Michael Shilliday Turgon’s analysis is always well thought out and well written. As is not unusual, I disagree with him, this time on it being best for the TUV to stand aside in Enniskillen. Here’s why:He says: It will be suggested that in an STV election there should be no problem with vote splitting (the answer to that of course is: SDLP, West Tyrone) Had the TUV stood it is highly likely that if this seat falls to SF the other unionist …
Chekov and Ignited both give their views today on Stephen King’s revelation that David Cameron rejected approaches by the DUP for a deal similar to the one Sir Reg Empey got. Interesting that in their published accounts last week (PDF), the Alliance Party paid an affiliation fee of £65 last year for their tie to the Liberal Democrats. Funny they didn’t mention that more when the UUP made it’s announcement. Are they not proud of their link to mainland politics? …
The SDLP response to the UUP/Conservative announcement has been confused. McDonnell says: Commenting on proposed links between the Ulster Unionist Party and the British Conservative Party, Dr McDonnell said it was the SDLP’s vision to create an Ireland where unionists find ever-more comfort in Irishness, without threat to confidence in their Britishness. “With the long-term political progression on this island moving from north-south to an all-Ireland approach it is only natural that people will look to east-west relations. On the …
Clearly Mick is right, and the DUP have been caught on the hop over the Conservative move today. Their statements today smack very much of desperation. Some people have been making good use of their lunch hours today by seeing what I said about Cameron two years ago. And true enough here it is: We’ve been over this ground before, and I think that it is clear that the Tories are dangerous to the Union, all over the Kingdom. From …
Leader of the SNP at Westminster is on the BBC coverage now playing up how good a night the SNP have had, but how it must be remembered that this is “rock solid Labour territory”, and that we need to keep a “sense of proportion” over the history of the seat. Sounds to me like the SNP think Labour have held on with a much reduced majority. UPDATE: BBC reporting an SNP win by 1000, Iain Dale by 500 more …
It was put to me last night, when was the last time the UUP held the top story on the politics section of the BBC website? National and local blogs are talking about very little else today. Even nationalist bloggers are supportive. Iain Dale is pleased that the discussions have been made public at a time of the UUP and Conservatives choosing. I became aware of the working group some months ago. Mark Devenport’s suggestion over the Euro elections is …
Apparently there is a piece in tomorrow’s Daily Telegraph jointly authored by David Cameron and Sir Reg Empey outlining the steps both parties are taking to move closer together. This comes soon after Sir Reg outlined the disingenuous nature of the DUPs pronouncements on Unionist unity recently. More later. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
As if to prove that there are two sides to every story, the BBC and Guido have taken completely different conclusions from the Charity Commission’s report into the Smith Institute. I have to say though, I love the phrase “positively Nixonian”. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
For those who are interested the feed for the Best of Talkback podcast is now available ready for the first edition. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Eglinton Cricket Club may have to close as Derry City Council have built a play park next to the grounds and haven’t built a fence to prevent injury. The estimate for the fence is around £3,500. Two years ago Derry City Council agreed to give a plot of land worth a quarter of a million pounds to a Creggan GAA club. The Council also has a bill outstanding for £8,000 for flights taken in 2006 to Norway, and spent “hundreds …
BBC iPlayer seems to have had an upgrade recently to integrate radio output, but you still get a sliver of the previous programme. At the beginning of this week’s inside politics is the tail end of the best of talkback, where David Dunseith lets us know that next week marks the beginning of the shows podcast (unclear if it is a daily podcast or a weekly best of, perhaps someone from the BBC could let us know?). This is of …
Eight years ago Fermanagh District Council appointed Rodney Connor as their new Chief Executive over Danny McSorley. All ten Unionist Councillors voted for Mr Connor, a Protestant, while 11 Nationalist Councillors voted for Mr McSorley, a Catholic. One independent nationalist voted for Mr Connor, and thus the Unionist Chair broke the tie. The Equality Commission took up the case on the grounds of “unlawful discrimination” and in 2005 the Local Government Auditor found Councillors involved guilty of misconduct. Today in …
The police have concluded their investigation into Peter Hain’s donations and have handed their file over to the CPS. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Ian Paisley Jnr is looking into having John Dallat removed from his position as Deputy Speaker. The BBC once again refer to William Hay as a representative of the DUP, which according to his website, he isn’t. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
I haven’t seen it reported anywhere yet, but Northern Ireland’s constituencies were changed last week. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Will Crawley has written an interesting piece discussing the biblical meaning of the word abomination. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Quick bit of blatant plagiarism from Mark Devenport’s blog, but I liked “Stormont spy’s” list of questions: 1. Will Sinn Fein fail to put forward McGuiness? 2. If it does happen will Robinson and McGuiness shakes hands? 3. Is this being done to bring Gerry Adams back to the spotlight? 4. What happens to MLA’s pay? Will it be suspended of the Assembly is dissolved? 5. Does the Executive members give up their departments to direct rule ministers? 6. What …
The redesigned UUP website has an integrated YouTube channel called unionist.tv. On it you will find portions of Sir Reg’s speech from Saturdays Party AGM. Chekov liks it. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Mark Devenport has an interesting take from an English MP on the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland: they took the view that if Northern Ireland MPs wanted to interfere in the time limits for abortion in England, then maybe English MPs should interefere in the ban on abortion here. Or maybe even 42 day detention. All this was raised before during Harold Wilson’s first Government, but this time the debate is taking place amongst a group …
Aren’t cameras getting good these days? For whatever reason the BBC don’t offer a readable version of the photo, but Guido does. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
