Michael Shilliday Sad news today that former SDLP MLA for Newry and Armagh John Fee has passed away at the age of 43. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
The First Minister is known to dislike “lazy journalists” doing their job through FOI. Martin Rosenbaum’s excellent FOI blog notes that the Government has decided not to curtail the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
FIFA have an….unusual suggestion in the ongoing who can play for what team saga. The Newsletter don’t like it one bit (no link at 2:20). Neither do the blogging fans. As ever however, the most thoughtful and interesting comment comes from Beano, who suggests that the compromise would actually create two sectarianised Irish teams. Presumably he is also being making himself look “small minded” according to the the Irish News editorial this morning. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get …
Former South Down MP Enoch Powell has been in the news again recently. Tim Roll-Pickering has an interesting piece on what he sees as the difference between what Powell said, and what it is often assumed that he said. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
This statement from the DUP struck me as being very odd. Power sharing was a failure before 2003, but is now a rousing success under the DUP, and it is “sour grapes” for the UUP to even think about forming an opposition. At the end of the statement, Trevor Clarke says that the current power sharing arrangement is “delivering for the community in Northern Ireland”. Does this indicate that the DUP now expressly support mandatory coalition? (UPDATE – I missed …
Comment 15 here wonders why I haven’t blogged the party conference. The answer is that I wasn’t there, unfortunately I could only make the UUC on Friday night. Gareth Gordon has a pretty good report on the BBC, which they have online here. The most interesting element of course being the invitation of a Nationalist to address conference, who finished by using the traditional Unionist battle cry – no surrender. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I …
Worth noting that the IFA have won their battle regarding the Republic’s team poaching Northern Irish players (already noted here). Blogging Northern Ireland football fans seem pleased. Most interesting is Beano’s assertion that this ruling is actually perfectly in line with the Belfast Agreement’s nationality provisions: Under the agreement a person in Northern Ireland may “identify themselves and be accepted as” British, Irish or both. With the application of this principle in the Republic’s nationality law extending Irish passports to …
Alex Atwood picked up on this in the Assembly on Monday, asking Willie Hay when he planned to respond to Paisley’s bizarre point of order. His reply seems to be that he wont respond, and that he will simply change rulings as and when he sees fit, which as Mick has already pointed out, he seems to have done on points of order during Ministerial statements. Procedurally, last week may well return to haunt Assembly in the future. Michael ShillidayI …
My old colleague Brian Crowe has a look this week at the Liberal Democrat leadership race. He remarks that be it Huhne or Clegg, the next leader of the Liberal Party will take it much closer to its classical liberal roots. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Ian Paisley made an odd point of order yesterday. Alban Maginness pointed out to Willie Hay that Lord Alderdice made a ruling that points of order should not be made during a ministerial statement, or during questions on it. Paisley then said: On a point of order, Mr Speaker. Will you give some consideration as to how long the rulings of previous Speakers abide? Are those rulings eternal? Do we hold forever to the rulings of a person who sat …
The Belfast Telegraph tonight isn’t amazingly good reading for the DUP. We have a story (no link found) about the DUP postponing it’s conference, leaving at least a two year gap between gatherings (not that my own party has had one in a while, but then again, we meet every year to elect a leader). Jim Allister reckons it is due to a downturn in DUP membership, and the possible comparisons of the Leader’s speech to that given in 2006. …
A former colleague “Bob” hails the PSNI in Londonderry for rejecting the PMOS stock response to events, and even moving beyond the statistical analysis approach. He has an interesting name for the new PSNI ‘calling a spade a spade’ PR approach. Filed under “normal politics” I think.That quote: This was the fault of a drunken mob who went on the rampage. Martina Anderson can come and talk to me rather than indulge in old fashioned Sinn Fein rhetoric from 10 …
Ordinarily if someone asked me to fork out a fiver to listen to some authors plug their book, I wouldn’t be too receptive. But seeing as it’s Lord Bew, Steve Bruce and Eric Kaufmann……I’ve just got my tickets. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere else, but today was quite an important day in 1912 and for a lot of families in Ulster, including mine, it is possible to have a look at what ancestors were doing on this day in history. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
Malachi O’Doherty had an interesting If you ask me last night. In it he suggests that thus far, public perception is that Arlene Foster isn’t doing all that well in Environment, which is perhaps fingering the wrong individual. He also alludes to the possibility of the Jim Dixon effect working against the DUP this time in F&ST. His final point is interesting: But if our parties are going to treat the executive primarily as a runway for the take off …
Apparently Ian Paisley’s new best mate is thinking about losing to Gordon Brown at the next General Election, whenever that might be. Incidentally, Guido is backing the Tories, not necessarily to win, but to become the largest party. Worth a flutter? Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
The Minister for Education is currently in the middle of a tirade (wont work in Firefox, at least for me). Apparently opposition to the political use of the Irish language in Education is just “bias and prejudice”. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
O’Neill sets about knocking down myths, including the nonsense we keep hearing about the merits of a single Unionist party. In all elections, except for Westminster, we work on a Proportional Representation system. With this kind of mechanism in place, in the vast majority of cases, it doesn’t matter how many parties or candidates there are, actually having a wider range of options may persuade more people to vote. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read …
Last month I asked why the BBC aren’t podcasting more Northern Ireland news and current affairs. Last Friday saw the second NI News Briefing podcast. Which is a good start. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in London. @mjshilliday
An interesting remark from SF’s Francie Brolly on Monday during question time: I do not accept that the rights of Irish speakers should be subject to consultation. I have to say, that makes me feel an awful lot better about the impending Irish Language legislation. He continued: A right is a right. Indeed it is, the right to life for example is not negotiable. Any “right” to speak Irish is in no way infringed in Northern Ireland, if it were …
