Michael Shilliday ConservativeHome have published a survey of Conservative members on satisfaction with the leadership. Cameron has dropped from 82% last January to 58% today, with a similar drop in the number of members who expect him to be Prime Minister after the next election. This comes the day after they report an opinion poll that substantiates that opinion. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
I quite enjoyed this. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
I see that an academic wants to redevelop the Waterfront area of Belfast, to include a new Parliament building. The Newsletter’s page three has a map of the proposed design, which unless my geography is deficient, will involve turning the Short Strand into a train station. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
O’Neill highlights what the DUP’s new mates are up to now they have their hands on power – they want to import class A substances. Will we have a similar statement from a DUP minister soon? Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Iain Dale highlights the Tory campaign website for the Sedgefield and Ealing Southall by-elections. That website calls on Tories from all over the country for support: If you can help with either of these campaigns – whether on the ground or from afar – please let us know. The map is clickable for each area of the UK, and they are listed in the drop down box. Except not ALL areas of the UK are included. It seems the help …
A little exchange in the Dail has been flaged up in this thread. I think it’s worth highlighting. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
For anyone who is interested you can watch Tony’s last PMQ’s here, or read it here. Now that he is in possession of his P45 in relation to his seat in the Commons he can get on with running the Chiltern Hundreds. Some of the other traditional perks should be coming his way too. Sir John Major had to wait seven years to be appointed to the Order of the Garter, as former PM’s invariably are (as I remember replacing …
Chekist thinks there might be the odd conflict of interest involved in the Maze debate. Of course now the DUP are fighting amongst themselves openly. Last time they complained (quite rightly) about a SF minister pork-barreling with health provision, this time they don’t seem too happy with one of their own! Maybe St Andrew’s didn’t nail down all the Ministerial authority issues after all…. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, …
Today’s Ulster Star reports that Cecil Calvert, a veteran DUP Councillor, says he has quit the DUP as it “is no longer the party he has represented on Lisburn Council for the past 22 years”. Interestingly he added, “Dr Paisley stated he could do no other as Plan B was much worse than anticipated. Yet in 40 years I never heard Dr Paisley retreat from a threat real or imagined (my emphasis)”. Hard to disagree with any of that really. …
This afternoon I happened to exit Stormont at the same time and through the same door as the Deputy First Minister. I was therefore witness to an American tourist be overcome with joy at her chance encounter with him in the car park. I won’t go into the detail of the conversation I had with my colleague about her reaction, but I doubt that Jim Allister would have been any more impressed. Such is his distain for the DFM that …
On Monday Christopher Hitchens was on the Simon Mayo show on Five Live. The interview can be downloaded here. His basic argument is that religion, far from being a force for good, is essentially the root of all evil in the world. I fundamentally disagree with him on this and other points, agree totally on others, but throughout it is a fascinating piece of radio. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP …
Sinn Fein, having ceased murdering Unionists, have been trying to be nice to us lately. But it’s impossible to believe that they mean it. Alex Kane in his Newsletter column on Monday was justifiably highly critical of the Union Group for, as he put sees it, giving legitimacy for “Sinn Fein to be allowed to use the Shared Future doctrine as a way of continuing their struggle by other means.” When asked by this group to attend the launch of …
Some of us think that a lower corporation tax rate is a good idea for the whole of the UK, not just this or other regions of it. Andrew McCann seems to think so too (I will be stood corrected if I am misrepresenting him) Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Iain Dale picks up on this story about the tussle between the Information Commissioner and the HoC authorities over incidental expenses to cover London accommodation for MPs. That FoI request might be interesting. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Just had a quick scan of the Birthday Honours list (pdf). Several names from Northern Ireland appear including DUP Armagh Councillor Heather Black. The Orange Order’s director of services, David Hume, also picks up an MBE. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
The picture in this BBC report is of a street not very far at all from where I live in Belfast. Have just spoken to one of my housemates who informs me that in places the Castlereagh Road is waist deep in water. I’m told that the Woodstock Road is fine from Redcar Street towards the City and Loopland Park away from it, but that everything between is flooded. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read …
Mark Devenport’s blog over the election was…..alright. But since Stormont has been revived it has become a very interesting read, and is probably even better than the similar style of reporting Dan McGinn writes for, it seems, every daily newspaper in Northern Ireland. He picks up on the Policing Board meeting this week, where Basil McCrea asked the Chief Constable if Jeffrey Donaldson would use his “worthless bauble” (comment 20) to gain access to more information than anyone else. Apparently …
The DUP heralded St Andrew’s as removing the ability of Ministers to act unilaterally. Fred Cobain doesn’t think that Conor Murphy has read the script. Fred and John O’Dowd Raymond McCartney were both interviewed on the issue very early during Evening Extra last night. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
David Vance takes issue with the suggestion that the Assembly can help children and families. He might well be right, but some more detail on why and how he feels Government has a negative impact on families would have been interesting…. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
That is according to one blogging representative of Irish Nationalism. Some of the stuff on this topic is nonsense. First, to many across the UK, we already have a British Day, it’s Remembrance Sunday. Of course United Irelander does make some reasonable points on this, for example that the whole idea is a New Labour gimmick in the light of the elections to the devolved institutions. But I was interested to note how he responds to the Unionist “children of …
