Election 2005

We noted the DUP candidate Jimmy Spratt’s comment when he described a statement from the UUP’s Michael McGimpsey in South Belfast the other day as a “sign of increasing desperation”.. the same “increasing desperation” could be said to apply to SF Gerry Adams’ “analysis” of the situation in that constituency – “I think that [SDLP candidate] Alasdair McDonnell has no possibility of winning south Belfast and I think that any nationalist that votes for him is a wasted vote,” said …

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The weather’s not terrible here, but the rain is soaking when it comes. According to Radio Ulster it’s worse in the North West. However But conventional wisdome says this is not good for the moderates. Early reports say that it is slow but steady there was not much activity around St Donard’s Hall in East Belfast. The DUP worker there suggested that most people were good natured, “At least I didn’t have anyone taking the leaflets off me ripping them …

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I`m not sure if this applies equally to Northern Irish servicemen but it seems an awful lot of UK military personnel will be ineligible to vote today due to administrative inadequacies and changes in the law. In Wales, Scotland and England there were 168,000 service personnel registered to vote before the new law (Representation of the People Act 2000) was introduced in 2000 but numbers had fallen to 33,000 by 2003. KilsallyIT Technical Manager for a CCTV company in the …

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David Trimble thinks that David Burnside is likely to finish 500-1000 votes ahead. We are hearing conflicting reports. Indeed one senior journalist told Slugger of one Catholic she knew of in Crumlin who was going to vote Willie McCrea. Even Trimble himself remarked that “sometimes David doesn’t seem to understand that a lot of his votes come from Alliance voters” – refering presumably to Burnside’s hardline pitch to realign the party with the DUP. Precisely the opposite to Sylvia Hermon’s …

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Trimbles casting their vote. Voting was brisk this morning as David Trimble cast his vote in Lisburn – something that gave him evident pleasure. He was still certain that gains could be made and cast cold water on those who consider his days are soon to be over, “I do take pleasure in proving the pundits wrong. Maybe at some point we’ll see the pundits get out and actually speak to people?” Effectively he’s hoping that he’ll get some crossover …

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In typically understated prose, Kevin Myers claims in today’s Irish Times (subs required) that Britain is about to elect a psychopath for his third term as Prime Minister. Although he accepts that: To be sure Tony Blair is not a psychopath in the manner of serial killers; he is merely a man without a conscience who in his youth developed a grandiose scheme to become prime minister of the United Kingdom. He argues that: Because he genuinely has no moral …

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Mark Devenport with a very apposite point. In Britain, where polls are issued by the major papers every day the bookies are something of an afterthought. Here the Bookie is king pundit! Considering most of those putting down the money are not ordinary punters, but political participants, there is a possiblity that the prices that have been quoted so often and regularly are possibly artifically tipping public confidence in particular ways. It seems to me this has been exagerated by …

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Voting was very slow in Holywood at just after seven this morning. Often there’s a bit of a rush there as the early birds make sure of their vote. Well, amongst the old timers anyway who remember the time when if you didn’t get out early, someone else would snaffle your vote! Amongst the early risers was Trevor Ringland and his son Michael. As Sylvia Hermon told reporters yesterday, it’s crucial she gets her vote out – especially in strongholds …

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I’ll be trying to keep you abreast of developments during the day. And keep you up on the gossip. Unfortunately I don’t have a wifi laptop – and in any case, few of the smaller places outside Belfast I’ll be visiting today do. So I’ll be uploading the news Slugger very intermittently during the day. We have the feeling this will be a truly historic day. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts …

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TONY Blair has insisted that Northern Ireland will remain a priority for him after tomorrow’s election, if he’s still Prime Minister. God help us all. Hasn’t he enough to be worried about at home?Bliar said: “It still comes back to the same basic question, which is the way forward is for the republicans to give up violence completely and totally and go into a different mode of operation altogether of exclusively peaceful and democratic means, and for unionists on that …

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I caught up with David Trimble this afternoon after a couple of scouting expeditions up and down Lurgan main street. Just before I met up with one DUP man standing with his daughter outside Stephen Moutray’s constitutency office told me I should shake his hand for the last time as an MP. When Trimble drew level with him again, the man called over, “I hope you enjoy your final days as MP for Upper Bann”. Trimble, quipped back – “I …

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If you haven’t tried them yet, check out Slugger’s photo blog. The election stuff is divided into people stuff and a collection of posters. You can also view them as a slide show – which I’m reliably told goes well to music. Though the choice of which bit of music may depend on the probable fortunes of your particular party of choice. There’s quite a few more to go up yet! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has …

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Hermon, Trimble and Reg The UUP backroom boys planned this set piece outside the City Hall. For the first time in this campaign we got a clear view of of his candidate team, as they trailed out of the City Hall and down the front gates in slow motion – for the benefit of the dozen or so cameramen waiting outside. Prominence was given first of all to Michael McGimpsey (under pressure but still asserting he’s the leader in the …

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Outside City Hall, Trimble mentioned Lagan Valley – a seat Jeffrey Donaldson took comfortably in the last Assembly elections as a UU candidate. Basil McCrea might well galvanise what is left of the pro-Agreement UU vote and take votes from Nationalists who see as Donaldson as the mastermind behind the fall of the Agreement. The UU faithful are puzzled that no one is buying the story. What’s in the back of every journo’s mind is the Belfast Telegraph/Newsnight poll, which …

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Mark Durkan has just described the Adams’ initiative as a stunt! Hmmm, our guess is that if the McCartney/Northern Bank issue had posed a greater threat to Sinn Fein, something concrete might well have showed up from the IRA before tomorrow.He’s refering to a letter sent out to first time and ‘yellow’ voters – ie those with the potential to convert from SDLP to Sinn Fein: SDLP Leader Mark Durkan said: “If Sinn Fein are for real about the Gerry …

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With Paddy Power paying out on Labour to win bets from last week on, there’s little doubt that Tony Blair is going back to No10. It’s rumoured that Paul Murphy will be moving on, and is thought to be glad to go. It may mark the end of what has been a holding period in Northern Irish politics, while both sides chose their ‘tribal champions’ to do the final deal. Top tips for his replacement are the ‘young’ whiz kid, …

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Not the kind of publicity that the Vote For Yourself Rainbow Dream Ticket group were hoping for. A Socialist Party candidate in Belfast’s Laganbank constituency has called on the organisation to withdraw their endorsement of David Kerr, a candidate in East Antrim, former member of the National Front and founding member, and Chairman, of Third Way, which as the Belfast Telegraph points out, is “an organisation which critics accuse of being fascist”. Pete Baker

Mark Durkan says that the DUP and Sinn Fein have deliberately run low key campaigns to try and keep turn out low. That’s probably true. Indeed, the lack of urgency in some of the UUP’s liberal heartland is staggering at times.One Holywood resident told Slugger that although he’d been an Alliance voter for over twenty years, he thought that this time he should vote Sylvia Hermon “to keep the DUP out The trouble is, can I be even bothered to …

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The UUP thinks the media is missing some of their good stories. They still believe that Michael McGimpsey is the leader in South Belfast and they think they can even run Gregory Campbell close in the East Londonderry constituency. In Upper Bann Trimble campaign manager told Slugger, “it’s like a major job interview. The trouble is you can never be sure as to what job the voters are interviewing you for, a good speaker in the House of Commons or …

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TCM Breaking News carries a report,Gardaí probe possible IRA link Cork robbery bid, that two men arrested in connection with a hostage-taking and attempted extortion in Cork, involving a hand gun and a stun gun, had connections to provisional IRA. The attempt at extortion involved holding a pregnant woman at gunpoint. Hat-tip to ATWThree men were arrested, two reportedly with addresses in Dundalk and one from Belfast. Gardaí were said to be investigating if the operation was carried out on …

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