UK – Page 10 – Slugger O'Toole

Labour’s defeat was their own guilty secret. But Boris Johnson’s matters much more

Brian Walker on December 15, 2019, 3:00 pm

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Andrew Parsons i/Images Now they tell us. Labour moderates had been watching the growth of the Conservative vote in north east of England council elections for years. But so had the Conservatives’ evil genius Dominic Cummings and he knew how to act on it. Forget obsessions with social media, go knock on doors. As Tip O’Neill the old Speaker of the US House of Representatives memorably once said, All politics is local.” And we can add, it transcends ideology alone. …

What does the election mean for the union?

Naomi O Leary on December 14, 2019, 10:58 am

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What does the UK’s seismic election result mean for the island of Ireland, Brexit and the union? We break it down in a new episode of The Irish Passport podcast: what will happen next with Brexit, whether an ‘Irish Sea border’ is really in the post, and why the vote is being described as the most serious for the union in a century. One reason Scottish National Party’s landslide victory and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s demand for a referendum on …

Severance

Andrew Gallagher on December 13, 2019, 10:32 am

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Last night’s exit polls came as a shock, the scale of both the Conservative and SNP seat predictions almost beyond belief. The cold hard reality of the morning after has brought little comfort. Remainers must be commended for fighting to the end, but the good fight is now lost. The roller-coaster has crested the summit, and Boris Johnson’s Brexit is now inevitable. If this truly was the Brexit Election, then the electorate have given their verdict. Or should that be …

This is no narrow nationalist victory. It is a demand to make power sharing work

Brian Walker on December 13, 2019, 9:50 am

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DUP 8 seats (-2), 30.6% (-5.4%) SF 7 seats (nc), 22.8% (-6.6%) Alliance 1 seat (+1), 16.8% (+8.9%) SDLP 2 seats (+2), 14.9% (+3.2%) UUP 11.7% (+1.4%) Let’s say it clear. This is a great result for Northern Ireland. It’s simplistic to call it a victory of nationalism over unionism. It shows that voters on both sides of the divide are capable of breaking out of the monolithic duopoly. The DUP and SF have been punished for Stormont deadlock and …

The Beginning of the End of the United Kingdom

Gerry Lynch on December 12, 2019, 11:11 pm

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In 1918 the United Kingdom as it had existed was blown apart by a trifecta of landslides; a Tory landslide in Great Britain driven by a three-way split in the centre-left vote; a Sinn Féin landslide in most of Ireland; and an Ulster Unionist landslide in what would soon become Northern Ireland. This election is more most consequential than any in the 101 years since, and it too has been marked by competing landslides: a Tory landslide in England and …

With the best will in the world, you can’t know what you’re voting for today

Brian Walker on December 12, 2019, 2:37 pm

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Let’s begin at (your) home. After all the mystery and muttering about tactics after the election, do you know which main party the DUP would support in government? I don’t. But Nigel Dodds sounds as if he’s nuzzling up to the Tories again with or without an overall majority There is no doubt that if we reach a tariff-free trade deal with the European Union, that will eliminate the need for most if not all customs checks..I sincerely hope …

While you’re waiting for election results, why not take a look at the state of Brexit from the Irish point of view?

Brian Walker on December 11, 2019, 12:32 pm

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Fairly dramatic conclusions about the future of the Union and stability in Northern Ireland have been produced in the third Brexit Status Report of the Dublin based Institute of European and International Affairs. Rather disappointingly the Report avoids discussing post Brexit strategies for restoring Stormont or if they fail, options such as direct rule, joint authority or an accountability mechanism for the Northern Ireland people on the future of the “frontstop,” assuming it is ratified by Parliament. A border …

An hour-by-hour guide to election night

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on December 10, 2019, 11:35 pm

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It’s almost over. The fights that didn’t happen, the interviews that didn’t take place, the ice statues that melted, an election campaign that would make even the most hardened election nerd feel like the kid in Matilda that had to eat all the chocolate cake, is nearly at a close. There is little to do but settle in for a long night of bar charts, ridiculous graphics, and the unique sight of watching politicians’ entire careers evaporate live on stage …

Lies and democracy: Who are the truth tellers?

Allan LEONARD (Mr Ulster) on December 9, 2019, 10:17 am

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Lies and democracy: Who are the truth tellers? by Allan LEONARD 6 December 2019 As part of the annual general meeting of NICVA, the umbrella body of the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland, there was a panel discussion on the topics of truth, trust, and how everyone engages with a bombardment of information. Entitled, “Lies and Democracy: The Fight for the Truth”, BBC Radio Ulster presenter, Seamus McKee, moderated the discussion with panellists Amanda Ferguson, John Barry, and …

Distrust in politicians? The answer lies in ourselves

Brian Walker on December 9, 2019, 9:19 am

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PA Media, Reuter’s, AFP Whatever the result of this election, it will be greeted mainly with foreboding outside the ranks of the winning party, an interlude rather than a denouement in the tortured saga of Brexit. Trust will remain as elusive as ever as another chapter of story is opened. The campaign is riven by lies and fantasy. There is a chorus of comment along these lines in the London papers today. What impels politicians in these directions? We can …

On border checks the evidence from his own government mounts but Boris keeps brazening out the denial

Brian Walker on December 8, 2019, 11:39 pm

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It’s more than depressing when the prime minister keeps brazening out denials about checks between GB and NI. He actually contradicts himself between “ no checks” and “the only checks” within a couple of sentences below. When asked on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday whether there would be checks, in light of the leaked Treasury document, Johnson replied: “No, absolutely not… The deal we’ve done with the EU is a brilliant deal and it allows us to do all …

This Strangely Misfiring Tory Campaign Just Makes Me Wonder

Gerry Lynch on December 8, 2019, 8:00 am

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This is a very strange election campaign from the Conservatives. The Tory messaging for the final week is all wrong. My browser is full of Tory ads calling on me to “Get Brexit Done” when everyone knows Boris is all about that; if anything, they risk alienating the key group of Remainers who voted Tory in 2017. The Tories are currently hanging on to just five-eighths of these voters, and any further slippage could be fatal. As far as potential …

Back to Stormont soon and Johnson’s deal could work, say DUP and Sinn Fein. Dreams coming true or fake news?

Brian Walker on December 7, 2019, 6:04 pm

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Is there an election on? DUP And Sinn Fein leaders are sounding optimistic notes to tempt waverers into the polling stations. Both party leaderships are also forecasting a return to Stormont any day now – without troubling us with the details of a deal. Here we also have the astounding phenomenon of Nigel Dodds and Mary Lou McDonald both speaking in favour of Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement – a worse deal that Theresa May’s and which they were condemning only …

The backtop is back in business after Johnson’s denial is nakedly exposed

Brian Walker on December 6, 2019, 1:06 pm

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It’s not actually news that there will “be a border down the Irish Sea” if Boris Johnson’s withdrawal agreement is passed. But if the document Jeremy Corbyn has been waving this morning is an authentic Treasury paper, it shows that Johnson is lying or at best or in denial. He will surely be pressed to explain himself in tonight’s BBC debate with Jeremy Corbyn. Taken at face value it means Johnson will denounce his own withdrawal agreement as soon as …

Americanizing the NHS

Elizabeth Nelson on December 6, 2019, 9:25 am

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I was on a boat in the middle of the Gulf of Finland when I found out my uncle had passed away. We all knew it was coming, but the speed with which it arrived sent my head and heart spinning, because once again I would miss the funeral of a family member. That part of the story is more about being an immigrant; another story for another time. The part of being an immigrant that is relevant here, is …

Human rights: the Union’s best friend

Patrick Corrigan on December 4, 2019, 9:02 am

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The resolution of rights issues could help pave the way for a return of devolved government in 2020. What needs to be faced – by unionist parties above all others – is that Northern Ireland only has a long-term future if it can become a society that people of all backgrounds are happy to call home, knowing they and their rights will be respected. Those in favour of Northern Ireland having another 100 years, should start looking for ways to make it a beacon for human rights.

The Labour left have won the party battle but with ammunition like this, they look like losing the war

Brian Walker on December 3, 2019, 4:17 pm

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Andrew Murray Andrew Murray is an easy man to demonise. Born to Scottish gentry, he’s a Unite official and former Communist, joining Jeremy Corbyn’s team only in 2016. Accused of being a Russian spy, he claimed he was a victim of the British “deep state.” Nevertheless the Financial Times has paid Murray the compliment of objectively reviewing his new book “The Rise and Fall of the British Left. “ Like it or loathe it, the Left critique of post-recession capitalism …

Johnson blames Labour and Tory predecessors for release of the latest London Bridge bomber

Brian Walker on December 1, 2019, 1:32 pm

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The parochial thought occurs that since the Omagh atrocity of 21 years ago, Northern Ireland has been relatively fortunate in not experiencing more of the dreadful recidivism by released terrorists similar to that which occurred on Friday around London Bridge. Not that recidivism has been entirely absent in the actions of dissident republicans and loyalist mobsters. In both republican and loyalist areas they’ve been schooled and even run by former veterans of the main paramilitary groups. But overall, a negotiated …

The party leaders are losing control of the election debate

Brian Walker on November 26, 2019, 10:30 pm

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Almost single handedly the BBC interviewer Andrew Neil is exposing the thinness of the main party leaders arguments – even those of the normally poised and practiced Nicola Sturgeon. who was rattled as never before. A minority Labour government would not need to be the SNP’s suitor – the SNP have nowhere else to go. A second referendum overturning the result of the first would deprive her of her best argument for Indy Ref 2. Would the EU welcome …

Book Review: The Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968-1999, by Margaret M. Scull

Gladys Ganiel on November 25, 2019, 1:03 pm

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A rich and carefully-researched new book, The Catholic Church and the Northern Ireland Troubles, 1968-1999 (Oxford University Press, 2019), offers fresh insights on the changing role of the Catholic Church and the personalities that drove its interventions during that fraught period. The author, Margaret M. Scull, a post-doctoral research fellow at NUI Galway, writes in a clear, accessible style, ensuring the text will be of interest not only to scholars, but a general readership. There will be a Belfast launch …