David McCann – Page 23 – Slugger O'Toole

State of the State Report praises the creation of opposition and has concerns about Brexit

David McCann on October 26, 2016, 7:43 pm

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Around this time of year Deloitte release their State of the State report which reviews the performance of the UK government and the devolved administrations. You can read the full report here, but here I wanted to highlight the reports analysis of recent developments in Northern Ireland. The report last year was critical of the stop/start nature of policy making within the Executive and the political impasse that had engulfed Stormont over welfare reform. This year however, the report is …

Amnesty NI poll displays attitudes of party voters towards abortion laws

David McCann on October 18, 2016, 10:41 pm

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An interesting poll conducted by Millward Brown for Amnesty International has surveyed the attitudes of voters of various parties towards abortion legislation in Northern Ireland with some noteworthy statistics Overall the poll found that attitudes in Northern Ireland as whole favour reform. Full details can be found here. David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs

May’s Brexit War Cabinet has no permanent places for the NI, Scottish or Welsh Secretaries.

David McCann on October 15, 2016, 6:28 pm

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From POLITICO, the Prime Minister, Theresa May has put together her Brexit war cabinet which is essentially cabinet sub committee with the remit of “overseeing Britain’s negotiations with the EU and formulating wider trade policy.” The report notes that this committee will be the ultimate decision making body over the UK’s exit from the European Union. The committee includes mostly Leavers but also has some members who voted Remain. Yet, the committee has no permanent posts for the Northern Ireland …

Osborne comes out in support of expanding Heathrow

David McCann on October 14, 2016, 3:37 pm

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My Mum until recently and all but one of my aunts live in South West London and one issue that is hugely controversial is Heathrow Airport. One of the busiest airports in the world and serves as the main hub airport for most of the UK. Yet for many living around it, the airport is a nightmare with flights landing just a minute apart for most of the day. The airport does have restrictions during the evenings and they try …

Stormont Holds Its First Ever Opposition Day

David McCann on September 26, 2016, 9:36 pm

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Stormont Today will be worth a watch to see a little bit of history. The Assembly held its first ever opposition day which meant that for around four hours MLAs debated topics selected by the opposition namely rural bank closures, public confidence after the NAMA revelations and Impact on Women of Changes to the State Pension. Often critiqued for a lack of cooperation, the SDLP and UUP released a joint statement on the latter topic; The first Opposition Day saw a …

Is it coming to the end of the line for Enda?

David McCann on September 26, 2016, 12:55 pm

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Interesting report in today’s Irish Times about the rumblings within Fine Gael The intermittent rumblings about Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s leadership are preparing Fine Gael for the choice it will have to make. “It’s now the time to start getting organised,” said one of those who will be centrally involved in preparing a leadership hopeful. The three main contenders are Varadkar, Simon Coveney and Frances Fitzgerald.Varadkar is seen as streets ahead of his rivals in terms of parliamentary party support. As …

Indian Summer School: Nationalism After Brexit

David McCann on September 17, 2016, 6:50 pm

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THREE rising stars of Irish politics are set to come together to discuss whether Brexit will help or hinder the future prospects for a united Ireland. Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy, Fianna Fáil foreign affairs spokesman Darragh O’Brien and the SDLP’s Claire Hanna will take part in a roundtable discussion on the impact of June’s EU referendum result on nationalism at the Lighthouse Summer School in Killough, Co Down. The discussion is based on the premise that Article 50 will be …

Eastwood ‘Northern nationalists are once more a restless people’

David McCann on September 17, 2016, 10:06 am

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Next week, we will be taking part in an event looking at Nationalism in a Brexit world. Something that caught my eye during the week were remarks by the SDLP Leader, Colum Eastwood to the British/Irish Association last weekend. In his speech he spoke about the situation for Northern Ireland and Nationalism in post EU membership environment. Eastwood argued that Brexit had implications for the Good Friday Agreement; However, if the British Government continues down the road of dragging the …

David Gordon appointed as the new Executive Press Secretary

David McCann on September 13, 2016, 12:30 pm

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The current editor of the Nolan Show and the odd time has written some pieces for this website, David Gordon has been announced as the new NI Executive Press Secretary. David was often credited as the man responsible for conducting the in-depth research that saw many local politicians caught out on their figures during the now infamous manifesto interviews during election time. Before moving to the BBC, Gordon was a Political Correspondent for the Belfast Telegraph and has written books …

Daithí McKay resigns as an MLA and is suspended from Sinn Fein

David McCann on August 18, 2016, 12:34 pm

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The Sinn Fein Chief Whip, Carál Ní Chuilín has announced the resignation with immediate effect of Daithí McKay as an MLA for North Antrim. The party has also suspended him from Sinn Fein. Full statement Daithí McKay has resigned as MLA for North Antrim with immediate effect and has been suspended from Sinn Féin. His letter of resignation has been submitted to the Speaker’s office. David McCannDavid McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him …

Sinn Fein could be set to say farewell to their wages policy

David McCann on August 3, 2016, 12:39 pm

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In today’s Irish News, John Manley reports; SINN Féin is set to end its pay cap policy for elected representatives and workers. The party is reported to have completed the salary review launched earlier this year in response to concerns voiced by a number of Dublin TDs about the cost of living in the capital. It is Sinn Féin’s current policy to pay all its members, including ministers and special advisers, what it terms an ‘average industrial wage’, which in …

Kenny tells EU to prepare for prospect of a Border Poll

David McCann on July 18, 2016, 8:02 pm

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Just in from the Irish Independent; #BREAKING Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the Government and the EU must prepare seriously for the prospect of a border poll. More to follow — Independent.ie (@Independent_ie) July 18, 2016 Quotes from Enda; The discussion and negotiations that take place over the next period should take into account the possibility, however far out it might be, that the clause in the Good Friday Agreement might be triggered and that if there is a clear …

Two polls show good news for Fianna Fail

David McCann on July 16, 2016, 6:53 pm

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Two polls out tonight from RedC and the Sunday Times/Behaviour and Attitudes survey show good news for Fianna Fail NEW SBP/Red C Poll: FG 26 (-) FF 29 (+3) SF 13 (-2) Lab 6 (-) IA 5 (+1) Ind 7 (-4) AAA/PBP 5 (-) SD 4 (-) GP 4 (+2) Ren 1 (-) Other 1 (-) — Hugh O’Connell (@oconnellhugh) July 16, 2016 POLL STimes/B&A (Jul 1-11, ±3.3%) FF 30(+5 4wks) FG 25(-1) SF 14(-3) Lab 6(+1) AAAPBP 5(+1) Inds …

NEC votes that Corbyn is automatically included on the ballot

David McCann on July 12, 2016, 7:58 pm

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Labour’s National Executive Committee has voted 18-14 tonight that the current leader, Jeremy Corbyn should be automatically included on the ballot for the forthcoming leadership contest. UPDATE: They’ve pulled up the drawbridge on taking any more opportunistic political migrants… Klaxon – existing new members may not even be allowed to become registered supporter paying £25. Unholy mess https://t.co/7U6ypxWvPl — Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) July 12, 2016 Here the rulebook says members since Jan can't also now pay £25 to be …

‘Crime Boy I Dunno’ Comparing stats between St Patrick’s Day and 12th July

David McCann on July 12, 2016, 9:32 am

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Brendan Hughes from the Irish News has an interesting story in today’s Irish News about the level of crime reported during St Patrick’s Day and the 12th July from the 2009-2015 period where he finds little difference between the two events. In his examination he reports; We also studied figures for the 36-hour period surrounding each date – from 6pm on March 16 and July 11, to 6am on March 18 and July 13. The Twelfth comes out on top …

Could the Danish model be applied to the UK?

David McCann on July 10, 2016, 6:07 pm

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Nationalist leaders have been wandering around trying to find possible ways to keep Northern Ireland within the European Union. There has also been considerable debate about an all island forum to examine possibilities. If we are going to look at something, Denmark might offer something for the UK and the Irish government to consider. Ulrik Pram Gad has penned an interesting article for the LSE as to how his own country’s experience might be useful for Northern Ireland and Scotland …

Nationalists must keep their heads, when all others are losing theirs.

David McCann on June 26, 2016, 1:10 pm

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IF you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs Rudyard Kipling Chris Donnelly and Pete Baker have very diligently summed up the problems (folly) with the immediate calls for a Border Poll. We are constitutionally and politically in no mans land. What most of us thought was going to be a narrow Remain win was shattered at 4:40 am on Friday morning with David Dimbleby’s call that “the decision this country made in 1975 has been …

Hilary Benn has been sacked as Shadow Foreign Secretary

David McCann on June 26, 2016, 1:52 am

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We had the Tories, now on to Labour as the party leader, Jeremy Corbyn sacks Hilary Benn from the Shadow Cabinet; Newspaper reports suggested Mr Benn had been encouraging shadow ministers to resign if Mr Corbyn ignored the result of the no confidence vote. Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said Mr Corbyn “worked himself to the ground” during the four-month campaign. Senior Labour sources have also told the BBC that a significant number of shadow cabinet resignations were likely if Jeremy …

Eastwood: The inevitability of reconciled political unity is no more.

David McCann on June 21, 2016, 4:45 pm

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Colum Eastwood spoke at the SDLP Youth Conference last Saturday with some interesting comments about Nationalism and Irish unity. I have bolded some of the more noteworthy references. Beginning by referencing the poor Nationalist result last month he said; The recent election also threw up questions beyond, what can at times, be the bubble of life at Stormont. The decline of the Nationalist turnout by 5% must be a source of considerable concern to those of us who profess to …

Brexit could lead to a dead end for Nationalism, not Irish Unity

David McCann on June 21, 2016, 12:13 am

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Decision time is upon us, in just a few days we will have to decide whether the United Kingdom should remain a member of the European Union. In Northern Ireland, we have had a much more civil and even tempered campaign than the one we have seen across the water. Like the rest of the UK, the polls here have shown a narrowing of the gap as Unionists increase their support for Brexit and elements within Nationalism have become indifferent …