Election 2005

We launch Slugger O’Toole’s ‘live blogging’ of the 2005 election with a press panel event at the Institute of Governance at Queens next week. Rather than hear the politicians again, we’re bringing together some of Northern Ireland’s top political correspondents and commentators to give their views on what they see as the significant issues. Then we’ll take questions from the floor! I’ll be in the chair.The panel includes writers whose work appears regularly on Slugger: Dan McGinn (Ireland Political Editor …

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The SDLP launched their manifesto today. Mark Durkan’s performance on the party’s soft focus PEB was well produced, and well written. But he may have lost political focus by cramming too many of key messages into one performance. Given the tight scrap he’s facing in Derry, he might have been better advised to amplify and extend his own opening gambit: “…you shouldn’t leave people to live in fear, afraid to look up, afraid to look sideways at the hard men …

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The UUP has this afternoon launched its very “bread and butter” election Manifesto. The reference to future devolution comes in the opening message: We proved that Sinn Fein were unfit for office. We put them to the test, stripped away all their excuses, and, in October 2002, put them out when they failed. We have concluded that, while republicans are prepared to offer more process, they do not want to give up their private army. Consequently, we do not intend …

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Ominous. The annonymous blgger at the Social Affairs Unit makes a comparison between the Tory’s fortunes and the UU’s ill starred campaign in Northern Ireland. Neither party has convincingly marked out its own battlegrounds.The campaign’s ‘decency’ strapline is becoming a millstone around its neck for several reason, not least: Now this may or may not be true, but in an electoral environment where, far from being hegemonic, and thus able to intimidate voters rhetorically, the UUP is on the back …

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Nick Whyte’s election prediction site’s look brand spanking new and ready to take your best shots as election pundits. 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

It’s worth highlighting that the BBC’s election website has lots of video-on-demand material as well as the text stories – and there’s plenty of NI material there as well. If you go to the website and click on the ‘election news in video’ button, you can see all the party election broadcasts from the local parties, as well as interviews and manifesto launches. If you’re so inclined. Aaron Scullion

A TANGLED Web carried an interview with UUP Lagan Valley Westminster candidate Basil McCrea yesterday.When asked the killer question about whether he could beat Donaldson, McCrea replied. Yes. What is Mr. Donaldson well known for? Walking out on the negotiations at the 11th hour, standing for one party and joining another, opposing the Belfast Agreement whilst in the UUP and then advocating the SF-DUP Comprehensive agreement whilst in the DUP. With regard to the numbers (rounded for simplification) there were …

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Angelique Chrisafis, Ireland correspondent for the Guardian has an article , Sinn Féin likely to tighten grip in SDLP heartlands, arguing that the battle for the soul of nationalism is in Foyle. Newry and Armagh could go to Sinn Féin, South Down should stay with the SDLP, but she writes “it seems ironic that the fight to succeed Mr Hume, Northern Ireland’s great celebrity politician, who is standing down, is being billed as a battle between two of the dullest …

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Ros Taylor has spotted our breaching of the £1000 mark on the Guardian election blog. Thanks, and keep watching. Blogging on Slugger goes live from next Wednesday, through to the end of the Westminster count!! Thanks to Dave for the heads up! 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: …

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Professor Liam Kennedy has asked Gerry Adams and David Ervine to discuss why, having been publicly opposed to punishment attacks since he last ran in West Belfast, that Northern Ireland has continued to witness brutal attacks on youths and children across the Loyalist/Republican divide. 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 …

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For once the UUP seem to have trained their two biggest guns in the same direction, the DUP. Both David Burnside and David Trimble have attacked their rivals for sending mixed messages to the electorate and the two governments about the likelihood of a deal that could include Sinn Fein a bit further down the line! Bob McCartney, announcing that he would not be running in North Down, said that Peter Robinson mentioned the term ‘a generation’ in a conversation …

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Nice little closing line from the DUP man who wants David Trimble’s seat. Susanne Breen has been out following the action (at some pace it would seem) on the stump in Portadown! This is one of two or three seats we hope to keep a careful watch on, when we hit the ground running next week! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and …

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Liam Kennedy, Professor of Irish Economic History at Queens University Belfast, is to stand in the West Belast constituency for the Westminster seat currently held by Sinn Féin’s Gerry Adams.. as he did previously in 1997.. and with basically the same campaign as then – “on the need for all paramilitaries to go away.” Hmm.. I suspect that some of the comments on this will be completely predictable Pete Baker

South Belfast UUP Assembly Candidate John Hiddleston has written to the News Letter calling for UUP Westminster candidate Michael McGimpsey to stand down in favour of Jimmy Spratt. KilsallyIT Technical Manager for a CCTV company in the UK & Ireland. Christian, Orangeman, Unionist. Webmaster of Ulster-Scots Online. Occasional blogger on Slugger O’ Toole. Eurosceptic. @Kilsally www.ulster-scots.co.uk

Eammon McCann hadn’t been expecting to run for Westminster, but he handed his nomination papers in at the Electoral Office at eleven this morning. He explains below why he and his party, the Socialist Environmental Alliance, changed their minds last Sunday.From Eammon McCann: The SEA had intended to contest the local elections only. We don’t really have the resources to fight a Westminster constituency, too. But we decided to give it a go anyway after a discussion last Saturday afternoon …

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The Political Compass has been set up for the UK election. Unfortunately that will probably tell you next to nothing about who you should vote for in NI, but it’s probably good fun. I tried the main one again, and have discovered in my third attempt over about four years I’m still a strong social libertarian, but I’m rapidly becoming left of centre in economic terms. Rebecca, who reminded me of it, thought I’d be classed down with Hitler and …

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Daivd Trimble has unequivocally backed Michael Copeland, the MLA at the centre of some controversy on Friday when his office was raided as part of an investiation into money laundering. He has also lodged a complaint with the Police Ombudsman, over the handling of the searches, which came on the Friday before the party’s manifesto was due to be launched. It will launch tomorrow. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the …

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I notice this press release on the DUPs website in which Peter Robinson (illustrated with an election poster of new friend J M Donaldson for some reason) uses some decidedly unparliamentary language. Just as well he didn’t say it in Parliament really, for as we all know, people get ordered to “withdraw immediately from the House” for saying such things there. Michael ShillidayI used to write and get paid, now I read and don’t. Former UUP staffer, currently living in …

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Interesting snippet from yesterday’s Sunday Life. Denver Thompson is standing for election in the Blackwater ward for a seat on Dungannon Borough Council. It emerged yesterday that he also once played Gaelic Football for a local side between 1981 and 1984. How the times are they a-changing! 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, …

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Still two weeks to go before polling and some are already ruminating over the likely result. Not least of these is Tom McGurk who argues that whatever the outcome of the election turns out to be, it’s about time that the two ‘centre ground’ parties started talking: …the time has come for at least the two parties to open a conversation with each other. All of this of course opens up unimaginable new political ground given the North’s political history …

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