Alex Scates

Will the Alliance Party’s sole MP’s position on assisted dying impact its future electoral chances?

Alex Scates on January 9, 2025, 3:07 pm

| Readers 1509

Sorcha Eastwood MP’s decision to vote against the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024 (“The Bill”) holds potential future electoral risk for the Alliance Party. After successfully passing the Second Reading stage in the UK Parliament by 330-275 votes, the Bill is now at the Committee Stage and will be scrutinised by its 23 members (15 x Labour, 4 x Conservative, 3 x Liberal Democrat and 1 x Plaid Cymru); notably absent of any NI members. Consideration of …

The future of Belfast mayoral portraits – time to get rid?

Alex Scates on October 22, 2024, 7:00 am

| Readers 2879

Sinn Fein’s current handling of the Niall Ó Donnghaile affair and the party’s relationship with transparency is certainly newsworthy in that there is a hefty public interest. The discussion about the portrait removal of the former Lord Mayor was almost inevitable, and unanimously supported by all party leaders on Belfast City Council (BCC). Notwithstanding the reason behind that removal, it has helped re-raise the question of value for money. Belfast is the only council in NI to still continue with …

The DUP’s Deputy First Minister and the democratic deficit…

Alex Scates on February 5, 2024, 7:20 am

| Readers 8408

On Saturday I was at home sat watching live coverage as Stormont lurched back to life, when I heard a knock at the door and in came my 70-year-old mum. At this stage, Emma Little-Pengelly was on her feet in the Chamber on the TV, and I hadn’t even had a chance to offer my mum a cup of tea when she sat down and immediately said, “She’s not even elected. How does that work? They’re a disgrace.” She meant …

The Protocol Bill: the DUP’s last great hope…

Alex Scates on January 16, 2023, 9:37 am

| Readers 3573

silhouette of lighthouse on hill near body of water during daytime

The DUP has been reassured that the UK Government is committed to getting the NI Protocol Bill (the Bill) through Parliament. The Bill is designed to provide for unilateral UK power to disapply elements of the NI Protocol itself in certain conditions. Currently in the Report Stage in the Lords, it is approaching the end of its journey through Parliament before it’s indeterminate ping pong between Houses. The DUP has had reassurances that the current government’s leadership intends to pick …

Unconditional Unionism: blind loyalty and why it doesn’t work…

Alex Scates on January 6, 2023, 7:00 am

| Readers 7371

For some time, I’ve been trying to put my finger on why unionism seems to be in a state of perpetual existential crisis, and have managed to settle on some semblance of an explanation. I put it down to unconditional unionism, a condition amongst the most ardent political unionists that pledges unconditional support for the UK Government, Union and its institutions. Critically, unconditional unionism restricts any criticism levied towards the UK Government to the superficial, thereby weakening the ability to …

The DUP should withdraw its MPs from Westminster…

Alex Scates on October 31, 2022, 7:00 am

| Readers 5478

The political stalemate at Stormont isn’t anything new; nor are the strategic blunders that the DUP has and seems to be continuing to pursue. That said, the NI Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris MP is seemingly, going to plough ahead with an election that no party wants, will stop any negotiation dead in its tracks (arguably putting it into reverse) and lead to the same electoral outcome, albeit with minimal expected MLA seat changes. The upshot is basically that by …

Consistently inconsistent: the Tories struggle with the basics…

Alex Scates on June 7, 2022, 3:00 pm

| Readers 2761

There seems to be some confusion of behalf of the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nadine Dorries MP, who on Monday on BBC News openly demonstrated her misunderstanding of the UK’s constitutional status. This is perhaps indicative of a Cabinet that fundamentally misunderstands and/or actively derides how the UK’s constitution hangs together whilst prioritising the survival of the UK’s chief proponent of ‘strategic lying’, Boris Johnson MP (Gaber & Fisher, 2022). In a nutshell, Dorries stated …

NI Assembly Election 2022 – What the data tells us…

Alex Scates on April 24, 2022, 7:18 am

| Readers 4763

I am not breaking any new ground here, but am one of those people that needs to visualise information to actually take it in. So, with that in mind here’s an historical overview of party first preference votes with the Apr 22 LucidTalk poll extension included (data collected in Mar 22). Traditionally, the poll-on-poll comparison compares just that, the voter intention between polls. With the election only circa 2 weeks away from now, I figure this is as close of …

The cost-of-living crisis bites as gas prices nearly double in a year…

Alex Scates on April 15, 2022, 8:38 am

| Readers 2536

For some time now, the media has been awash with the narrative on the increasing cost-of-living, with gas supply restricted by Russia’s war in Ukraine compounding already increasing wholesale prices. As such, NI’s gas providers have begun to pass this on to customers. Thousands of others across NI will have received their latest gas bills today and without a doubt would have made for eye watering reading. The figure below shows a quarterly house bill in Belfast with seasonal fluctuations …

Churchillian flourishes signal desperation from this ‘unexceptional’ Tory Government…

Alex Scates on October 3, 2020, 9:28 am

| Readers 1496

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has been hard on all aspects of society, not least of all the UK Government’s approval ratings as it has lurched from one crisis to another, many a product of its own making. Then, during the Prime Minister’s address on Tuesday, viewers saw Boris Johnson attempt to emulate Churchill when he said, “Never before in our history has our collective destiny and our collective health depended so completely on our individual behaviour.” Although his address …

The problem with opening churches too early…

Alex Scates on May 6, 2020, 7:00 am

| Readers 1002

The Minister for Agriculture, Edwin Poots has recently called for churches across NI to reopen following a graduated easing of restrictions, citing novel methods of worship outside of the traditional mass congregation. Surely this is a fine position to take considering around 93% of the NI population identify as Christian? No, no it’s not. It is exactly this siloed approach that underwrites the nature of Stormont’s power sharing Executive and gives out of touch ministers, like Poots, a platform to …

Public relations misfire: transparent and desperate…

Alex Scates on April 25, 2020, 11:00 am

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On Wednesday at the national daily briefing, the UK government visibly acknowledged its anxiety over its COVID-19 response to date as talks of an Inquiry mount, just days after a Sunday Times article highlighted a series of spectacular blunders that prompted a detailed 2,000-word rebuttal. The tell…? Wheeling out the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Sir Nicholas Carter GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC. One would be forgiven for thinking it relatively benign, given that the military has been squarely involved …

Not even a global pandemic can bring Sinn Fein to welcome help from the Brits…

Alex Scates on April 14, 2020, 8:52 am

| Readers 13369

Sinn Fein’s recent criticism of Stormont’s Health Minister Robin Swann was a curious occurrence in even more curious times. The UUP MLA’s decision to utilise the UK military to support logistic functions like distribution of PPE and construction of a NI Nightingale facility, was layered with realism, a sense of urgency and for once, relative political neutrality. And yet, Michelle O’Neill criticised the decision, based not on the intended use of the UK military, but on the lack of consultation that …