Brian Walker – Page 102 – Slugger O'Toole

Not a referendum, only a public opinion poll

Brian Walker on November 30, 2009, 6:06 pm | Readers 10

Well, Scottish Nats in the 21st century are handling the politics of independence very differently from their Irish forebears in the 20th. Today, St Andrew’s Day with headline support for independence hitting new recent lows, Alex Salmond has revealed plans for a referendum on, not one, not two, not three, but four options. The cute one is devo max that would remove all powers to Scotland except – except – the monarchy, the army and foreign affairs. I’m with commentator …

Stormont farce

Brian Walker on November 30, 2009, 4:40 pm | Readers 3

History sometimes does repeat itself, the first time as tragedy, the second as farce. That’s what forcing a crisis over the latest Stormont stand-off amounts to. The parties became spoiled by the over-reverent attention paid to them during the Blair-Ahern era. Now we’re down to the monkey antics before the organ grinders enter the ring. The circus is hotting up. Exasperating as the cat-calls are between the DUP and Sinn Fein, somebody has to hose them down. But British and …

Echoes of the case against Home Rule in the paedophile scandal

Brian Walker on November 30, 2009, 3:44 pm | Readers 14

I’m right up on tiptoes to make this point, but might the Protestant case against Home Rule not seem just a little more convincing even to its critics in the light of the great paedophile cover –up? If the Roman Catholic Church retained strong authoritarian traits and clerical privilege above the law as late as the 1990s what was it like a century before? Not that I ignore the beam in Protestant eyes. This article in the New York Times …

Come off it Robinson

Brian Walker on November 30, 2009, 1:26 am | Readers 1

Can anybody explain to me why Peter is stuck in the groove of voluntary coalition? And there I am, going on about cutting him more slack! Sure, we can see that if all other parties ganged up against Sinn Fein, that would comfortably exceed a 65% majority threshold by almost 10%. If however the DUP were put in solitary, the margin would just scrape by but would still be enough, 66%. Even with designations scrapped, why should Peter assume that …

With the offer of more taxation powers, the phoney war in Scotland is over

Brian Walker on November 27, 2009, 2:30 am | Readers 0

Scottish politics are getting very murky indeed. First, the UK government suddenly rushes out a White Paper about awarding Holyrood extra taxation and other powers along the line of the Calman report ( extract below the fold). In principle this was agreed by all pro unionist parties in Westminster and Holyrood. But there are two catches. First Cameron’s Conservatives refused at the last minute to go along with the Labour proposals for obvious political reasons, although George Osborne pledged in …

Time to grasp the nettle

Brian Walker on November 26, 2009, 4:59 pm | Readers 4

Seumas Milne, the Guardian’s most left wing senior staffer is the first London -based commentator I’ve noticed to pay serious attention to the state of our politics for a long time. Today he discusses the links between the rise of republican violence and the Stormont stasis. He begins with an excellent point about why current events should command wider attention. “From the way terrorism is discussed in the British media you might easily imagine that most political violence in the …

Is the question of the legality of the war missing?

Brian Walker on November 24, 2009, 6:24 am | Readers 6

Here’s a point I hadn’t thought of ( there are some). The Chilcott inquiry isn’t competent to rule on the legality of the Iraq war, according to a set of unnamed judicial figures and other lawyers the Guardian’s legal affairs corr has talked to. This is sure to be hotly debated and Chilcott himself will have to give an answer in one of the early public sessions which start today.. Is there a hint here that one of the sources …

Clear and not so clear messages at the weekend

Brian Walker on November 23, 2009, 5:41 pm | Readers 1

As the UK national media had ignored the latest Stormont kerfuffle, they were hardly likely to sit up and pay attention to the weekend convolutions from La Mon House. Ears did prick up though when dissident republicans spoke in language they could easily understand. The obvious conclusions, fair and unfair, will be drawn: the more nationalists think the DUP are screwing Sinn Fein, the more the dissidents gain in credibility. While Peter Robinson didn’t address this directly, he showed he …

No whitewash for Iraq inquiry

Brian Walker on November 23, 2009, 5:25 am | Readers 2

By public demand Gordon Brown’s early efforts to keep the inquiry into the Iraq war secret were defeated by the chairman himself Sir John Chilcott, former father confessor to the intelligence community and NIO chief. In that role, he had probably the most extensive knowledge of anyone of MI5’s role in the province and throughout the UK. I can feel hackles rising already at the sight of his pedigree but even the most grudging of his critics have to admit …

Main de Dieu – what it tells us about national characters

Brian Walker on November 23, 2009, 1:03 am | Readers 1

Sunday Times columnist Dominic Lawson certainly inherited father Nigel’s splendid disdain for group think over world scale matters like climate change and spending out of a recession. I marvel how exquisitely he gets right up the noses of Irish and British alike in a few phrases, over that notorious qualifier. In the case of Thierry Henry’s handling of the ball, which led to the French scoring a decisive goal in their World Cup eliminator against the Republic of Ireland, an …

Romeward bound

Brian Walker on November 22, 2009, 6:11 am | Readers 3

Gender progress happened more quickly in the Church of England than you might think. The big battle was lost over 20 years ago, when Graham Leonard the Bishop of London lost the vote and the argument over Christ’s will and left for Rome soon afterwards. For the Irish, the battle lines can be confusing. At the height of the row, I remember Dr Leonard telling me his favourite church in Ireland was Derry Cof I cathedral because of those foundation …

Count your northern blessings

Brian Walker on November 20, 2009, 3:56 pm | Readers 0

Amid all the political moaning, it’s a relief to find one northern member of the younger generation who’s not downcast with life. But even here, there’s a catch… Northerners have had the distinct advantage or disadvantage, whatever way you might perceive it, of being under a separate state of economic governance, which has allowed us to escape the same economic depression that has forced many in the South of the country to escape to warmer climes with the increased promise …

We need another post- Massareene moment soon

Brian Walker on November 19, 2009, 5:37 pm | Readers 2

Adds: In response to a point reasonably made , I have retitled. There! It can be done. Brian Feeney, historian of Sinn Fein, Round Britain Quiz panellist and Irish News columnist, is gloating over the perceived discomfiture of Peter Robinson as he tries to find firm ground in his troubled party. The latest pimple Brian has been picking at is the police reserve issue which actually appears to have been finessed. Peter seems to working his way through the divisive …

Report reveals inertia on schools reform

Brian Walker on November 18, 2009, 11:50 pm | Readers 4

Thanks to Pete for drawing attention to the report on area based planning for secondary education which in a rational world should form the manual for taking us into a new era from 2013. This is a very pale version indeed of what’s really needed. At this rate, transformation due in less than four years won’t even have begun. The lack of a workable policy even among its potential supporters (apart from an undisclosed number of exceptions) is exposed. Aside …

NI left out of rebates

Brian Walker on November 18, 2009, 9:28 pm | Readers 0

In the Queen’s Speech, a new Energy Bill gives the regulator Ofgen fresh powers to drive down prices and win more rebates for customers. It applies to England, Wales and Scotland. We know NI has separate arrangements. Any sign of new relief there? Brian WalkerFormer BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon …

Don’t slavishly follow Obama

Brian Walker on November 18, 2009, 4:41 pm | Readers 0

The Guardian has just come up with a half-coherent exit strategy from Afghanistan that for once, doesn’t duck the consequence of pull-out. But it does pin an awful lot on the Taliban HQ at Quetta, Pakistan. Why should “regional guarantees” be offered by China, Russia etc. and how would they be enforced? The editorial itself admits there are “many pitfalls” in the case. Still, it challenges the present sloganising from the US and UK governments from Brown and Miliband. Recent …

Donegal to become seventh county

Brian Walker on November 18, 2009, 3:55 pm | Readers 7

Newton shines his light brilliantly with a new classic.. Brian WalkerFormer BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London

Not a patch on Catherine

Brian Walker on November 17, 2009, 12:48 am | Readers 0

Why am I supposed to be stunned when an anonymous hooker turns out to be a research chemist? How dare she take the name of Bunuel’s great movie in vain, starring Catherine Deneuve – my generation’s intro to the eroticism of class( with its typical Marxist sub-theme of course) . Good for the Christmas sales of the revised, named edition, I suppose. Let me tell you from thumbing through in Waterstone’s…oops! Broken connection…. Brian WalkerFormer BBC journalist and manager in …

Back to the drawing board for referendum on independence

Brian Walker on November 16, 2009, 5:02 pm | Readers 1

After raising the possibility last week, Mike Russell Scotland’s constitutional affairs minister, is now reported on orders from Alex Salmond to be working on drafting a multi option referendum to include more powers for the Parliament as well as the independence option. It’s the inevitable response to facing up to inevitable of majority opposition to “referendum 2010” in the Parliament, stiffened by the drubbing the SNP received in last Thursday’s Glasgow north east by election. The redraft is unlikely to …

Tory media revolutionaries dance to Murdoch’s drumbeat

Brian Walker on November 16, 2009, 4:08 pm | Readers 1

A big bang revolution in media regulation allegedly designed to cut the BBC down to a smaller size and boost regional newspapers is foreshadowed by busy shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt. In the Sunday Times he looked forward to a BBC licence fee cut and the scrapping of its digital TV and radio channels. Next, an early advance of a Thursday speech in the Torygraph goes much further, by promising the castration of media regulator Ofcom, leaving it only with …