UUP – Page 13 – Slugger O'Toole

Cartoon – Unionist power play…

Brian Spencer on October 3, 2015, 4:08 pm

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In the fallout from the murder of Kevin McGuigan and the decision of Nesbitt to play the strong man the DUP have had to tilt the unionist axis back towards Dundela Avenue, deploying the “in-out” routine as part of he “no business as usual” policy. All this means the health minister has been kept away from his position in office. Brian SpencerBrian is a writer, artist, political cartoonist and legal blogger. Actively tweeting from @brianjohnspencr. More information here: http://www.brianjohnspencer.com/ www.brianjohnspencer.com/

Portadown Times gets pinged for not disclosing provenance of DUP commissioned poll in Upper Bann

Mick Fealty on September 25, 2015, 5:03 pm

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And as the week closes, here’s an interesting wee bit of business for the UUP leader Mike Nesbitt in Upper Bann… The Portadown Times published results from what it said was an “independent” poll ahead of May’s general election. But it failed to acknowledge that the survey had actually been commissioned by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Mr Nesbitt said the article “appears to have skewed” the election result. The article suggested that the gap in support between the DUP …

Reeling in the years: Collapse of devolution throughout the years

David McCann on September 10, 2015, 8:10 pm

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The collapse of devolution has happened before in Northern Ireland and whilst we await the pending demise of the current Executive I thought it’d be interesting courtesy of AP to take a trip down memory lane to see other collapses in the past. Direct rule introduced in March 1972. Here is the outgoing Prime Minister, Brian Faulkner protesting the British governments security policies. Brian Faulkner following the UWC Strike in May 1974. The first power-sharing coalition between the Official Unionists, …

Beginning of the end? DUP won’t attend Executive meetings & Sinn Fein won’t be distracted

David McCann on September 7, 2015, 8:57 pm

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Peter Robinson set out his plan today that seems to indicate the beginning of the end for the Executive. Flanked by his parliamentary party, he told reporters; For our part we will take steps to ensure that pending a satisfactory resolution of the outstanding issues business will not be as usual. As a first step there will be no further meetings of the Northern Ireland Executive unless we deem there are exceptional circumstances. In addition there will be no North …

Michael Copeland steps down from the Assembly

David McCann on September 7, 2015, 6:30 am

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More change in the Assembly as the Irish News political correspondent, John Manley reports that the UUPs East Belfast MLA, Michael Copeland has resigned his post effective 31st August. Speaking about the decision the Unionist leader, Mike Nesbitt says; As an elected representative Michael was good for us and good for me because he valued compassion above all else and relentlessly championed policies which put the rights and needs of people first, particularly the vulnerable I would imagine that local …

A Little Perspective on the Spat at Stormont

Patricia MacBride on September 3, 2015, 10:29 pm

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On a day when the front page of most of the newspapers on these islands carried a heart-wrenching photograph of a little boy drowned on a Turkish beach, we really need to catch ourselves on and make sure our politicians do likewise. Like Jude Collins, I heard PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton on the news setting out that the IRA does not exist as a paramilitary organisation and that its members are pursuing their goals through exclusively peaceful means. You …

34 bills in four and a half years; Example of a “Do Nothing” Executive?

David McCann on August 31, 2015, 2:14 pm

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It is now pretty much seen as very likely that our government will fall at some point in the next few months. In this fit of pessimism I thought I would take a look back at the record of this Assembly since it was elected back in May 2011. I must confess the Irish News political correspondent, John Manley back in March 2013 did take a look at this and found that the Assembly had passed just 11 bills in …

Nesbitt: “This is not about wrecking things or pulling things down.”

David McCann on August 29, 2015, 11:10 pm

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The UUP Executive met in the Park Ave Hotel in East Belfast to formally decide whether to pull out of the Northern Ireland Executive. Around 90 delegates debated the issue for over an hour and unanimously voted to leave. The sole UUP minister, Danny Kennedy will tender his resignation on Tuesday and Mike Nesbitt will refuse to nominate a successor. The post will then fall to the DUP to fill the vacancy. For such an important decision there was a …

UUP leaving the executive: anti agreement unionism for slow learners

Turgon on August 28, 2015, 5:58 pm

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So the UUP have finally done something exciting and left the Executive (or at least will once their own party executive rubber stamps the decision). The internal unionist politics of this: both why it was a politically good idea and the potential ramifications are significant and worth a separate blog (which I may get to at some point). For the meantime, however, looking from a pan unionist point of view why this matters is also important. There have always been …

Why do we price in all manner of ugly affairs but not the possibility of change?

Mick Fealty on August 27, 2015, 9:39 am

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There seems to be a presumption that the withdrawal of the UUP was purely in response to the muder of two men and the unstated relationship to those killings to the sill existing commandstructure of the IRA. Micheal Martin’s statement yesterday provides deeper context: “The decision of the UUP to withdraw its minister from the Executive is deeply regrettable. It confirms Fianna Fáil’s concerns about the seriousness of the situation facing the Northern Ireland institutions. This latest development comes following …

Nesbitt: “That decision is to withdraw from the Northern Ireland Executive, to form an Opposition and offer people an alternative, as is the way in any proper democracy.”

David McCann on August 26, 2015, 3:36 pm

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A confident Mike Nesbitt walked down the staircase of the Great Hall in Stormont with his parliamentary colleagues to make a significant announcement about the future of the UUP’s involvement in the Executive. Nesbitt began by speaking of the risks and political pain that his party had taken in the past to secure devolution in Northern Ireland saying; In 1998, the Ulster Unionist Party stretched itself very close to breaking point to secure the return of Devolution, because it was …

Allister on why we need further reform of SpAds at Stormont

Soapbox on August 11, 2015, 10:52 am

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The leader of the TUV, Jim Allister MLA is proposing a private members bills to reduce the number of SpAds at Stormont. Writing for Slugger, he sets out his case for reform of the current system After successfully piloted a Special Advisers Bill through the Assembly to remove convicts as SpAds, I have now drafted a further Bill to do three things – (i) reduce the number of SpAds, (ii) cut their salaries and (iii) ensure they are subject to …

Belfast City Council votes in favour of Same Sex Marriage

David McCann on June 2, 2015, 10:18 am

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Belfast City Councillors voted in favour of Same Sex Marriage last night. The motion which was brought by Alliance Party Councillor, Emmet McDonough-Brown and seconded by Sinn Fein’s Jim McVeigh was passed 38 votes in favour to 13 against. Two councillors from the SDLP group abstained on the vote. Speaking on his motion Cllr McDonough-Brown said that people who want to be able to commit to each other should be able to and that fundamentally we had a choice to …

Five thoughts on the #MarRef (including what next for fortress Norn Iron?)

Mick Fealty on May 24, 2015, 11:55 am

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A few personal thoughts on yesterday’s referendum, and then five more… One, this was a victory for middle Ireland, not just its radical edges. 80% in some working class areas of Dublin and majorities in plain if slender majorities each of the two Donegal constituencies (last time we’ll see that happen before the next general election probably) suggest this was genuine and popular vote, from more than the metrosexuals of D4. Two, for once political parties and the people where …

Mike Nesbitt on Gavin Robinson, David Simpson, good grace and polls

Soapbox on May 18, 2015, 6:58 am

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In the aftermath of the Westminster Election the UUP are now back in the House of Commons. Writing for Slugger, the Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mike Nesbitt writes for us about election night and hits back at the DUP’s David Simpson. UK-wide, the 2015 General Election has been defined by the Conservative’s outright win, the tsunami of momentum behind the SNP and the failure of pundits and pollsters to call it right. Here, the latter also featured, but to me, …

After #GE2015… The UUP reborn, or just lucky?

Mick Fealty on May 14, 2015, 6:52 am

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Guess what, there’s another UUP success that I didn’t see coming. In my mind, though in retrospect it was a flawed form of thinking, I honestly thought South Antrim would fall to the party quicker than Fermanagh and South Tyrone. In fact they won both, and nearly took Upper Bann. Despite my own trepidation last year, if the Unionist pact played to anyone’s strength it was the UUP rather than the DUP. FST came in for them at a relative canter, reflecting …

Now Westminster is settled, here’s all the other unsettling business NI politicians need to get back to

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on May 9, 2015, 3:35 pm

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It’s back to work on Monday for our local politicians. There’ll be no commission on the union (though David Cameron should now outright reject the idea), no extra £1 billion of cash, and no immediate possibility of bargaining for the 45 ideas in the DUP’s plan. Though over the next parliamentary term there are sure to be plenty of tight votes in which The Northern Ireland Plan can come out of Nigel Dodds’ back pocket and be used as bargaining …

Fermanagh South Tyrone: one day a unionist will stand on that stage as victor.

Turgon on May 8, 2015, 7:47 pm

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As a number of people have noted 5 years ago I did a blog in the aftermath of Rodney Connor’s defeat in Fermanagh South Tyrone. Many unionists (like myself) were disconsolate. Many unionists and nationalists regarded FST as lost to unionism forever. It had in Gildernew a relatively young MP who had just been re elected for the second time; a unionist pact had failed to defeat her and the greening of the west had almost completed, threatening to bring …

The message for unionists: pacts work

Turgon on May 8, 2015, 11:41 am

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One of the critical points in this election for unionists was in March 2013. That was when Martin McGuinness stood down as MP and in the ensuing election Francie Molloy was elected. Nigel Lutton (whose father Frederick had been murdered by the IRA and Molloy connected with that murder in the House of Commons by the DUP’s David Simpson) stood as a united unionist candidate. That resulted in a modest increase in the unionist vote which Mike Nesbitt claimed as …

LGBT issues: Northern Ireland party views – UPDATED

The Firemen on April 22, 2015, 8:23 pm

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(Updated to include responses from the Ulster Unionist Party and People Before Profit) Research conducted by Ruth McCarthy highlights some stark differences between the parties contesting this years Westminster elections in Northern Ireland on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues. A series of questions were asked: 1a Does your party visibly support LGBTQ equality issues in your party manifesto, on your website and in election campaigning materials? If YES, please give examples. If NO, please state why. 1b Please give …