It’s not clear what the last election ever held for Reg Empey. Had he won, he was already committed to stepping down from his ministry and membership of the Assembly. With his intention to resign now clear are now where we would have been regardless of whether he’d won his seat, or not. The big question exercising everyone inside the party is: who next? Despite the poor look on not winning a single Westminster seats, it’s actual vote (if you …
So is it game and set and match to Mr Cameron? Although, judging by an exceptionally peppery editorial in the Spectator today, not everyone on the Tory benches is happy with arrangement. Still, it seems that the two Edwardian gentlemen agree in principle as early as Saturday night, over Pizza, that cohabitation would be a thoroughly fine thing. This was a classic vindication of the old saw, work for victory, but plan for disappointment. Many in his party will say, …
Being a Lib Dem with government ministers (and everything) after all those years (nay, generations) in opposition, must be something akin to the feelings you have the very first time you ‘make love’. It’s something you’ve dreamed of for years, and you are undoubtedly happy it has finally happened. But… it wasn’t quite what you expected. Theresa May is certainly no liberal’s dream of a Home Secretary. But… at the heel of the hunt they may simply be relieved that …
The EU Commission’s proposals for in-advance peer-review of proposed national budgets has provoked a heated political reaction in the Dáil. As Miriam Lord wryly notes, the a vice-president of the European People’s Party, Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny is being accused of Euroscepticism. However Taoiseach Brian Cowen doesn’t seem as opposed to the proposals as, say, the Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt. In Germany, despite a difficult week, Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the proposals Chancellor Angela Merkel praised the EU’s attempts to crackdown on irresponsible spending, and said …
It may be that this was a good election to lose for Labour (which, I suspect, is some of what lay behind that old fashioned politics Janet was lauding the other day), though it may not feel like that for many of their voters/supporters at the moment. (BTW, the Telegraph were still live blogging up to last night) Why? Because the challenges being faced by the Tories and Lib Dem coalition are huge, particularly on the international front (it’s no coincidence …
In a special article for Slugger O’Toole, David Gordon examines the General Election fall-out for unionism – with a couple of quotes from his newly-updated book, The Fall of the House of Paisley. Released over Easter, it has a new final chapter entitled The Fall of the House of Robinson? Cometh the hour, here comes Arlene? If Peter Robinson goes as DUP leader, the smart money seems to be on Nigel Dodds as party leader, with Arlene Foster as First …
Eamonn’s tweeting that the Conservative Party’s Owen Paterson has been appointed as the new Northern Ireland Secretary of State. Bye, Shaun… Adds BBC report. And The News Letter. Pete Baker
Here’s a nice piece of market making from the entrepreneurial Paddy Power’s odds on a successor to Peter Robinson. Nigel Dodds is 4/5 on, which is probably just about what you might expect for a deputy leader. The boul Paddy says “From a betting point of view it’s beginning to look like a one horse race with eighty percent of the bets placed so far supporting Mr Dodds”. We’ll see if it stays that way when and under what circumstances …
While our focus was on the Prime Ministerial negotiations, the European Commission was moving to shore up the eurozone – agreeing emergency measures worth €750billion ($975bn, £650bn). That’s on top of the earlier € 110billion three-year bail-out package to rescue Greece’s economy agreed with the IMF. Ireland’s contribution to that earlier plan, providing for bilateral loans up to € 1.312 billion from Ireland to Greece, is due to go before the Dáil next week. As, still everyone’s hero, Robert Peston warned …
At the Guardian’s Election Blog, Michael White offers a mea culpa and provides a sensible assessment of where we’re at as the dust settles over Downing St. From the G’s Election Blog As I wrote in a piece yesterday, history points to the larger party, especially the predatory Tory party, swallowing up the minnow on its back. That’s where the bookies odds must point: to the Lib Dems being divided, even wrecked, by the strains of coalition in hard times. …
The BBC report says it all Gordon Brown has announced he is resigning as UK prime minister. Mr Brown is on his way to officially tender his resignation to the Queen, and recommend that Conservative leader David Cameron should succeed him. Adds As the Guardian’s live-blog notes, Brown’s resignation as leader of the Labour Party “will take effect immediately”. And Full resignation statement here Update David Cameron becomes the new UK prime minister. Cameron’s statement on arriving at Downing St. Real …
With an abstentionist Sinn Féin irrelevant to the number crunching at Westminster it’s interesting to see Gearóid Ó Cairealláin, in the North Belfast News, musing aloud about the “elephant in the room”. At his Irish Central website, Niall O’Dowd argues that “The time is now to take that step” [end Sinn Féin’s abstentionism] – although he mistakenly believes that “the Sinn Fein party is abstaining because of the oath of loyalty to the Queen”. As Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams stated …
Gordon Brown has announced that he will resign as Labour leader and that formal talks will be held with the Liberal Democrats on forming the next UK government [Adds: Gordon Brown will remain in place to lead those talks]. The 13 Northern Ireland MPs who take their seats might yet have an important role to play. BBC report here And the Guardian is live-blogging events. Adds Do the math… Detail From the BBC report Mr Brown said Britain had a “parliamentary …
The BBC reports that DUP MLAs and MPs have emerged from their meeting today having unanimously endorsed Peter Robinson as party leader and Northern Ireland First Minister – despite that Portillo moment. Pete Baker
BBC NI’s political editor Mark Devenport notes an “outbreak of political harmony” on today’s Inside Politics programme between two of Northern Ireland’s newly elected MPs – the DUP’s Ian Paisley Jnr and the Alliance Party’s Naomi Long. The subject of agreement? That, should the opportunity arise, the 13 NI MPs who take their seats should be prepared to work together – “on areas like finance and the defence of the local economy” – in any potential negotiations over support for the next government. As I …
No white smoke yet from the Conservative and Lib Dem teams trying to negotiate an agreed pact. If they fail to reach an understanding, it could be the Labour party’s turn to dance with the Lib Dems. As the BBC’s Stephen Walker points out, even with Sinn Féin’s vacant seats taken into account, the election results show those two parties would still fall short of the required 323 seats. By just 8 votes… From Stephen Walker’s article The SDLP traditionally takes the Labour …
The BBC notes that Belfast Crown Court judge Mr Justice Hart has thrown out an application by Kevin Crilly’s lawyers that he had no case to answer over the murder of Captain Robert Nairac in 1977. From the BBC report Mr Crilly, from Lower Faughill Road, Jonesborough will formally be arraigned before the Crown Court next week. He is to be charged with the soldier’s murder along with two counts of false imprisonment and two charges of kidnapping. Six men have already been …
The DUP leader Peter Robinson has been defeated by the Alliance Party’s Naomi Long in East Belfast by 12,839 votes to 11,306. The TUV candidate, David Vance, secured 1,856 votes… BBC report here. And where were you? Pete Baker
I’ve borrowed the BBC headline to note that the count for the Foyle and East Londonderry constituencies have been suspended due to a security alert at the Templemore Sports Complex in Londonderry. Update After an hour and a half delay, and a controlled explosion, the count resumed. Pete Baker
For the record, the NOP/Mori exit poll for the broadcasters is predicting a hung parliament with the Conservatives short of a majority by only 19 seats. Update That would be 19 short without factoring in abstentionist MPs… Conservatives – 307 (+97) Labour – 255 (-94) Lib Dem – 59 (-3) Others – 29 (unchanged) Adds It will be interesting to compare this with the actual result… Pete Baker
