Conservatives

Britain’s Wizard of Oz election…

Mick Fealty on May 5, 2010, 11:04 am

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It struck me the other day that, in Britain at least, we’re witnessing something of a Wizard of Oz election… Now please forgive the crude charaterisations here, it’s certainly not intended to wound or make light of profoundly serious matters, but it seems to me that the three party leaders roughly approximate to the characters of scarecrow, the tinman and the cowardly lion… So for starters, you have Gordon Brown as the lion wishing he had the nerve… Then Nick …

David Cameron talks to Mallie, with just thirty six hours to go…

Eamonn Mallie on May 4, 2010, 6:10 pm

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Aspiring Prime Minister David Cameron has rubbished a Belfast Telegraph election poll, alleging it was carried out by a lobbying company linked to the Democratic Unionist Party. In a rousing speech to members of Ulster Unionist and Conservative parties David Cameron gallantly boasted of how he braved the elements of nature like young Lochinvar to reach La Mon Hotel for today’s political rally. La Mon Hotel was bombed by the IRA 31 years ago. The Conservative party leader raised the temperature declaring: …

David Cameron comes to Northern Ireland…

Eamonn Mallie on May 4, 2010, 1:00 am

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David Cameron is expected to tell the people of Northern Ireland today they will not have to carry a disproportionate share of financial savings. The aspiring (or according to Peter Robinson last year putative) PM is on a flying visit to Belfast to boost his sister party, the Ulster Unionists. David Cameron angered members of the Democratic Unionist Party last week when he signalled over dependence on the public sector would have to be addressed. This was widely interpreted by political rivals as …

Election 2010: Things I believed in yesterday…

Mick Fealty on April 29, 2010, 3:58 pm

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I picked this up this morning, it’s a Tory leaflet warning people of the big danger of a hung Parliament… 24 hours ago it was a decent pitch. Today, I’m not sure anyone believes Gordon can be PM any more… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Fermanagh Council: “at best prima facie discriminatory and certainly unedifying”

Pete Baker on April 26, 2010, 11:29 pm

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A BBC report notes the publication, one month after the ruling was made, of a High Court judgement which orders that Fermanagh District Council must pay the Local Government Auditor’s bill of £38,178 for an investigation into the controversial appointment of Rodney Connor as Chief Executive of the Council in 2000. From the BBC report In his ruling [Mr Justice Higgins] emphasised that the proceedings reflect in no way upon the ability or integrity of Mr Connor who “all parties acknowledged to be a …

DUP kettle calling Cameron’s fiscal pot black?

Mick Fealty on April 26, 2010, 10:35 am

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Here’s a nice piece of balance to the headlines in today’s News Letter and Belfast Telegraph… It’s the first paragraph of the economy section of the 2010 DUP manifesto [Emphasis added]: Growing the private sector is the key to economic success. It will be the private sector that will lead the UK into economic recovery.We need low interest rates and must reign back public spending and invest more wisely. Spending reductions must be pursued rather than seeking to increase taxes, …

Sunday polls: Conservatives nose ahead in a volatile race

Mick Fealty on April 25, 2010, 10:20 am

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Still not brilliant news in Sunday’s polls for the Tories, but I would rather be in their shoes than Labour’s today: no momentum and the campaign (substance vs, erm, ‘the damned Tories’) is slowly disintegrating. Things are still holding up pretty well for the Lib Dems. And after last week’s wobble (as Clegg came into the frame) Cameron’s ratings seem to be heading north again. If I were a Labour hack, one thing (amongst many) to worry about is not the polls …

Cameron was clumsy but accurate…

Eamonn Mallie on April 25, 2010, 9:20 am

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David Cameron has touched off something of a bush fire in his interview with Jeremy Paxman on BBC2 in speaking of the dependency culture in Northern Ireland. He compared the amount of state support to that of some of the Communist Eastern bloc countries. The potential PM was clumsy in his exposition despite the accuracy of what he was actually saying. My suggestion that there was ‘a whiff’ of the infamous Harold Wilson “spongers” sobriquet about Mr Cameron’s observation, sent …

Hague will step in for Cameron in Belfast on Monday

Mick Fealty on April 24, 2010, 11:13 am

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Apparently David Cameron’s schedule got set back because of the Icelandic ash cloud. So whilst yesterday, according Eamonn (who is on fire just now on Twitter) the Conservatives were planning to send their big howitzer in on Monday, they are now sending William Hague instead… And nothing, they say, to do with last night’s remarks on Newnight… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media …

Are Tory bloggers an asset to their party?

Paul Evans on April 23, 2010, 6:02 pm

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Hindsight is a great thing isn’t it? Surely we all saw that the Tories weren’t on a winner going into an election with the promise of nasty medicine? I mean, I wondered if it would hurt them, but at the time, it was a consideration that got crowded out by others. But it hasn’t worked, has it? The bookies should be paying out already to Tory punters, given the state of the economy and Brown’s lack of charisma. So why …

Quote of the Week…

Mick Fealty on April 23, 2010, 4:59 pm

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The Conservatives have been facing the wrong way, like the guns at Singapore. This is what happens when an organisation comes to believe its own propaganda. Charles Clarke in The Spectator today. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Any CU wins will be despite the Tory deal…

Mick Fealty on April 21, 2010, 10:08 am

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Much ink has been spilt over the current misfortunes of David Cameron and the conservatives… Over on CIF, I argue their apparent demise (still two weeks to go yet!) is bad for Scottish nationalist hopes to take seats from Labour and any gains in Northern Ireland for the CUs (or UCU-NF’s, or UCs, or whatever) will come in spite of Cameron’s difficulties, only because the difficulties of others in the race prove greater. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. …