Brian Walker – Page 88 – Slugger O'Toole

Paisley’s peerage is not the final verdict

Brian Walker on May 29, 2010, 1:11 pm

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Most journalists are either too young or too indifferent by now to do other than nod towards Ian Paisley’s long-trailed elevation to the red benches of the House of Lords. At 84 becoming a life peer is more of an honour than a job. With all the charm and civility they can both deploy, he and Eileen will become the Upper House’s perfect chuckle couple. Journalist Ed Moloney has produced two views of Paisley at different times; one with Andy Pollak …

Strange bedfellows in Labour leadership bid

Brian Walker on May 26, 2010, 11:26 pm

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How odd to learn that Kate Hoey, who when it comes to the politics of her native Northern Ireland has been closer to the DUP than any other party, is backing Labour left winger John McDonnell’s token leadership bid, along with fellow Labour awkward squad member Frank Field. In their opinions of Irish republicanism, they’re poles apart from John. Some years ago Frank and Kate joined together to attack the decision to give SF MPs offices and expenses at Westminster. …

NI will suffer financially over council reform delay

Brian Walker on May 26, 2010, 10:59 am

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The delay over council reform is a thundering disgrace, particularly at a time of big financial cuts . For a newly appointed NIO minister to intervene in his second week in office to rebuke the Executive for in effect, maladministration is utter humilation. These matters are supposed to be in local hands for goodness sake and here we have a – I was going to say – a direct rule minister forced to act like a colonial governor in the 1950s. …

Are we ready for sharing the past?

Brian Walker on May 24, 2010, 11:58 pm

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Culture Minister Nelson McCausland’s speech “Commemorations and a Shared Future“to the Institute for British-Irish Studies in UCD last week was a thoughtful and sincere attempt to find Shared Future themes in the rash of centenaries from the Ulster Covenant of 1912 to the foundation of the Free State and the Northern Ireland in 1921. But straight away Nelson epitomised the problem as much as the solution. He was all too eager to insert unionist correctives into the nationalist narrative he …

Cuts now or later – decision urgent

Brian Walker on May 24, 2010, 11:47 am

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Cut now or later? As late as last Friday, Sammy was uncertain. So were the Welsh, but not the Scots. Alex Salmond is clear for postponement as all three sets of leaders meet in Belfast to discuss a common approach to a total of £700 million cuts for all three devolved areas. The other two should beware of getting drawn into Salmond’s cat and mouse politics For him it may be better to face Scottish voters next year blaming Westminster for hard …

Taoiseach backs Derry UK city of culture bid

Brian Walker on May 21, 2010, 8:38 pm

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An appropriate and generous gesture.. 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

Phew, what a relief!

Brian Walker on May 20, 2010, 4:21 pm

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So Northern Ireland isn’t to be picked out for drastic cuts after all. On his flying visit the Prime Minister couldn’t have been more reassuring, backed up by his Secretary of State. He said the assembly could defer cuts to the Northern Ireland budget for a year if it wanted to. Secretary of State Owen Paterson said it was not sustainable for Northern Ireland to have more than 70% of its gross domestic product spent on public spending. “What we …

Not quite glad confident morning, but a bold start

Brian Walker on May 20, 2010, 1:55 pm

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We will continue to promote peace, stability and economic prosperity in Northern Ireland, standing firmly behind the agreements negotiated and institutions they establish. We will work to bring Northern Ireland back into the mainstream of UK politics, including producing a government paper examining potential mechanisms for changing the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland A neat summary from Chapter 31 of the coalition’s programme for government launched by the top team this morning. I’ve been taking in these launches attended …

Is Cardinal Brady coming or going?

Brian Walker on May 18, 2010, 6:23 pm

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The Times’s Ireland correspondent adopts the general line that Cardinal Brady has refused to resign. But the paper’s commentator on religion says this is subtle way of saying he’s probably going. Which is it? Ruth Gledhill in full The clever canon lawyer who heads the Catholic Church in Ireland has passed the most holy ghost of a dilemma to Rome. Cardinal Seán Brady, the Irish Primate, has not said he will resign over the terrible scandal of clerical child abuse. …

Second thoughts on the Public Assemblies Bill

Brian Walker on May 18, 2010, 11:29 am

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It’s hardly surprising that the draft Public Assemblies Bill has been greeted with an avalanche of protest. Designed to deal with the counterpoint of traditional-type parades and protest, it makes the fundamental mistake of becoming a catch-all for most types of public assembly, like trade union demos and Eamon McCann’s Raytheon sit-in. I doubt if this will survive close scrutiny and may well be open to human rights challenge. Even so there is no absolute right to untrammelled protest without …

More on shortcut to unionist unity

Brian Walker on May 17, 2010, 10:13 am

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I’ve been consulting oracles about whether a short cut to unionist unity could be achieved without a full blown merger of the DUP and UUP. The aim is to discover whether it would be possible to prevent the appointment of a Sinn Fein First Minister by creating something like a united unionist coalition/council grouping that would be recognised as a party for the purpose of appointing and electing ministers. I leave the politics of this entirely aside, whether it would be …

Cameron’s bold bids to keep ahead of coalition sceptics

Brian Walker on May 16, 2010, 12:21 pm

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Accidentally perhaps, the test paper for the success of the Lib Con coalition has just been set by the centre left commentator Will Hutton in the Observer. Why should a comment piece be so significant? Because Cameron has just announced the dramatic appointments of Hutton to head up a commission on public sector pay and maverick Labour MP Frank Field as poverty czar. This is triangulation with a vengeance and will cause much Conservative heartburn. Hutton’s test paper deals with another part …

Shortcut to unionist unity?

Brian Walker on May 15, 2010, 11:31 am

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The reasons for the generally lower unionist turnout merit far closer examination. Apart from the TUV factor, in all the brief analyses I’ve read, the contradictory factors of hostility between the two unionist parties camps and the indifference of the so called garden centre set make it very difficult for unionism to set a united course. But now that party coalitions are all the rage, might they not spare themselves some of the anguish by exploring whether a new and …

Let Cameron’s Respect agenda be mutual

Brian Walker on May 14, 2010, 11:51 pm

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I suppose there’ll be a fair amount of clashing chords in the mood music ahead of David Cameron’s visit to Belfast just as there was from Alex Salmond before the Edinburgh trip – which went well, as it happens. God, how they live up to their stereotypes, these Celtic fringers, the new Home Counties Etonian Prime Minister will be biting his tongue not to say. In full pomp Martin McGuinness asked the inevitable question: how could Cameron act as an honest …

Coalition scraps plan to replace Human Right Act

Brian Walker on May 14, 2010, 11:01 am

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Here’s another piece of Conservative baggage thrown overboard. Ken Clarke finding himself Justice Secretary would have done it anyway in a minority government. No longer to be an add-on to a Tory Bill, what now is the fate of an NI Bill of Rights? 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. …

AV elections will be for fewer seats

Brian Walker on May 12, 2010, 8:02 pm

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The BBC website has a fascinating projection of what the NI election results might have been under the Alternative Vote for Westminster elections. The UK will vote on this system in a referendum some time next year. The exercise assumes voters would have behaved in roughly the same way of course. The vast majority of Northern Ireland’s 18 MPs would still have been elected. The exception is the DUP’s William McCrea in South Antrim, who would certainly have lost his seat …

Northern Ireland can set its own priorities for spending cuts, but cannot avoid Osborne’s axe

Brian Walker on May 12, 2010, 6:55 pm

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Only a dyed in the wool political bigot could deny that the new Conservative-Lib Dem coalition has made an impressive start. In just a few days, they‘ve shown what a proper programme for government can look like if it’s made by politicians actively engaged in it, rather than fighting old battles. Anyone who doubts the continuing importance of Westminster should think again. NI MPs should be relieved they don’t have to shore up a rickety Labour-led coalition with unrealistic spending …

Rainbow coalition ruled out

Brian Walker on May 11, 2010, 12:17 pm

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The best clue we have of Nick Clegg’s negotiating position came from Paddy Ashdown on the Today programme this morning. If this was a coalition made up of what you might call the panjandrum elements that you suggest, I would not be in favour of it. It is a coalition made up of Liberal Democrat and Labour in which we would dare the other elements if they wished to vote us down and, I can tell you, I can think …

Labour old guard attacks Brown’s late coalition bid

Brian Walker on May 10, 2010, 10:06 pm

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The ultimate act of statesmanship or a con trick? Gordon Brown’s bold stroke of self sacrifice shows signs of backfiring. Conservative rage is natural but Labour condemnation is something else. Bad for the country, disastrous for the party and disastrous for Gordon actually. I can’t think of anything more likely to further enrage the electorate if they think the minor parties are cocking a snook at them. 76%voted against PR. We would face their animosity if we made the fulcrum of an …

Will the DUP be invited to the new party?

Brian Walker on May 10, 2010, 6:34 pm

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Gordon Brown’s coup of an offer to form a Labour -Lib Dem coalition and then quit reopens up the possibility of NI MPs holding a delicate balance of power. A Lib Lab deal would be stronger because: it would be a coalition of the like-minded not a looser arrangement which is where the Cons-LD talks seemed to be heading. Brown has repeated his clear offer of electoral reform which has emerged as a sticking point on opposite sides with both the Cons and LD rank …