UK

Derry Essays 6: So good they’ve named it several times…

| Readers 38

Whether it is the Derry Air, the Londonderry Air or Danny Boy you sing, one sure thing is that if you’re from the North West you have a more than reasonable chance to have a fine voice and musical talent – and as a musician born from the musical Cassidy clan from Derry I don’t need to throw the stone too far at all! Of course another feature is the modesty of those in all of the Arts field whose …

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The Conservative link and the geopolitics of the United Kingdom

| Readers 115

As voters from Lerwick to Penzance prepare to cast their votes on the 6th May they will be afforded the right to do two things that are central to any real democracy. First they will be able to elect a new Parliament from which a new government will be formed to represent them. Secondly, they will pass judgement on the government that has been running the country for the last five years. Yet there is one part of the United …

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Gerry Adams: It’s not about the oath

| Readers 338

On BBC NI’s Talkback the Sinn Féin president, Gerry Adams, was asked whether, if elected, Sinn Féin candidates would take their seats in Westminster if they didn’t have to take, or affirm, the Parliamentary oath of allegiance.  Answer, “No”.  There’s a Parliamentary research paper on the history of the oath and Sinn Féin’s legal challenge in 1997 here [pdf file]. The research paper contains a quote from an Irish Times report dated 5 December 1997.   Mr Adams said the question of the oath was “a bit …

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Fears over the end of the overnight count allayed

| Readers 7

At the end of last summer, the media was buzzing with fears that right at the moment that Northern Ireland was re-embracing overnight counts, many English local authorities were threatening to pull out of nocturnal calculations at the General Election. As you’d expect, a Facebook group was formed, and electoral officers (described by Tory MP Peter Bone as “tin-pot, upstart little town clerks”) across the UK were surveyed to find out their plans. By January 2010, BBC Newsnight’s Michael Crick …

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On that Newsletter “Slugger O’Toole” poll…

| Readers 13

For those of you wondering why we got ‘scooped’ on our own poll, as reported on the Newsletter this morning, it’s because it’s not actually our poll. We had been talking to Lucid Talk about running a depth poll in two key constituencies, rather than an 18 constituency wide survey. Bill White, former chair of South Belfast Ulster Unionist Association, who owns LucidTalk, explains below the fold:

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Pollsters predict Tories reaching 300

| Readers 3

On the headline poll trends we’re heading for a Conservative minority government and lengthening odds on Commons electoral reform. Peter Kellner, the YouGov president, predicts 300 seats for the Tories, 230 for Labour and 90 for the Lib Dems. His prediction on the Sunday before the last election was within a seat of the final outcome. A similar prediction is provided by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher of Plymouth University, based on council by-elections. Their forecast is for the Conservatives …

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Gordon Brown: “You can see the moment his political career leaves his body”

| Readers 101

Jon Stewart on why the UK debates don’t matter after the first one… He absolutely hammers UK politics for its triviality… It’s over five minutes, but the end is worth waiting for… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Northern Ireland parties give verdicts on PM debate

| Readers 2

Most of them…  From the BBC report The DUP, the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists, the SDLP and Alliance gave a mixed reaction to the debate. TUV and the Green Party also gave their view. Sinn Fein declined to comment. Well, it was a debate about the economy… Pete Baker

Election 2010: Things I believed in yesterday…

| Readers 7

I picked this up this morning, it’s a Tory leaflet warning people of the big danger of a hung Parliament… 24 hours ago it was a decent pitch. Today, I’m not sure anyone believes Gordon can be PM any more… Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty

Sinn Féin’s politics of delusion

| Readers 27

Sinn Féin’s response to criticism of their refusal to sit at Westminster in the face of proposed cuts post-election has been to call on all the other parties “to unite with us against the cuts”, and even to press for an increase in the block grant.  At the same time the party’s manifesto, along with others, wants fiscal powers devolved and corporation tax reduced – whilst also refusing to agree to the introduction of water charges.  Balance those books. The example Gerry Adams …

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Fermanagh Council: “at best prima facie discriminatory and certainly unedifying”

| Readers 11

A BBC report notes the publication, one month after the ruling was made, of a High Court judgement which orders that Fermanagh District Council must pay the Local Government Auditor’s bill of £38,178 for an investigation into the controversial appointment of Rodney Connor as Chief Executive of the Council in 2000.  From the BBC report In his ruling [Mr Justice Higgins] emphasised that the proceedings reflect in no way upon the ability or integrity of Mr Connor who “all parties acknowledged to be a …

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Baggott outlines police response to security threat

| Readers 2

A BBC report notes the NI Police Federation’s concerns about “insufficient resources” being available to PSNI Chief Constable Matt Baggott as an emergency meeting of the Policing Board discussed the increasing activities of still-violent republican groups.  UTV has the quotes from Matt Baggott, and others, following the meeting  “We’ll be doing vehicle checkpoints throughout the next couple of weeks and probably beyond that”, Mr Baggott said. “I know they are a huge inconvenience to the public but let’s be very clear the responsibility …

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Election 2010: Smarter GB electorate playing with the political classes?

| Readers 5

Alex Kane reckons that the Tories will still make it across the line in this election. My own view is that the forces at work are more complex than at any time in my memory (and I can go back to about 1970), not least because of the complex tools available via the net (take a bow Electoral Calculus). I suspect the humble two party swingometer is functionally dead from here on in. Regardless of the outcome of this election. …

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DUP kettle calling Cameron’s fiscal pot black?

| Readers 11

Here’s a nice piece of balance to the headlines in today’s News Letter and Belfast Telegraph… It’s the first paragraph of the economy section of the 2010 DUP manifesto [Emphasis added]: Growing the private sector is the key to economic success. It will be the private sector that will lead the UK into economic recovery.We need low interest rates and must reign back public spending and invest more wisely. Spending reductions must be pursued rather than seeking to increase taxes, …

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On this trend the Tories may go it alone

| Readers 2

In the swirls of election comment,  Andrew Neil’s analysis hasn’t taken hold yet. But watch out for it to become orthodoxy – for at least for five minutes. The Conservatives have their dander up. Shares in Clegg may be a touch overvalued. After the election, a notional two weeks are being set aside to form a government. Is it long enough to agree any position on something as radical as electoral reform? Only if the Lib Dems win 100 seats …

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“The Provos are giving the police information non-stop”

| Readers 166

A Sunday Times report on efforts to counter the increasing activity of still-violent republican groups begins by noting the recent returning to prison of a man released on licence in 1992.  Pending a legal challenge, no doubt.  From the Sunday Times The Northern Ireland Office is examining intelligence information supplied by MI5 on dissident republicans who were released early under the Good Friday agreement to check if there is evidence to seek their immediate return to prison. Martin Corey, 60, who …

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Ireland 1 – Formerly mighty Blighty 0

| Readers 4

Hot on the heals of a Henry McDonald article proclaiming the south to be a country on the edge of bankruptcy and a people seething with anger over the greed and profligacy of the nation’s political and financial elite. Marc Coleman dons the cudgels for Ireland and counters that Ireland is on a path to real recovery, while the timing of the British election has meant that the UK economy has become a fools paradise with hard decisions delayed. Whether …

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NI leader’s debate: “This was politics on bromide”

| Readers 2

In the Sunday Times Liam Clarke provides the most accurate assessment of the Northern Ireland party leaders debate so far. Dougal did put a few awkward questions about abstentionism and expenses to Adams and Robinson, but these interventions made no more than a plop on the placid surface of the leisurely discussion. This was politics on bromide. In football parlance, Ritchie, Empey, Robinson and Adams all played a closed, defensive game. There were no long balls, no fouls, and no …

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Sunday polls: Conservatives nose ahead in a volatile race

| Readers 2

Still not brilliant news in Sunday’s polls for the Tories, but I would rather be in their shoes than Labour’s today: no momentum and the campaign (substance vs, erm, ‘the damned Tories’) is slowly disintegrating. Things are still holding up pretty well for the Lib Dems. And after last week’s wobble (as Clegg came into the frame) Cameron’s ratings seem to be heading north again. If I were a Labour hack, one thing (amongst many) to worry about is not the polls …

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