Assembly off again.. No, it’s on again..

I almost felt sorry for UTV political editor Ken Reid on the early evening news.. almost.. Half-way through reporting the apparent decision by Peter Hain that, as had been suspected, there would be no business scheduled for the assembly next week he was rudely interrupted, presumably by an NIO spokesman, relaying the new news that the Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland had decided [after some arm-twisting by the DUP – Ed] that there would, after all, be …

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“They are evidence of common gangsterism”

As previously predicted here, the Alliance Party has announced that it will not be supporting a UUP candidate for the position of Lord Mayor of Belfast.. not as Fair Deal predicted speculated, however, the party has decided that they will be supporting a SDLP candidate.. to the obvious delight of some.. Once again, though, the comments, this time by the Alliance Party’s Naomi Long.. “We have made it clear that whilst the UUP maintain their formal links with the PUP …

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DUP’s ones to watch for the future

Beano has a guest blogger who speculates on the movements/factions inside the DUP. It is (as the guest author acknowledges) all a bit Da Vinci codeish, and it conflates religous affliation without reference to the wider internal context of the party. But certainly some of the people he mentions are likely to become big DUP names of the future, not least North Antrim MLA Mervyn Storey and David McConaghy who was key to David Simpson’s unseating of David Trimble in …

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Mr Hain?.. about the PUP member on the Policing Board..

The initial political focus has, rightly, been on how the attempted murder of Mark Haddock will affect the UUP/PUP Faustian pact – should it be proven to have been carried out, as is most likely, by the UVF. The UUP leader Reg Empey has been defending that pact on BBC Radio Ulster’s Talkback today, where Alex Kane also appeared and interestingly, given his Newsletter article, backed Reg Empey’s stance. But there is, of course, the position of the other high-profile …

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UUP’s cause for concern…

Although it was written for last Saturday, Alex Kane’s Newsletter column is probably even less welcome today in Cunningham House that it was back then. It speaks for itself.By Alex Kane The decision to bring David Ervine into the Ulster Unionist’s Assembly Group has given me more cause for concern, and more pause for thought, than almost anything that the party has done since 1995. Ervine remains leader of the PUP. The PUP is the political voice of the UVF. …

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you couldn’t make it up..

The other reason for Martin McGuinness’ press conference this morning was to officially relay the decision of the SF MLA grouping on whether they would be taking their places on Hain’s Committee the new Restoration of Government Committee. The answer, it would appear, is ‘yes’ – while also calling on the DUP to participate on the committee at a leadership level. Meanwhile, the Belfast Telegraph reports that the DUP will push the Secretary of State’s deadline, of today, further into …

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Beware comparisons..

When I saw this report at the weekend I had my doubts about its veracity. But there are direct quotes and it seems to be genuine. Although, the story is probably more revealing than was intended. Looking closely it seems the curator of an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Trisha Ziff, submitted a provisional list of invitees to the official opening of the exhibition of the Argentine-born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna – Che Guevara: Revolutionary and Icon. …

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3 main parties move 3 points each

The Sunday Business Post/Red C tracking poll results for May have been published and as Pat Leahy points out – see below the fold. The electorate are clearly open to persuasion, but they haven’t been persuaded yet. The major moves in this poll are all in threes: Fianna Fail drops three points since the last tracking poll four weeks ago; Fine Gael adds three points; Labour adds three points. All the changes in support for the other parties are one-point …

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He’s making it up as he goes along

When the Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, announced his new [and improved? – Ed] Restoration Committee, officialy titled, it would appear, the Preparation for Government Committee he laid down a deadline for a response from the parties – Tuesday. And Sinn Féin have taken him at his word, scheduling a meeting for their MLAs to decide on a response – on Tuesday [that’s what happens when you set a deadline here – Ed]. I expect …

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A diplomatic incident?

Well, maybe not quite that serious. There’s not a lot of detail available on this story [probably stemming from the lack of information in the original statement from SF – Ed], just the simple fact that the Sinn Féin Mayor of Monaghan, Cllr Pat Treanor, was refused entry to Canada on his way to Prince Edward Island on what appears to have been a official Council visit,

Interesting partners for tug of war over committee

What the BBC’s Martina Purdy has described as a behind the scenes tug-of-war over a cross-party committee on the restoration of devolution, as proposed by the UUP/PUP Assembly Group leader Reg Empey, emerged onto the floor of the House of Commons during Northern Ireland Questions today[temporary link], and Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland Peter Hain seems to want a liitle more time than had previously been suggested would be needed[subs req] – “Mr Hain will announce the …

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What do you mean by party?

A potentially interesting twist on the attempt to form a Ulster Unionist Assembly Group, as part of the co-opting of PUP leader David Ervine by UUP leader Reg Empey. The Assembly Speaker Eileen Bell today deferred ruling on the matter while she seeks clarification on what exactly the phrase “political party” means. Could take a while.. Pete Baker

A confrontation about a confrontation

While we watch, or listen, to the non-election of an Executive, thought I’d just point to this minor confrontation, between Sinn Féin and the PSNI. Yesterday the BBC briefly noted the report of a confrontation at a hunger strike commemoration march in the Camlough area, near Newry, while the police were diverting traffic. Today the SF MP Conor Murphy has issued a statement denying that any confrontation took place – “There were no stones thrown at the PSNI. There was …

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Of triple and quadruple locks

As I may have mentioned previously, whether or not the policing issue can be resolved will likely be the deciding factor in any deal by November, Brian Walker was of the same opinion in the Belfast Telegraph a couple of days ago. So it’s interesting to note that during the third reading of the Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, the government tweaked the triple-lock to add a couple of conditions to the first stage – 1. The Assembly motion requesting …

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Mr Hain’s cavalier approach

As this Belfast Telegraph opinion piece says, “nobody should be in any doubt that the fundamental problem is Mr Hain’s cavalier approach to the appointments procedure”. Now that Don MacKay has acknowledged that he may have been “a wee bit politically naive”, it’s worth looking back at what the Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland has said as this particular mess unravelled – especially when he claims that he “made all of the appointments to the Parades Commission …

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“That would be ludicrous.”

Still waiting forTranscript available[permanent link], but the BBC report that the UUP’s only MP, Sylvia Hermon, has stated in the Commons that she was not party to the decision to approach the UVF-linked PUP leader, and MLA, David Ervine to join the UUP in the Ulster Unionist Assembly Group, which caused her “great distress” according to the report. She seems to have given the move her qualified support though.. Apparently ignoring the Secretary of State’s reminder that the UVF are …

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“Sinn Fein will not be in the chamber today.”

As predicted Sinn Féin are operating a [selective] boycott of Assembly debates, begining today with their boycott of the first debate in the Assembly chamber – on the economy. As the Press Association report notes – The decision came after a meeting between business leaders and Assembly members in Stormont`s Senate Room which Mr Adams and his party attended. The meeting took place behind closed doors. Pete Baker

Funny who you bump into..

As spotted by esmereldavillalobos. A certain heir to the British throne and his wife are visiting Northern Ireland and today they stopped by the Fivemiletown Creamery in County Tyrone, where, according to the NIO statement, they went on to meet, among others, the Sinn Féin MP for the area, Ms Michelle Gildernew MP MLA [shurely shome mishtake? – Ed] Update A mistake it was. Red faces at the NIO? They’ve now removed Ms Gildernew’s name from the published list.From the …

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a real issue for Assembly members about the PUP’s links to the UVF

While unveiling a memorial to former Secretary of State Mo Mowlam at Stormont today [the “Internal House-keeping” Park? – Ed], current Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, contrasted his view of the activities of the UVF with those of the PIRA – “The UVF have not ended their paramilitary campaign, they are still involved in criminality in a big way and all of those things are things which the IRA have promised to deliver on and …

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UUP: party of law and order…

Reg Empey in this morning’s Newsletter is on the attack over the DUP’s questioning of his pact with the PUP. “It will mean that instead of an excutive split six seats for unionists and six for nationalists, unionism will have a five seven majority”. Indeed, it may be that the DUP’s public annoyance is routed in the possibility that it had its own private plans (Bob McCartney and Paul Berry have both been mooted) stymied by this move. Questioned on …

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