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Round up of Tuesday’s Political Studies Association conference
If you want to get a flavour of the proceedings at the Political Studies Association conference on its opening day, then the Storify collation below will bring you some of the images, tweets and sounds of the day. Particular highlights included: the Opening Plenary with David Blunkett, Peter Riddell and Matthew Flinders; and the late [...] read our review »
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Ian O’Riordan’s Miles to Run: An invitation to madness?
Ireland is in the middle of a boom – a running boom. Chances are, even if you have never run a step yourself (apart from some painful P.E. classes many moons ago), someone you know has taken up running over the last little while. Road races in Northern Ireland and in the Republic have seen [...] read our review »
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What Ireland did right (and what it needs to do)…
It is difficult to believe now that one country recently sent 19 delegations to Ireland to study how well our economy was managed. The revelation that our model of economic management featured positively in political and economic discussion in countries including Estonia, Greece and Scotland may also come as a surprise. As we survey the [...] read our review »
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Comment on If Robinson pitches for Catholic votes, where does that leave nationalism?
on 24 June 2011 at 1:23 pm
This is certainly a difficult task for Peter Robinson to complete but I can say that as a Catholic I voted for the DUP at the last election: as did my family and many of my Catholic friends, largely because of the moderating influence of Peter Robinson on the party. I would never have considered voting for the DUP a few years ago but clearly the mood among my Catholic friends and colleagues towards the DUP is dramatically changing.
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Comment on Looking back at the DUP’s 2007 Manifesto
on 30 March 2011 at 10:21 pm
An interesting post Alan.
On a separate note, Peter Robinson has aged a hell of a lot in the last few years since that photograph: it just demonstrates the huge stress he has been living under.
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Comment on Paisley and Prospero mark 2
on 24 March 2011 at 9:04 pm
Would anyone like to hazard a guess as to what the current relationship between Peter Robinson and Ian Paisley is like? Frosty I would say.
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Comment on PPS not to prosecute Iris Robinson
on 12 March 2011 at 2:19 pm
Many people on the internet have been asking why Iris Robinson is not going to be prosecuted for her actions concerning the Lock Keeper’s Inn and why Alison Hewitt in contract was convicted for stealing a pair of £10 jeans.
The answer is quite simple; Robinson obtained two loans from two ‘friends’ in an entirely lawful manner. She did not, as opposed to Hewitt, actually commit an act of illegality by deliberately stealing. This is the crucial difference and if people cannot see the differences in both cases then they need to objectively consider the two situations. The public have by and large swallowed everything that has been printed by the media in regards to Iris Robinson and as a result some people seem to think that her actions were illegal, which they were not.
Parliamentary rules are entirely separate from law. In this regard Iris Robinson will likely be rapped on the knuckles by both Castlereagh and Stormont for her conduct as a public representative but the situation is not so clear regarding Peter Robinson. He has been quite robust in defending his actions and he has consistently displayed great confidence that he has not personally broken any parliamentary rules. I think that Peter Robinson will surely have received advice from his solicitor regarding the likelihood of vindication from the allegations made by the BBC Spotlight programme, hence why he has been so confident from the very beginning that he will be cleared of any wrongdoing in regards to his parliamentary/ministerial position.
The evidence provided by the BBC Spotlight programme that Peter Robinson had been involved in any wrongdoing were, at best, flimsy and built upon mere hearsay (for example Selwyn Black alleged that Robinson was aware of what his wife had been involved in because he had apparently heard him in the background as he spoke to Iris on the phone).
I would like to ask whether it was legal for the BBC to broadcast the content of text messages belonging to Iris Robinson given that she did not give permission for such material to be broadcast and as such perhaps she retained intellectual copyright.
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Comment on DUP announce Assembly candidates, including a new face in East Belfast and two double-jobbers
on 2 March 2011 at 5:45 pm
Apparently the UUP will run Phillip Robinson in East Belfast instead of Reg Empey – I wonder if this is a cunning plan to confuse voters to put an x next to Phillip and not Peter Robinson! LOL!
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Comment on Most likely big fallers: TDs on Saturday, MLAs in May?
on 24 February 2011 at 3:59 pm
What do people make of Peter Robinson’s chances? His recent behaviour has impressed many: his vote for the Westminster election was still quite considerable in spite of the loss so he should make it home with no real trouble…I would imagine so anyway.
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Comment on Tom Elliott kicks off campaign with UUP ideas on how to reform Stormont by 2015
on 16 February 2011 at 10:30 pm
I think that it is quite strange that Michael McGimpsey was not present, particularly given the fact that I did not see him at the Assembly last night. When McGimpsey was savaged by Robinson and McGuinness at the Executive table it is reported that his own party colleague, Danny Kennedy remained silent and did not defend him. Very interesting.
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Comment on Slugger Awards: And the final results are….
on 10 February 2011 at 9:44 pm
I hope that the night went well. I think by and large the choices were good, particularly Colum Eastwood but I don’t agree with Naomi’s selection but then again that category was extremely weak.
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Comment on Hell hath no fury like an Adams hater scorned……..
on 27 January 2011 at 11:09 pm
To be honest I would consider myself to be a pretty objective and apolitical observer of local politics but I will admit that I, like many other people across Ireland had a harmless laugh about Gerry Adams predicament: not because I am an ‘Adams hater’ – of which I am not – but because of the sheer irony of the situation. Does it really matter if Adams did not apply for the title because at the end of the day he still has the title whether he wants it or not? In regards to an apology, it is interesting to note that the Irish Times has only reported that David Cameron’s private secretary apologised to Gerry Adams because he was not informed of the decision beforehand but that David Cameron did not, as claimed by Sinn Fein, personally offer his own apology to Adams. One suspects that Gerry Adams, who has a considerable ego, is perhaps more angry about the fact that he was so publicly derided in public and in the House of Commons than the actual title itself. Would it have been better for Adams to have tried to make light of the situation rather than become so angry?
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Comment on Brian Cowen: Extreme Political Turbulence Ahead
on 18 January 2011 at 10:18 am
I find the picture…eh, rather disturbing but true.
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