Northern Irish Blogs.com

One of the main roles of Stormont Ministers is to act together as a collective in the form of the Executive. The whole point of this is to agree on the best way to do the job they were elected to do and to justify the rather large sums of money they get as Ministers.However, with the DUP and Sinn Féin refusing to meet, the process of government has ground to a standstill.As SDLP Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has said: The cancellation of Thursday’s Executive meeting is totally unacceptable.“I am outraged that amongst the many other important issues which are being held up in this logjam I am not able to progress my own housing agenda.“The people who elected us have the right to expect much better from the Ministers they entrusted with power.“This year I have set...

In a move which some will see as an attempt to emulate Sinn Féin's ill-fated 'unionist outreach' charade, the DUP is to create an 'explorative' Irish Language Unit to examine how the island's native tongue can be sidelined handled in a way which is consistent with unionism.Clearly this is as a way for Paisley's party to portray itself as somewhat progressive without having to actually concede anything to the Irish language.However, this shouldn't come as such a big shock. After all, at the Ulster Unionist Convention of 1892 in Botanic Gardens, 20,000 delegates were greeted by the banner 'Erin go Bragh', which appeared on the pavilion, surmounted by a harp and shamrocks.Wonders never...

Former Ulster Unionist councillor Harvey Bicker has joined Fianna Fáil. The ex-British soldier has not been active in frontline politics for several years. Whether or not one is a supporter of Fianna Fáil, it's certainly good news that those who formerly pledged allegiance to the British Crown are beginning to turn to the Irish...

In a shock result, the Ulster Unionist Party has retained its seat on Banbridge District Council after a bye-election in the Dromore area. The DUP, which had forced the bye-election following the resignation of UUP councillor and former rugby player Tyrone Howe, thought it would be a walk in the park. But they hadn't budgeted for the arrival of Jim Allister's Traditional Unionists on the scene.I was on the ground in the area last night during polling. A lot of people were of the opinion that TUV transfers would go back to the DUP and see them over the finishing post in first place. However, the animosity between the DUP and the two smaller Unionist parties was palpable, and I must admit I had a strong suspicion that the TUV would extract enough support from erstwhile DUP voters for the...

I attended an interesting debate in Queen's Students' Union last night which pitched political representatives against each other under the chairmanship of Jim Fitzpatrick. The event was part of the union's 'Political Activism Week.'South Belfast DUP MLA Jimmy Spratt was booked as one of the speakers, but we were informed upon arrival that he had pulled out as MEP Jim Allister had been added to the bill. Spratt was replaced by his unsuccessful fellow Stormont candidate Christopher Stalford. Making up the rest of the line-up was John Barry from the Greens, Carmel Hanna from the SDLP, Basil McCrea from the UUP, David Ford from Alliance, and Sinn Féin's Alex Maskey (who arrived 25 minutes late- no jokes please about Sinn Féin always being behind everyone else).Issues discussed included the...

I was shocked to hear about the failure of the Sinn Féin group on Belfast City Council to back a motion tabled at the monthly council meeting last night which asked councillors to support the suffering of the people of Burma and their democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.The images are fresh in our memories of the brave people of Burma standing up to the brutal regime there. It's only right that the people of the world back their struggle for justice, democracy and freedom. Sinn Féin, however, appears to disagree.SDLP councillor Carmel Hanna had asked the Belfast councillors to agree that it would be a fitting tribute to Aung San Suu Kyi to consider offering her the Freedom of the City of Belfast. The proposal was supported by UUP, Alliance and...

You've got to hand it to Martin McGuinness- for someone without RADA training it must have taken some skill to keep a straight face yesterday when he described the SDLP and UUP as the "problem parties". Clap, clap, clap. Bravo.Perhaps Mr McGuinness suffers from amnesia (probably useful given his past), but if he casts his mind back just a decade, then he will see what real problem parties were, including his own- on one side we had Sinn Féin advocating the resurrected campaign of terror being waged by the IRA and refusing to condemn provo killings, and on the other we saw the DUP refusing to entertain the idea of sharing power with nationalists and displaying just about every sectarian cliché in the book. The only problem with the SDLP and UUP for Sinn Féin and the DUP in the current...

With the ongoing debate and needless politicisation of the Irish language issue by the DUP, I hope I'm not barking up the wrong tree by showing this video as a lighthearted example of how an ability to speak both English and Irish is a good thing. There's nothing fishy about the idea of an Irish Language Act- it will help secure and enhance a linguistic heritage that belongs to everyone on this island, and will promote a greater understanding of where we have come from as we look at where we are going. The DUP and other politicians such as David McNarry may throw dog's abuse at the Irish language and its supporters, but that will not deter those who believe that an act is necessary....

I’ve recently been having an argument debate on Wikipedia over whether the SDLP is an Irish republican party- I say it is; others disagree. I pointed out that the SDLP has described itself as a republican party, but others seem to think that it depends on the perception which people have of a party which counts (an altogether less tangible measurement).So what is the definition of ‘republican’? Well, as an adjective one tends to find explanations such as “a person who favours a republican form of government” and “having the supreme power lying in the body of citizens entitled to vote for officers and representatives responsible to them or characteristic of such government.” As a noun, we find “One who favours a republic as the best form of government.” Clearly the SDLP...

There is no doubting that yesterday’s development which saw the four main parties agree which ministries they would seek in the assembly was a positive step forward- who would have thought that by April we would have seen the Paisleyites and the Provos sitting face-to-face divvying up ministerial seats alongside the UUP and SDLP?The choice of ministries the parties have made generally reflects the tack they will be taking when devolution is restored.Democratic Unionist PartyThe DUP took Finance, Trade and Enterprise, Environment, and Culture, Arts and Leisure. In recent weeks the DUP has been casting itself as the tough negotiator in terms of squeezing cash from a tight-fisted British Treasury- clearly it intends to continue in this role, opting to control the purse strings of the...

Well, this one’s been up for a few weeks. I’ll admit I forgot that the poll was there for a while! Having said that, 87 people had their say on the matter… All counted, we have a slim majority (51%) of folk who think it’s time to sever the MLA salaries. 23% disagree and want to keep paying good money for no results. 26% didn’t give a toss and were probably here for the post about Paperdoll Heaven instead! Anyway, I think it’s all academic. Stopping MLA salaries is a good idea, but it’s never going to happen. The politicians will continue to run around in circles, chasing the same old issues but ultimately doing nothing productive. The DUP will drag the peace process out for years before grudgingly going into Government with Sinn Fein. And for some...