Post Archives for Michael Shilliday
UUP leadership election – the final triumph of civic Unionism?
UPDATE 2 So, I royally called this wrong with magical timing. However I stand by the analysis as reasons why Kennedy isn’t the front runner he is touted as, and why McCallister might now be tempted to cut a deal with Nesbitt. Why is Kennedy weakened? What HAS changed in the last 18 months – [...] more »
New Tories, old Tories, what’s the difference?
Everyone seems to be talking about the headline of Lord Feldman’s press release today, and no one is talking about what he actually said. Let’s be clear, there is to be no “new party” in Northern Ireland. They are not farming off their existing branch, they are attempting to tart it up a bit. And [...] more »
Can we get some things straight?
I’m getting a bit sick of reading nonsense about Loughgall. Firstly, all that is new in the Belfast Telegraph is that the HET report is due out soon. If that report states that the IRA fired the first shot, that will simply be a regurgitation of the facts as detailed in the European Court of [...] more »
Opposition or bust
A couple of weeks ago a few of us put on a fringe event at the Ulster Unionist Party conference, where the prospect of going into opposition was discussed. On the same day, the coverage of Tom Elliot’s speech mostly focused on the same issue. Since then the matter has gained traction and comment, with [...] more »
The rubber stamp gets smaller?
Mark McGregor is of course right. At the very least the disclosure of the d’Hondt private run by the Executive Twitter account was a violation of the Assembly’s right to be first to know. It was like that in 2007, and is now. However there probably is some justification for it, given that such an [...] more »
At least now, the UUP’s blinkers will probably come off
The last time a major Unionist party was lead by anyone from west of Portadown it was Harry West in in 1970′s. That was not a happy period of the UUP’s history. The sense of ‘otherness’ that exists amongst border Unionists is well known, researched and documented. It is not a fictional notion dreamed up [...] more »
Should unionists be entitled to vote?
That is the logical question arising from what the UUP candidate claims SF have said in their literature in West Belfast. Mr Manwaring said; “Gerry Adams says that moves to secure a Unionist Assembly seat “represents the old unionist agenda of resisting equality and denying nationalists’ representation.” The message in this is that “old unionism” [...] more »
Is David Ford safe this time?
I don’t think we’ve had an open thread on South Antrim yet, but here’s a thought. A lot of the talk in 2003 and 2007 in South Antrim was over David Ford’s safety, at both elections he was the most vulnerable Alliance sitting MLA. Indeed a couple of weeks out from 2007 when asked I [...] more »
A thought on the Alliance Party Manifesto
The Alliance Manifesto is certainly the longest of any produced. In the summary on page five they commit to: Introduce transparency around political donations What interests me is, has anyone gotten around to asking Alliance if any part of their manifesto is brought to us courtesy of money changing hands? Seems a fair question in [...] more »
Nominations published
The Electoral Office have published the list of those seeking office at the Assembly elections. Having a quick scan two things stick out. The TUV are standing two candidates in North Antrim. Given that their ability to pick up transfers from anyone but eachother is going to be reasonably low, I don’t see why they [...] more »
Belfast and lost constituencies
The Belfast Telegraph also has a story on the boundary review. The revamp could mean — for example — that Belfast will be represented by two MPs rather than the current four, with south and east, and north and west constituencies in the city being amalgamated. Very little factual basis for this claim, Sunderland and [...] more »
“On appointment, the Speaker relinquishes all connections with his Party.”
The Northern Ireland Assembly advises that: “Members must be confident of the impartiality of the Speaker and this is achieved through the operation of a number of conventions. On appointment, the Speaker relinquishes all connections with his Party.” As we know, Willie Hay never did that, and his party never stopped claiming him (PDF). Now [...] more »
UKIP announce candidates. World shakes.
UKIP have announced, apparently only some, of their 2011 Assembly Candidates. Yet more spurned UUP members show up. Trotter was Harry Hamilton’s campaign manager for UCUNF and was rejected for Assembly selection by both East Belfast and Upper Bann, while Reilly went to UKIP in 2007 after losing out to John McCallister in South Down. [...] more »
One last go at the Gerry thing
The Gerry Adams “resignation” is probably one of the most pointless but nerdishly interesting things I’ve ever seen. Pete has already brought us the BBC’s report of the exchange between Sir George Young and Hiliary Benn earlier today, but it is worth exploring a little. Sir George said: During the subsequent exchanges, Members raised the [...] more »
How do you solve a problem like Gerry?
Gerry Adams’s chicken run (a term admittedly used quite loosely) seems to have presented him with a bit of a problem. He is perfectly prepared to follow the niceties of the British Constitution to become a Member of the national Parliament, but not to cease to be so at a time of his choosing in order to become a member [...] more »
Strong words
The DUP have taken a somewhat populist line on water charging, jumping on comments by John McCallister . Calling charging proposals a poll tax, is indeed strong stuff: targeting struggling householders who are trying to keep up mortgage payments, meet the expectations of their children at Christmas and also hold on to their jobs…Rather than [...] more »
Can’t pay? Won’t understand.
What angers me most about the opposition to raising the cap on student fees probably isn’t the rioting and vandalism that the protesters get up to. It’s the ignorance, stupidity and ill-informed manner with which the opposition is presented and articulated. “I can’t afford nine grand”, “it will put poor kids off university”, “we shouldn’t [...] more »
How can Gerry Adams be an MP and a TD at the same time? – Updated
The answer is that the Labour Party (specifically Peter Mandleson who was Secretary of State at the time, and George Howarth who was Junior Minister) made it so. The House of Commons Disqualification Act provided that a person could be an MP and a member of a legislature in any other Commonwelth country. Why is [...] more »
Compare and contrast
The SDLP on Patten: “At present only 29 per cent of the PSNI is made up of Catholics – that is far from being broadly representative of the community. The SDLP believes that the percentage of Catholics in the PSNI should be between 40 and 44 per cent. “Such a figure would be broadly representative [...] more »
Inform Communication and opinion polling
Last week the Belfast Telegraph published the latest in a series of opinion polls conduced by Public Affairs Company, Inform Communications. They also say that on Tuesday there will be a voting intentions poll conducted by the same firm, which will let us know the state of the parties two days before polling day. Inform [...] more »
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Books
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Hearing the Other Voice from the Grave: Why Should we Listen to David Ervine’s Stories?
Ed Moloney’s Voices from the Grave: Two Men’s War in Ireland has received considerable attention in the press and in the public realm since its publication earlier this year. Although the book relates the experiences of the Provisional IRA’s Brendan Hughes and the PUP/UVF’s David Ervine, much of the discussion has focused on Hughes’ stories [...] read our review » -
Help me with the West Wing: Essential viewing or Party Political Broadcast?
Having somehow managed to avoid watching a single episode of the widely praised West Wing TV series I was delighted to discover the entire Box set in my Christmas stocking – and with enough spare time over the holidays to give it a good lash. But with 10 episodes of the first series under my [...] read our review »
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Of the Old North and other Vanished Kingdoms..
I’m currently trawling through Norman Davies’s fabulous new tome – “Vanished Kingdoms” – Five stars in the (London) Telegraph’s review from Ben Wilson: All the nations that have ever lived have left their footsteps in the sand,” writes Norman Davies. “The traces fade with every tide, the echoes grow faint, the images are fractured, the human [...] read our review »
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