local government
Could more independents stand and be elected in council elections?
Tweet The majority of councils in Northern Ireland have at least one independent elected councillor. Around half have two or more. Independents received just over 5% of first preference votes in the May 2011 elections, less than Alliance’s 7.4%, but more than the TUV, Green, PUP and UKIP combined. In the last Scottish council elections, [...] more »
At the current rate of progress, gender equality of MLAs at Stormont will only take another 65 years
Tweet Bronagh Hinds’ chapter of Everyday Life After the Irish Conflict: The Impact of Devolution and Cross-Border Cooperation [reviewed yesterday] examines women’s political participation points to limited progress in addressing the gender balance of political institutions. The proportion of councillors who are female rose to 24 per cent in 2011 from 14 per cent in [...] more »
Household Charge: Republic’s government faces into most difficult period of term, so far
Tweet I was in conversation with a news anchor from France 24 François Picard the other day, and he asked me what news I had from my part of the world… I said, plainly enough, the same story we get every summer for three months… He replied in heart beat, ‘ah, the marching season‘… However [...] more »
Republic’s councils: Power without responsibilities?
Tweet Here’s one we missed from yesterday. It made the front page in Indo, and concerns the lowest tier of government in the Republic, which are now …relying on overdrafts and bank loans to meet day-to-day expenses, the Irish Independent has learned. This is despite the councils being ordered to reduce their costs and borrowings [...] more »
Penrose resignation underlines the need for political reform…
Tweet I would never suggest that Willie Penrose is not a true supporter [erm, ex supporter - Ed] of the Irish Labour party… but he does represents a constituency (Longford Westmeath) that’s right on the edge of the Labour’s natural Pale… Feverish talk of an unravelling may be extrapolating from a near exceptional example, at [...] more »
Éirígí Candidates to Stand in Northern Ireland Local Government Elections
Tweet The Irish Times reports that the “republican socialist political grouping” éirígí has announced that they will contest the forthcoming local government elections in Northern Ireland. From the Irish Times report About 140 members from across Ireland attended the conference in the Culturlann centre on Falls Road, where delegates voted in favour of running candidates [...] more »
Ireland’s colonial legacy: “A parliament collapsed into a government”
Tweet Re-Reading the history of Irish Republicanism through the prism of Martin Frampton’s latest book, Legion of the Rearguard I’m struck mostly by its pervasively inchoate character. That’s an impression substantiated not just by the strong historical tradition of dissent, but even by apparently random action of that most constitutionalist of Taoisigh, John A Costello [...] more »
Three ballots on the same day
Tweet So despite Peter Robinson’s concerns that it will confuse voters if the ballot on voting reform, it seems that the AV Referendum will happen on the same day as both the Assembly Elections and the local council elections – 5th May 2011. Following the totally unpredictable SNAFU around local government reform, readers will recall [...] more »
Dual mandate (council/MLA) bill passes Consideration Stage – but what are party plans for next spring?
Tweet Dawn Purvis’ private member’s bill got through its Consideration Stage this evening and now moves on to the next stage of its arduous journey into the statute books. Update - you can now read the Hansard transcript or watch the proceedings through BBC Democracy Live. In short the NIA Bill 7/09 Local Government (Disqualification) [...] more »
Will you know who you’re voting for in May 2011?
Tweet Looks like there could be an(other) opportunity for parties to play candidate/co-option games in the Assembly and local government elections in May 2011. With at least two elections being held on the same day (never mind the strong chance of a voting reform referendum) some politicians may be fighting to retain several different jobs. [...] more »
Political Innovation 2: The politics of buying things
Tweet This is a guest cross-post by Dominic Campbell – originally posted on the Political Innovation site here: Well, you wouldn’t still be reading had I called it the politics of procurement now would you? (no, stop – don’t go!). No-one who engages with government procurement comes away impressed with it. It’s a process that [...] more »
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Books
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The First Shades of God (Jamie Bryson): unremarkable theology, but an insight into the mind of the protest-organiser
Tweet Jamie Bryson has come to prominence recently as one of the leaders of the flag protests across Northern Ireland. As Chris Donnelly pointed out in his post (and was echoed later in the Belfast Telegraph), Jamie Bryson is a well known loyalist in North Down where he unsuccessfully stood at the council elections under [...] read our review »
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Johnston McMaster’s Overcoming Violence – Book Review
Tweet In his latest book, Overcoming Violence: Dismantling an Irish History and Theology – An Alternative Vision (Columba, 2012), Rev Dr Johnston McMaster offers a challenge to everyone living on this island: Entering into the increasingly talked about ‘decade of commemorations,’ how might we remember our painful past together, in order that we might walk [...] read our review » -
Hearing the Other Voice from the Grave: Why Should we Listen to David Ervine’s Stories?
Tweet 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’ [...] read our review »
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