Foreign Policy row could favour Miliband

The developing spat over foreign policy between Ed Miliband and the Tories is interesting. It is very rare for specific parts of foreign policy to be debated in a partisan fashion during an election unless they relate to macro longterm issues such as Europe etc. From the BBC reporting Miliband: “David Cameron was wrong to assume that Libya was a country whose institutions could be left to evolve and transform on their own,” he said. “The tragedy is that this …

Read more…

Jim Wells: Has he damaged the DUP? UPDATED

Any hopes that the DUP had that last night’s ill-judged comments by Health Minister Jim Wells would be quickly forgotten appear to be fast receding. If anything the ‘apology’ by Mr. Wells betrays ignorance on the part of the Health Minister more than anything else. Sadly the PSNI have now confirmed that they are now investigating comments made by Mr. Wells’  –  perhaps the new laws suggested by the Ulster Fry would be more appropriate. UPDATE: Tonight (Sunday April 26th, 2015) …

Read more…

#LeadersDebate: Blame it on the boogie

UPDATED A depressingly accurate piece on politics in Northern Ireland from Chris Buckler has been played repeatedly on the BBC news channel during the course of today. It comes on a day when seven party leaders in Great Britain fought it out in a televised debate /gameshow tonight . Despite protestations the DUP were NOT included in the debate. Peter Robinson tweeted his outrage last month: Perhaps after viewing the BBC piece we should be grateful for small mercies. The otherwise depressing report …

Read more…

YouGov’s Peter Kellner: The DUP unlikely to hold the balance of power but could be influential

The President of one of the UK’s most reputable polling companies YouGov, Peter Kellner, was in Belfast at an event hosted by Chambre Public Affairs and Lucid Talk. I began by asking him what we should be looking out for at this point in the parliamentary year? Kellner highlighted a few things to watch out for. Can either Labour or the Conservatives break the dead lock that they are currently facing in the polls? Over the last few months both …

Read more…

Ed Miliband: I’m not sure [120 PMQs have] made much difference to the sum of human knowledge!

Amongst the questions about education, mental health support and apprenticeships at this morning’s Heenan-Anderson Commission session with Ed Miliband, the Labour leader kept back one question to answer to the end. Youth and political engagement … listen to ‘#heenananderson Clip of @Ed_Miliband questioning PMQs which don’t make “much difference to sum of human knowledge”’ on audioBoom If people think politics matters they’ll get engaged in it and vote for it. Now watching me and David Cameron shout at each other …

Read more…

Ed Miliband in Belfast – no gaffs, little charisma, but a definite listening ear at the Heenan-Anderson Commission

When it comes to visiting English political party leaders, the people of Northern Ireland are unexcited. The hand of history is wobbling over the shoulder of Labour’s Ed Miliband and few really expect the DUP to hold the balance of power after the May 2015 election. However, it has been many years since Ed Miliband called in on this side of the Irish Sea, and the Labour party leader was over to sit in on the Heenan-Anderson Independent Commission’s listening …

Read more…

Join Ed Miliband and address a public meeting of Heenan-Anderson Commission on Thursday 22

Members of the Heenan-Anderson commission will have their listening ears on as Labour leader Ed Miliband joins them to hear from local individuals and groups in a public meeting on Thursday 22 January in the Ulster University Belfast campus from 10am to 12.30pm. The Labour leader will also deliver a keynote address. [Ed – bet he doesn’t mention One Nation!] The commission – launched by the Shadow Secretary of State Ivan Lewis back in November – are keen to views …

Read more…

Labour Party: “Making no progress on welfare has financial implications. It is not a cost-free choice…”

As Mick mentioned, the repeated attempts to blame the fallout from the Northern Ireland Executive’s deadlock on Welfare Reform on “the right wing Tory/DUP austerity agenda“, or “the British Tory Government“, or, more frequently, “a cabinet of Tory millionaires“,  have been dealt a blow by clarification of the Labour Party’s position by the Shadow NI Secretary of State at the party’s conference. From the Irish Times report (23 Sept) The disagreement, said [Labour’s shadow Northern Ireland secretary Ivan Lewis], is “a denial” …

Read more…

Miliband: Stormont parties must carry on with welfare reform…

It’s well worth watching Stephen Walker’s interview with Ed Miliband in Manchester for last night’s Newsline. It’s not good news for Sinn Fein who’ve been counting Macawberlike for something to turn up with regard to their hold out on the negotiated welfare reform deal: “The Labour leader said his party would abolish what he calls the “bedroom tax”, but said Stormont parties must carry on with welfare reform.” Bum. Of course that that may not be what Sinn Fein was banking. …

Read more…

Ed forgets the deficit, whoops (“smile and wave boys, smile and wave”)…

Erm, the first rule of performance is don’t look back (or down for that matter). If Sinn Fein see Labour as the safe endline for a successful bidding partner for a better deal than the one they had before their late refusal wipes millions off the Stormont budget, it took a bit of a knock yesterday when Ed Miliband admitted that he’d forgot to mention the deficit it might be a forlorn hope. In Miliband Labour has leader that’s much …

Read more…

John McTernan: For Labour hope needs to beat fear

Next up in our 2015 general election series is former advisor John McTernan on what Labour needs to do to win next year.   There is no real secret to winning elections. Be united, have popular ideas and connect to the public. As Ronald Reagan used to say, ‘It’s not easy, but it is simple.’   Against the odds, Ed Miliband has achieved the first, and done it effortlessly. After a lengthy and divisive leadership campaign – which he won …

Read more…

Scotland Essays: The pro-Union cause has four months to unite, learn identity politics and make a new devolution pact now!

The difference between before and after the Scottish referendum is as fundamental and unknowable as the black hole between life and death. Yet the fate of the Union may depend on what people believe now about what may happen then, in that currently unknowable state.  With the polls narrowing near the point of cross over, London- based   politicians and commentators are at last stirring themselves, the Conservative commentator and ex-MP Matthew Parris in the Times (£) being the latest in assuming a torrid fall-out from …

Read more…

NI Tories lend their weight as Labour NI accuse Ed Miliband of “undemocratic, 1950s, colonial governor mindset”

Labour Party in Northern Ireland

It’s happened before, and it’ll happen again. “Long-suffering Labour members locally have launched yet another campaign to persuade Ed Miliband to stand candidates in Northern Ireland” (Trevor Ringland, Conservatives NI) Not for the first time, Conservatives NI have issued a statement to support their beleaguered NI Constituency Labour Party colleagues opponents. Both groups strongly criticise the Labour Party leadership for leaving Labour supporters adrift and unable to stand candidates in Northern Ireland. In the Belfast Telegraph, Liam Clarke reports some …

Read more…

Is the electoral process meant to be magic? [Insert country/province/region here] can do better than this?

Two quick quotes from today. [Episode 12 from Season 2 of Scandal on More 4] Cyrus Beene (White House Chief of Staff) confronting crisis management guru (or “fixer”) Olivia Pope about her overwhelming guilt about agreeing to rig the presidential election and her desire to put things right: You’re willing to bring down the whole Republic because you feel guilty? You know what our electoral process is? It’s magical. It’s like believing in Santa or the Tooth Fairy or the …

Read more…

“Put aside the rhetoric…”

A perfect example of how an overly-sound-bite-led politician can undermine his own credibility by refusing to stray from the script.  Indigenous politicians take note. Via Toby Harnden at the Telegraph blogs. And the Guardian has a report based on the interviewer ITV News’ Damon Green’s response In the two-minute 30-second version of the interview seen by the Guardian, Green tries six times to get Miliband to expand on his position about why he believes the strike action is wrong. In …

Read more…

“it’s something that certainly never happened under the stewardship of Tony Blair or Gordon Brown.”

The visit by the British Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, to Stormont today may have come as a surprise to the press [and the NI Labour Party… – Ed], but the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers were ready with their latest whinge.  Apparently the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, isn’t prepared to meet them just to listen to their special little pleading. From the breakingnews.ie report Also accusing the coalition British government of backtracking on financial commitments made during the peace …

Read more…

Leadership elections – the Labour way

Strangely, the (Daily) Telegraph seem to be leading the way on converage post-Labour’s leadership election. First they had Ed Miliband’s article in Sunday’s paper, and this morning they printed a behind-the-scenes look at the choreography and emotions of the announcement and aftermath. Brother David was focussed on winning. After a quick discussion, one of the group was chosen to warn David to prepare himself for the worst. Would it not be wise, the aide suggested, for him to think about …

Read more…

Miliband the Younger

The new leader of the Labour Party is Ed Miliband, the younger of the two Miliband brothers in the race.  It was close though…  And the BBC’s Nick Robinson has noted that David Miliband won the MPs/MEPs vote, and the individual members vote, but lost overwhelming in the trade union [and affiliated organisations] members’ vote… [added link to breakdown of affiliated organisations voting]  Each ‘section’ is worth a third of the total.  The Guardian’s live-blog has the figures from the first round of voting 4.48pm: Here are …

Read more…