Of course the department’s rules don’t apply to members of the Minister’s own party…

Oh dear, naughty naughty Sinn Fein… Publicly-funded schools were warned that their premises were not to be used if it could be “regarded as aimed at canvassing for votes for any particular political party or any particular political party election candidate”. But just days before voters went to the polls, Sinn Fein candidate Francie Molloy was filmed inside a school with Education Minister John O’Dowd – whose department issued the ban. Here’s the Minister’s circular which reminds schools they are …

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No surprises in Mid Ulster as Molloy wins; turnout dips down from 91.5% in 1969 by-election to just 55.7%

Some quick figures from tonight’s Mid Ulster Westminster by-election result. I’m sure Gerry will post something over the next few days that will look at the figures in more detail and give some anecdotal evidence of the spread of turnout (using the tally samples) across the constituency. Eric Bullick (Alliance) 487 (1.3%) Nigel Lutton (Independent) 12,781 (34.2%) Patsy McGlone (SDLP) 6,478 (17.3%) Francie Molloy (Sinn Féin) 17,462 (46.7%) Turnout 37208; Spoilt 223 (0.6%); result declared around 1.15am There was never …

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#MU13 “Mid-Ulster is a constituency with more than its fair share of problems.”

Nice piece by Peter Geoghegan, who’s been doing some digging in Mid Ulster, and what a functional political argument might have raised for the voters: The Irish housing boom was not confined to the southern side of the border, and the collapse in construction has hit Mid-Ulster hard. Between 2007 and 2008, joblessness in the area increased by 45 per cent. Dungannon and Cookstown have recorded the highest levels of emigration in Northern Ireland, according to figures released by the …

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Mid Ulster by election: Reassuringly boring and predictable…

Funny this… Had there not been a unionist unity candidate the SDLP might have hoped to pick up some small-u unionist votes, as they do in South Down for example. But most of the electoral evidence suggests that a section of the SDLP’s core vote will simply ‘lend’ their votes to Sinn Fein on this occasion—sending a not particularly subtle message to unionists that they don’t like this sort of sectarian headcount. If you are tempted to believe that everything …

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