying to appease each other, he said.
Pete Baker @ 12:07 PM
Gerry McHugh was elected to Fermanagh District Council in 1993 and after standing in the 1997 Westminster election for Sinn Féin was elected as a member of the Assembly in 1998. Gerry is a life member of the Northern Ireland Agricultural Producers Association (NIAPA). A former POW, Gerry lost his Assembly seat to running mate Tom O’Reilly in 2003, but was successfully re-elected in 2007. Gerry was Party Spokesperson for Agriculture and Ethnic Minority Issues. He is also Deputy Chair of the Committee on Standards and Privileges and a member of Agriculture and Rural Development Committee in the Assembly.
In today’s Irish News, McHugh said that he was “increasingly disillusioned by the undemocratic nature of the party and the wholly top-down dictation within it” , expressed concern that “the direction Sinn Féin is taking is more about appeasement of British rule and administrating British rule”, and criticised the built-in unionist veto within the Assembly. Referring to recent revelations about the levels of British intelligence operations in the North, he said that “the fact that the PSNI is being used by MI5 for political policing here should be a major concern for everyone here.”
He also intends to retain his Assembly seat as an independent Republican is quoted that he intends to organise a series of meetings in the New Year to give people a chance to discuss matters which are a priority for them.
“I did not think that I would find myself at this point,” he said. “Like Frank Maguire and Bobby sands before me I intend to hold the ground for Republicans.”
As for the SF statement, there are only two things to say:
1. “disappointed and questioned why Mr McHugh failed to raise issues of concern within the party”; - the treatment meted out to suspended Fermanagh SF councillor Bernice Swift probably explains why Gerry saw no value in pursuing that particular path
2. “personal issues”, - such as having a conscience and principles.No doubt Gerry will now be subject to a whispering campaign by party hacks.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 12:19 PMHaha.
John O’Dowd is a gas.
Even when members make it clear why they resign, he tries to pull them back to the agreed party position of personal reasons.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 12:22 PMThats the usual statement Sinn Fein has released over the past few months after Elected reps and party members have left. Gerry McHugh is a good Cllr and MLA and has done a good job representing the people of Fermanagh since he was elected in 1993. I think its time Republicans would stand up and be counted, the leadership are a dictatorship and want to control every move and thought that party members have. Gerry McHugh only has to look at his fellow councillor Bernice Swift and look at the way she was treated for having a thought of her own, Sinn Fein cant hide the truth the rot has set in, they have made massive mistakes and are going from one disaster to another. Have Sinn Fein now become the defenders of the state and the crown forces, its no wonder Ian Paisley has a grin on his face all the time.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 12:42 PMThe top down nature of decision making in SF is a criticism which sticks, and “personal reasons” are somewhat weak. But O’Dowd is right. All of these things were clear - including policing - before McHugh put himself forward for election as an SF candidate this year. I really dislike people that do this, especially as they have little chance of getting elected on their own. Have the balls to stand for election on what you believe, and if can’t fulfill your obligations under the one you stood on. It’s dishonest.
And for the dissident cheerleaders on cue - what’s the alternative? I am sure there are lots of Republicans who’d like to hear a quicker way to a United Ireland. What is it?
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 12:54 PMIt could also be that Sinn Fein told lies during the policing debate and maybe for people like Gerry it took him a wee bit longer to actually see that he had been told a load bull shit, he has also seen Cllr Bernice Swift suspended for speaking the truth about the Dpp’s and maybe he just has had enough it. He has stated he intends to stand as an independent in future elections so the people will have there say at some point.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:12 PMKensei,
“And for the dissident cheerleaders on cue - what’s the alternative? I am sure there are lots of Republicans who’d like to hear a quicker way to a United Ireland. What is it?”
Who are these people? Am I one seeing as I commented early?
What’s the alternative? That is soooooo old its incredible that people still wheel it out. A number of people offer alternatives, you may not like them or agree with them but they are alternatives nonetheless.
One good example of a constructive bunch of republicans is eirigi. They have not yet formulated a comprehensive ‘alternative’ that you demand but they are working on it and ask others to help them with the task. I quite like their non-aggression towards others and wish them well.
“But O’Dowd is right. All of these things were clear - including policing - before McHugh put himself forward for election as an SF candidate this year. I really dislike people that do this, especially as they have little chance of getting elected on their own. Have the balls to stand for election on what you believe, and if can’t fulfill your obligations under the one you stood on. It’s dishonest.”
We are not privy to the whole story here and I ask you to respect that. It is possible that something else has happened to make this man feel the vehicle he was in was hopeless. Could it have been the continuing bad treatment of honesnt republicans like Bernice Swift? could this possibly have led to the man deciding that he disagreed with many things but would now not be afforded the space to have his own views as well?Who knows?
So maybe you should suspend judgement for a while.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:13 PMkensei
But O’Dowd is right. All of these things were clear - including policing - before McHugh put himself forward for election as an SF candidate this year. I really dislike people that do this, especially as they have little chance of getting elected on their own. Have the balls to stand for election on what you believe, and if can’t fulfill your obligations under the one you stood on. It’s dishonest.
I do not believe things were in any way clear, the policing debate was like hall of smoking mirrors based on spin.
I believe that this was a very hard decision for Gerry Mc Hugh who would be seen by many as a sound republican.
I think people are starting to come to grips with the reality that the leadership of sinn féin have oversold the non existant powers of Dpp’s to its base and the chances of change within policing in this state.
Its hard to make a purse out of a sows ear.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:35 PMOr could he just be another bitter old fool whose time has well and truly gone?
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:35 PMBlinkersOff:
Can we try to stick to facts as much as possible. I have an email from Gerry stating that he was never a POW. But thanks for the rest of the detail.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:36 PM“What’s the alternative? That is soooooo old its incredible that people still wheel it out. A number of people offer alternatives, you may not like them or agree with them but they are alternatives nonetheless.”
Old? It is the only point that matters.
Current alternatives are:
1. Violence. Aside from anything else, apparently 30 years of exhaustive proof that it doesn’t work is enough for some.
2. Complaining about the Brits, and muttering about holiday homes in Donegal.
“One good example of a constructive bunch of republicans is eirigi. They have not yet formulated a comprehensive ‘alternative’ that you demand but they are working on it and ask others to help them with the task. I quite like their non-aggression towards others and wish them well.”
No, they’ve done fuck all and will come up with the same alternative as always that will lead nowhere, certainly not to power or achieving their goals. Doing the same things expecting different results is madness.
“We are not privy to the whole story here and I ask you to respect that. It is possible that something else has happened to make this man feel the vehicle he was in was hopeless. “
Then he should resign not just the party but also his seat. He elected on a platform. If he can’t carry it out it is the only respectable thing to do.
“Could it have been the continuing bad treatment of honesn’t republicans like Bernice Swift?”
Irrelevant. And I don’t respect anyone that backs down in the face of intimidation by the by. It’s hardly Republican.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:37 PMI’m not entirely sure I believe Gerry when he talks about policing; what has happened that wasn’t clear in February, or for that matter when Patten reported? Get with the programme, dudes.
On the other hand, I have little doubt that the filleting of Bernice Swift, far out extremist though she is, was discomfiting for those who had worked with her most closely.
There is no personal benefit to Gerry from jumping ship, so this can’t be put into the Davy Hyland file either.
I really hope eirigi fight elections in the North. The SDLP Youth don’t have enough clenched fists for me.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:44 PM“There is no personal benefit to Gerry from jumping ship”
Except a £20k pay rise…
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:49 PMwell at least the man had the ollocks to stand up for what he believed. yes this new sinn fein policy seems to be facilitating a foreign governments reign in a land they have no right. sinn fein by definition means ‘we us’ or ‘ourselves alone’ it does not mean ‘us plus a foreign body’
good man for standing alone. just like the republicans of old.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:51 PMMick Fealty wrote: “Can we try to stick to facts as much as possible. I have an email from Gerry stating that he was never a POW. But thanks for the rest of the detail.”
I stand corrected, Mick, but the stratgem-ni.com website which carries the profiles of all MLA’s is where I picked up that he was a POW when I was searching earlier for info regarding which Assembly committees Gerry currently sits on. It also includes the fact that he resigned on Friday and is now an Independent, so it’s regularly updated. As I say, I willingly stand corrected on this point.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:57 PMMcHugh quits Sinn Fein over party policies
Exclusive
By Margaret CanningA SINN Fein assembly member has left the party accusing it of “appeasement of the British government” and engaging in “undemocratic practices”.
Gerry McHugh, a Fermanagh and South Tyrone assembly member and a member of Fermanagh District Council, resigned from Sinn Fein on Friday.
He said he would retain his assembly seat until the next election, when he will run as an independent.
“I have been increasingly disillusioned with the totally undemocratic nature of the party and the wholly top-down dictation within it,” Mr McHugh said.
“I feel the direction Sinn Fein is taking is more about appeasement of the British
“Assembly structures support this – at both committee and plenary level unionists have majority control.
“What was agreed at St Andrews cannot be delivered without unionist approval.”
Mr McHugh, pictured, was first elected to the council in 1993. He said he was a life-long republican and that the decision to leave Sinn Fein had been “difficult” to make.
“I did not think I would find myself at this point,” he said.
“Like Frank Maguire and Bobby Sands before me, I intend to hold the ground for republicans and I will retain my place in the assembly to
do this. I intend to ask the questions that republicans need answering and to keep the unjustifiable occupation of our country firmly on the agenda.”
But he said he would use his assembly position to benefit republicanism.
“In the new year I will hold a series of public meetings to give people a chance to discuss the issues which are a priority for them and I will be inviting like-minded people to join me,” he said.
“I want to assure the electorate that I will continue to work hard for them both nationally and locally.”
Mr McHugh said Sinn Fein’s decision to endorse policing in the north was a “factor” in his decision.
“I have no difficulties with the idea of civil policing but I have a difficulty with the excessive amounts of MI5 and military spooks operating in the six counties,” he said.
He referred to revelations in The Irish News on Saturday from a former specialist soldier that 1,000 military intelligence officers were operating in the north in 2003.
“I think that is something that people would not think we had got to in this point of time.
“The fact that the PSNI is being used by MI5 for political policing here should be a major concern for everybody here,” he said.
Mr McHugh said he could use his independent status to further republicanism.
“I think I can bring forward the political republican agenda and fellow republicans as an independent and not be constrained by
difficulties we have in the assembly with
parties trying to appease each other,” he said.
Mr McHugh is not the first politician to leave Sinn Fein because of differences over policing.
Sinn Fein adviser Breandan Mac Cionnaith – who rose to prominence as a spokesman for the Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition – resigned from the party in April.
Former Mid-Ulster assembly member Geraldine Dougan resigned from the party in January over policing.
The same month former Newry mayor Davy Hyland resigned claiming Sinn Fein’s shift in policing policy was a core reason for his deselection ahead of the assembly election.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 01:58 PMExcept a £20k pay rise…
You really think he did this for the pay rise?
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:03 PMYes, that industrial wage thing is an interesting one. Effectively the party takes a chuck of money off public representatives and then pays their wage.
I know of a few cases were people who would have liked to have worked for the party, and were perfectly qualified for the job could not afford the industrial wage being offered by the party.
Also, you have to question whether SF remain public servants if it is the party and not the state who pays their wage.
Persephone refusing to eat even a crust of bread in Hades comes to mind. The bread may be British in origin but it is processed by the party.
Pete pointed out the problem of ‘futuring’ at around the time the Special Ard Fheis granted the leadership complete discretion over how policing would get resolved.
I’ve heard from former members that the gripe is that the party spent its political capital getting concessions over closure for party members, rather than getting greater accountability of the political use of the police in Northern Ireland.
The virtual stripping of investigative powers over the past I know was a particularly difficult pill for some former stalwarts of the party.
It would be good to hear a proper defence of that settlement rather than another sordid deployment of the ‘fair game’ gambit.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:05 PMI’m not entirely sure I believe Gerry when he talks about policing;
Sammy somebody does since there were
bomb hoaxes at the homes of Adams and Kelly in n Belfast over the weekend.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:07 PM“… former POW ...”
Surely he can’t be that old?
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:07 PMkensei, you really seem to be missing the point all these sinn fein members and elected reps that have left can’t all be dishonest, sinn fein are the masters of spin and no doubt the Sinn Fein Leadership have already started the character assassination of Gerry McHugh, im sure that during the week we will hear more details.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:08 PMthere are pow still in prison today
willowfield
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:10 PMWhat baffles me is that the very people who were against the new policing are now the very people who want their help in the Paul Quinn case.
http://www.quinnsupport.com/coverage.htm
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:10 PM“What baffles me is that the very people who were against the new policing are now the very people who want their help in the Paul Quinn case.”
well unfortunatly we cant askthe gardai
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:12 PMHeard John O’Dowd on BBC radio engaging in a little bit of revisionism. He said Gerry put his name forward for election at the same time as he did - which, according to John, was after the Special Ard Fhéis. John seem’s to have forgot that the SF election conventions were all held before that particlar event.
Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:17 PMSinn Fein undemocratic??? Such nonsense.
It’s not as if their military wing has murdered political opponents or dissident members. It’s not as if their support for Castro or the Farc mean anything. It’s not as if they see themselves as the rightful govt of Ireland no matter what anyone else thinks.Posted by on Dec 03, 2007 @ 02:17 PM
