Parties – Page 96 – Slugger O'Toole

Griffin breathes deep on oxygen of publicity…

Belfast Gonzo on October 23, 2009, 8:25 am

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NOW that Question Time is over and you’ve had a bit of time to reflect on BNP leader Nick Griffin’s appearance, do you think the Beeb was justified in letting him on? Has anyone changed their mind? Certainly many protesters haven’t. And how did the panellists perform? Did Griffin seem like ‘any other politician’, and were his views in any way legitimised? Personally, I thought Griffin looked a bit nervous and maybe even over-awed, and I was left with the …

“we have assumed that the existing services delivered by councils will remain unchanged”

Pete Baker on October 22, 2009, 6:59 pm

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The Northern Ireland Environment Minister, with responsibility for local government, the DUP’s Edwin Poots has told the NI Assembly that he is “absolutely committed to successfully delivering local government reform in May 2011.” BBC report here. [Additional report here] According to the Economic Appraisal by PriceWaterhouseCoopers the preferred option, which would incur one-off costs of £126.6million, has “a projected saving of £438million over a 25-year period.” Which may seem slightly dubious given the lengthy time-scale involved.. The detail of the …

“whether I’m totally responsible for that, partially responsible for it, we have changed Ireland”

Pete Baker on October 21, 2009, 11:35 pm

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At the Cedar Lounge, WorldbyStorm spotted the report of reaction to former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern apparently attempting to claim credit for the ‘Gregory Deal’. But on a recent edition of BBC’s HardTalk Mr Ahern appeared to claim credit for a whole lot more… Pete Baker

Some detail on policing and justice budget commitments

Pete Baker on October 21, 2009, 11:10 pm

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Whilst the BBC, and RTÉ, conjure up the figure of £1billion to attach to the policing budget commitments agreed between Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers and the Prime Minister, UTV says £800million.. The reality appears to be that they don’t know exactly how much it is. The letter promises “access to the reserve to meet any exceptional security pressures relating to policing and justice”, there are some other speculative commitments, an accountancy sleight of hand, and the gifting …

Belfast to bow out of UK City of Culture race, Londonderry goes on

Pete Baker on October 21, 2009, 10:31 pm

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Councillors at Belfast City Council have decided that they won’t, after all, be putting forward a bid to become the UK’s City of Culture in 2013 – despite it being the 400th anniversary of the signing of the city’s first charter by James I. The decision by the Development Committee has still to be ratified by the full Council. From the BBC report Ulster Unionist councillor Bob Stoker said he believed a bid, which has to be submitted by December …

When Peter and Martin met David (and that letter)…

Mick Fealty on October 21, 2009, 8:41 pm

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I just happened to be in Westminster this afternoon when first of all David Cameron breezed past followed shortly afterwards by a very sober looking Peter Robinson and a smiling, glad-handing Martin McGuinness as they made their way to the ‘putative’ Prime Minister’s official chambers… I managed to grab a quick interview with Owen Paterson shortly afterwards (of which more later). First this letter from the PM to Sinn Fein and the DUP. Slugger understands that it was sent to …

Paul Bew on re-unification and a generation shift in Tory attitudes to Northern Ireland

Mick Fealty on October 21, 2009, 4:24 pm

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Professor Paul Bew, now a Peer in the British upper house, talks about the iterative development of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly; responds to Barry McElduff’s Census suggestion and the Republic’s on nationalist confidence in a re-unification project; the discreet negotiations following the pattern of previous rounds; and some very interesting remarks on the change in the way the new generation of Conservative politicians look upon Northern Ireland. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on …

Slugger at the BIPA: McElduff calls for a Border question for the 2011 Census?

Mick Fealty on October 20, 2009, 11:15 pm

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An interview with Barry McElduff at the BIPA, in which he talks about the value of non legislating Assembly… And calls for a question to be inserted in the next Census asking people to state their preference for the future constitutional status of Northern Ireland… As Paul Bew notes in a follow up interview that is a risky strategy in the sense that any party calling for that could hardly resist an answering call for an actual referendum… Mick FealtyMick …

Guardian accuses ‘a Tory’ of ethically cleansing new Polish ally’s wikipedia entry…

Mick Fealty on October 18, 2009, 11:05 pm

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Despite the shoulder to shoulder performance at the Manchester conference there is a significant body of Conservative opinion that is embarrassed about the party’s new friends in the east… One, it would appear a Westminster based, took the slightly desperate (not to mention pointless) action of trying to erase references Michal Kaminski’s previous life on the wild side of Polish right wing opinion, after they were raised Edward McMillan-Scott (who subsequently cashiered for his efforts)… IN fact if you look …

Discipline and proportionality are what failed the former Ceann Comhairle…

Mick Fealty on October 16, 2009, 4:42 pm

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Interesting defence of John O’Donoghue in today’s Irish Times: Other than a general sense that he was tearing the arse out of it, we still have no settled view of the precise nature of O’Donoghue’s sin. Everybody agrees that some of his expenses were excessive, but nobody has set out a clear measure by which this could be judged, or proposed any guidelines by which, in future, the scale of similar accusations might be assessed. Quite so. Although I don’t …

DUP must learn the political advantage of making friends and influencing people…

Mick Fealty on October 16, 2009, 2:45 pm

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Brian Feeney riffs on Jimmy Durante’s possibly apocryphal aphorism: “Be nice to people goin’ up, because you’re going to meet them all comin’ down”… He offers it in regard to the DUP and its current propensity to conjure up bête noire almost at moment’s notice… And in terms of recent occasions he has a point with regard to the Hillary Clinton address: Do they think no-one noticed the boorish behaviour of Gregory Campbell and Willie McCrea when they didn’t applaud …

Is Westminster to become a second tier chamber for Unionists?

Mick Fealty on October 16, 2009, 2:06 pm

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According to the Lisburn Star, Basil McCrea will not be putting his name forward for the Westminster candidacy this time… Sheila Davidson is the Tory party’s pick (Daphne Trimble and Samuel McGee are standing for the Ulster Unionists) for the constituency… Mr McCrea was his party’s candidate in 2005, now believes that “the focus of all decisions that affect Lagan Valley is at Stormont and that is where I need to be. I also have significant objections to double jobbing …

“If that exercise turns out to be excessive in the right direction..”

Pete Baker on October 14, 2009, 1:23 pm

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Sir Thomas Legg, tasked with assessing MPs’ historical claims for expenses, has written to MPs explaining his decisions and asking some of those to repay monies claimed – more on the expenses row here. The BBC’s Nick Robinson records that “Senior MPs with a legal background said Sir Thomas would not have a leg to stand on if his demands for repayments – based on rules he is applying retrospectively – ever came to court.” As for our local MPs.. …

Beware anonymous party political hacks

Pete Baker on October 13, 2009, 4:18 pm

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If, like me, you raised an eyebrow at BBC NI political editor Mark Devenport reporting that an anonymous “Sinn Féin source” had told him that Chief Constable Matt Baggott and David Lavery, director of the NI Court Service, regarded the financial offer on devolving policing and justice powers as a “good package”, then this report is worth quoting. Police chiefs in the North today poured cold water on Sinn Féin claims they were happy with the British Prime Minister’s financial …

Policing and Justice: Is there an absence of political will on BOTH sides to make it happen?

Mick Fealty on October 13, 2009, 3:46 pm

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Hillary’s speech yesterday was a nice reminder to our politicians as to what was in this deal for them and the people they seek to represent… The democratic deal, as the dFM said in his remarks outside Stormont Castle yesterday depends on delivery, delivery, delivery… The FM, was clear that this is a process, kickstarted at the conclusion of the Executive lost 154 days… with an end, but no date agreed… But the underlying question of the legitimacy of the …

“the parties understand this is a step they must take together”

Pete Baker on October 12, 2009, 6:47 pm

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I see from the BBC report that the US State Department embedded a NI blogger to accompany US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on her whistle-stop visit to Northern Ireland – at the fag-end of a European tour which itself comes at the fag-end of a world tour.. Congratulations, Terry. [Was it something we said? – Ed] Our own intermittent live coverage is here. And, whatever backroom discussions have been taking place, the US Government representative is publicly acknowledging reality …

That South Belfast letter…

Mick Fealty on October 10, 2009, 3:43 am

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Bobballs has the full text of that South Belfast letter… Bob remarks: My own personal advice to the UUP is that the leadership should go to SB and meet a full session of the constituency branch… and talk till you drop. Stay there till one strategy or t’other wins out. In my estimation, these are not plotters, they’re Ulster Unionists looking for a conversation. Judge for yourself… (but I suspect its not a subject Mr Cameron wants to talk about) …

How did the Ceann Comhairle’s confidential conversations end up in a government memo?

Mick Fealty on October 8, 2009, 7:12 pm

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There have been a lot of angry voices (almost all of them Fianna Fail) on the air since the putative demise of John O’Donoghue. Now Harry McGee has seen a memo which throws some detailed light on Eamon Gilmore’s manoeuvring before opening the trapdoor under Mr O’Donoghue the other day… What’s remarkable about it is that this “internal memo prepared for Government” contains confidential details of what passed in two telephone conversations between the Ceann Comhairle and the Leader of …

Conservatives will stand in all 18 constituencies…

Mick Fealty on October 8, 2009, 2:09 pm

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Jeff Peel’s been at the Tory party conference and yesterday came across Owen Paterson… who reassured him that the South Belfast Unionist Association would not block Conservative plans to stand candidates in all 18 Northern Ireland constituencies… Yesterday I had a conversation with Owen Paterson MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and asked him what the Party position was on South Belfast. His words were very reassuring. He repeated a line he has used very often. “We will …

Unionists and Tories – enjoy the split…

Belfast Gonzo on October 8, 2009, 11:18 am

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OVER at ConservativeHome, Tory spokesman on Northern Ireland Owen Paterson confirms that UCUNF is standing Tory women and Catholics [his emphasis] in no-hope Ulster Unionist seats, somewhat reinforcing the view that both are second-class citizens in the UUP. To announce it on the eve of Sir Reg’s so-called historic speech to the Tory conference merely reinforces the divisions in the UCUNF camp; the UUP South Belfast Association don’t want the SDLP’s Alastair McDonnell to retain his seat, but UCUNF is …