Brian Spencer

Ghost estates aren’t the only monstrocities that blight our landscape. Yes that’s right, a generation of young people who cannot find any meaningful work are degenerating en masse into a proverbial white elephant that could well leave a permanent scar on our demographic landscape. This is an issue that is very real to my friends and I, and has been made all the more real over the last week as I cycled over 4 days through hoards of beaming parents …

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We are quite palpably living in the midst of an age of rage: with a backdrop marked by years of painful financial volatility, austerity and retrenchment and an economic position that continues to deteriorate, the unfolding LIBOR scandal and our very own banking/credit crisis has patently unleashed an unprecendented level of public opprobrium targeted directly at bankers and the finance industry. So long the reserve of the A-listers of international finance such as Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon of …

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As Greek utility companies struggle under the weight of austerity and a crippling growth crisis they stand now unable to meet their liabilities on natural gas imports, leaving besieged Greeks and tourists facing the ominous threat of rolling power blackouts; something which can only go to compound the pain felt from debilitating spending cuts and grotesque unemployment data. Here I have put together a quick illustration of the recent events, your captions are welcome. Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, …

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With Spanish banking volatility reaching an all time high the President of the ECB, Mario Draghi, came out yesterday with assurances that while sentiment across the continent is low and liquidity tight, euro zone indicators and soft data has provided no reason for immediate action. As such, LTRO 3 is yet to make an appearance; however he did make it clear that the central bank stands ready to act. Perhaps this cartoon is jumping the gun a little, or maybe …

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Today Ireland is going to the ballot box to vote Yes or No to centralised budgetary oversight and here’s my cartoon illustrating how things could look with a Yes vote. Your comments and captions are welcomed.   And below you can see a quirky piece I did earlier in the week in which I picked out a quirky parallel between Sinn Fein’s ard fheis in Killarney this year and Ian Paisley’s ‘Ulster says NO’ campaign of 1985.   Brian SpencerBrian is a …

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Brian McLaughlin has called it the pinnacle of his career; but whether its triumph or tragedy tomorrow, the occassion will carry a palpable sentiment of bitter sweet for Brian McLaughlin, who whilst putting Ulster on the map, has been ousted from his coveted position of Ulster coach. Your captions and comments are welcomed. Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

  In the absence of a backer from the private sector the Northern Ireland Executive has stepped in and taken on the main sponsorship of the Irish Open at Royal Portrush which is to tee off in six weeks time; and with excitement around the showcase event amplifying by the day ticket sales have said to be unprecedented. The pride of Northern Ireland golfing and Major winners Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke will all be in attendance as …

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From Friday’s revelations at the Leveson inquiry it would appear that the ex-News International boss Rebekah Brooks’ contact with David Cameron included providing lessons on the vernacular of the laity; and in this instance instructing Cameron on the ways of contemporary texting acronyms. Anyway here is my cartoon encapsulating the revelation. Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

  In January 2011 Gerry Adam’s prompted commentators and political opponents to label the president of Sinn Fein as an inerudite and economically illiterate yokel after he made a catalogue of on air blunders: including claiming responsibility for implementing ‘warm weather payments’; pledging to burn the bondholders and vowing to renegotiate with the bond markets; as well as awkwardly finding himself caught in the headlights of not so intense media questioning which lifted the lid on a man unaware of …

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    Having won the first round of the French presidential elections with 28.63% of the vote the leader of the Parti Socialiste François Hollande has dislodged UMP incumbent Sarkozy with the backing of 51.7% of the French electorate who turned out at a level of 80.2%. The May 6th victory will ostensibly trigger a major shift in European politics which from the onset of the financial crisis has been behest to a rightwards ambiance; indeed having declared during his …

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The Conservative mayoral incumbent Boris Johnson has bucked a national trend that yesterday witnessed a significant shift to the left and in doing so trumped the labour challenger, Ken Livingstone by 62,000 votes. In an election race that was labelled as more of a personality contest, Boris Johnson has secured a mandate for another four years at City Hall, but more tellingly the eccentric incumbent has gained a stamp of approval and secured a credibility that is prompting some commentators to suggest that Johnson …

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The pendulum has swung full swing again and a plebiscitary air has enveloped the euro zone, breaking the dictatorial flavour that the imposition of President Mario Monti in Italy as well as the appointment of the Greek administration had given the euro system. Indeed with elections on the fiscal stability Treaty due in Ireland at the end of May and with the French citizenry yesterday going to the ballot box for the first round of the presidential elections, democracy for now …

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The leader of the Alliance party yesterday suggested that the UUP and SDLP mirror image constituted a party political paradigm to be pitied – parties searching for a core purpose forever pulled down by a waning support base. David Ford then built on his analogical rhetoric by calling the DUP and SF parties mirror images of one another; qualifying however this proposition by suggesting that these party political duplicates are very much to be feared. This compelling line of argumentation …

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Whether you love, hate or hold yourself indifferent to the recent procession of Titanic related news, views and stories, distract yourself with this OFMdFM-related illustration. Your captions are welcome! Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

Little late on the uptake but felt compelled to produce an illustration of the man who won an election race with no policies, picking out in particular the explanation he gave for his policy lite agenda. Would have been something had he ran with the Blair mantle further and announced a New UUP! Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

With Mike Nesbitt gaining an overwhelming backing from the UUP membership any immediate notions of the party going into Opposition have been put on ice; with the earlist such an eventuality materialising having to wait until the next Assembly elections. However has the party, by snubbing McCallister, missed out on a decisive opportunity to reinvigorate not only the party but also start the move towards the normalisation of NI politics? Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal …

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John McCallister has put his foot down and sent out a clear message, pledging to go into opposition if elected as leader of the UUP in a move which he states would bring about the the normalisation of Northern Irish politics. That said (or in this instance; that illustrated): Are we now looking at the future leader of the Opposition or will Nesbitt’s promise to engage through the executive win him the vote? Your cartoon captions please. Brian SpencerBrian is …

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