Posts Tagged 'Conservatives'

Lord Feldman Commits to Cutting Ties with UUP

Published January 5, 2012 News 6 Comments
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Lord Feldman’s recent statement, written for the Belfast Telegraph, is to be welcomed. It makes clear the Conservative Party’s intention to do what it should have done decades ago – namely to seek a mandate to govern, and to organise, in every part of the UK. The statement is especially welcome as it includes sections that I wrote myself, on behalf of the Party, several years ago – before the ill-fated UCUNF debacle.

I wish the new Northern Irish Conservatives every success. At last we may start to see the normalisation of our politics.

Conservatives Running in Assembly Elections

Published December 5, 2010 Opinion 4 Comments
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It looks likely that local Conservatives are to be required to be nice to the UUP in the Assembly elections next year.

According to Mark Devenport over on his blog, “Conservative HQ will have to sort this one out – watch out for a fudge which might see some local Tory candidates running, albeit with pledges of non-hostility and mutual voting transfers.”

That is an outcome that should not be tolerated by local Conservatives. It’s the political equivalent of being tethered by the ankle to a crazy aunt – but still expected to attend the ball.

Basil McCrea’s U-Turns

Published September 11, 2010 Opinion 3 Comments
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Basil McCrea MLA

Image via Wikipedia

Basil McCrea, one of the hapless ones who wishes to “lead” the rudderless UUP, has made clear that he wants to distance the UUP from the Conservatives. According to Henry McDonald, writing in the Guardian on Monday, McCrea has vowed to break the “disastrous” link with the Conservatives if elected leader.

It’s rather unlikely that the rag-bag membership of the UUP will elect Mr McCrea leader - if indeed the Party can actually muster the organisational skills to hold an election.

But, ignoring that point for the minute, Mr McCrea’s position is markedly different from the position he held re. the Conservative merger prior to the disastrous general election outcome for “UCUNF.” He has performed a remarkable U-turn.

The fact is that McCrea once considered a partnership with the  Conservatives to be an absolute necessity for the UUP. McCrea made clear to me – and Owen Paterson, Conservative spokesman on Northern Ireland at the time – that he may even defect to the Conservatives if the UUP was not prepared to do the deal.

Indeed, prior to a crucial vote on the matter by the UUP Council, on September 18, 2008, Mr McCrea requested a meeting with Owen Paterson to brief the Shadow Secretary of State on how to handle the Council meeting. The two met to agree the correct form of words to appeal to the old die-hards like David McNarry and other Tory-sceptics.

At that meeting, that I attended, McCrea made it clear that acceptance of the deal with the Conservatives was essential. The meeting took place at The Plough pub/restaurant in Hillsborough.

Now hindsight is a wonderful thing. And I’d agree with McCrea that the deal between the two parties was utterly hopeless and useless – but I saw the writing on the wall a year before the general election was called. UCUNF failed spectacularly because of the UUP’s fossilised membership and sectarian intransigence – coupled with dithering and incoherent ‘leadership’ (and general Conservative Party capitulation on every point of political principle).

McCrea’s insistence that the UUP distances itself from a “London party” is to be applauded – as it will put the UUP’s little Ulster mentality into sharp relief and will seal its final demise.

But, then again, he’s unlikely to be elected. Never mind, I’m sure Mr Elliott will succeed in making the party equally irrelevant.

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UUP Suck Local Tories Dry

Published May 17, 2010 News 10 Comments
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I gather that Conservative Party central office has laid-off its 3 members of staff in Belfast following the disastrous Conservative/Ulster Unionist Party alliance that saw a decline in the combined Conservative/UUP vote here at the general election.

It appears that the NI Area of the Conservative Party is literally depleted of funds – having invested just about all of its money running (mostly UUP) candidates in the general election – and funding the majority of Jim Nicholson’s Euro election campaign.

Moreover while Nicholson’s Euro-expenses help fund two local employees, the Conservatives receive no benefit (despite having funded his campaign).

I gather that all three CCHQ employees here – including Neil Johnston, the local campaign Director – are now on “gardening leave”.  CCHQ has not made clear if it will be funding a local office here in future.  Moreover the UUP “leader”, Sir Reg Empey, made clear at an Executive meeting of the UUP at the weekend that his party’s relationship with the Conservative Party is now under review.

Robinson Spills Beans re. Fermanagh South Tyrone

Published May 4, 2010 Opinion 4 Comments
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Paterson negotiated sectarian deal in candidate's "front room"

Peter Robinson, in tonight’s Northern Ireland Leaders’ Debate, made clear that Owen Paterson was intimately involved in the sectarian carve-up in Fermanagh South Tyrone.  According to Robinson, Paterson helped negotiate the deal to field an independent candidate in Fermanagh South Tyrone – in the candidate’s “front room.”

The Conservatives have suggested that the deal was done between the UUP and DUP directly.  Robinson, this evening, has made clear that the Conservative Party’s Shadow NI Secretary was a negotiator in the deal to field Rodney Connor as the the agreed Protestant Unionist candidate – against the incumbent Michelle Gildernew.

Paterson’s consistent involvement in Unionist Unity deals – Hatfield House and Fermanagh South Tyrone – and his failure to distance himself from the UUP/DUP/Orange pact talks – must ask us to question how genuine he is about a commitment to a non-sectarian future for Northern Ireland politics, and the Conservative Party’s role in it.

Paterson has serious questions to answer.

SDLP: No Nationalist Pact

Published April 13, 2010 News , Opinion Leave a Comment
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I’m very encouraged to note that Margaret Ritchie and her team at the SDLP has rejected overtures from Sinn Fein to form an electoral pact for certain target marginal constituencies in the upcoming general election.  Should such a pact be put in place it would almost certainly result in the SDLP retaining South Belfast and Sinn Fein retaining Fermanagh South Tyrone.

The SDLP’s decision to reject such an overture shows that it recognises a clear constitutional difference between itself and Sinn Fein.  That difference, of course, is clear to see – in that Sinn Fein has had a rather shorter tenure as a constitutional, non-violent, political organisation.  The SDLP seems to be coming to terms with Northern Ireland as a political entity – and its role within it.  It seems keen to be seen as an honest broker. 

The same cannot be said of the UUP – or, rather, the dysfunctional, rudderless factions that the UUP has become.  The largest of these factions is getting increasingly close to the DUP – aided and abetted by the Conservative Party.  It seems increasingly likely that if the UUP receives little support at the general election for its ‘new force’ with the Conservatives – which wouldn’t be surprising given the lack-lustre line-up of candidates – it will quickly enter into some type of partnership with the DUP for the Assembly elections.  The alternative will be electoral annihilation. 

I’d hope that the SDLP might be rewarded for acting on principle.  However, the consequence, in Fermanagh South Tyrone will almost certainly be the election of a candidate that is being offered to the electorate as non-sectarian – but who is a pawn in a highly sectarian selection process defined by the DUP, UUP and Conservative Party.

Thankfully I’m not alone…

Published April 11, 2010 Opinion 8 Comments
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It’s encouraging to note that I’m not alone in highlighting the contradictions of the Conservative/UUP/DUP sectarian pact for Fermanagh South Tyrone.  Here are a few of the more interesting quotes from the media and other blogs…

The unionist unity deal in Fermanagh South Tyrone highlights a major stress line — some would say contradiction — in the thinking behind the UUP’s pact with the Conservatives.  David Gordon, Belfast Telegraph

It undermines, possibly fatally, the main publicised selling-point behind the UUP and Conservative link-up. Election pacts such as this can not deliver the new pro-Union politics promised here.  O’Neill, Pint of Unionist Lite

The outcome in the UK’s most westerly constituency clearly runs contrary to David Cameron’s pledge that every voter in the UK would have a chance to vote for him.  Stephen Walker, BBC NI

Tories break pledge to field candidates in all Northern Ireland constituencies.  Nicolas Watt, The Guardian

I believe that the deal was a huge mistake on the part of the Conservative leadership and one which they will eventually regret.  Seymour Major, Tory Story

The announcement of a Tory-aligned unionist ‘unity’ candidate is a serious attempt to drive us back to the failed sectarian politics of the past.  Feargal McKinney SDLP Candidate for Fermanagh South Tyrone

Lady Hermon to Stand for Labour?

Published February 24, 2010 News , Opinion 14 Comments
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Thanks to Iain Dale for Making this a Daley Dozen Post

I am delighted – ecstatic almost – to hear that Boyd Black, of the Labour Party here, has appealed to Lady Hermon about potentially standing as a Labour candidate in North Down. 

Boyd and I were both active in the Campaign for Equal Citizenship over 2 decades ago.  I had the pleasure to catch up with him a few months back.  We had a long chat over several coffees and Lady Sylvia’s Labour-leaning tendencies were discussed.

According to the News Letter, Boyd has appealed to Lady Hermon to stand as the Labour candidate in the North Down constituency.  If that were to happen we would face the enthralling prospect of a head to head Labour v Conservative fight.  Now that would be wonderful.  OK North Down is a crazy constituency but a media feeding frenzy would descend upon it – and that would help make clear that Northern Ireland can do proper UK politics as well as anywhere else.  It would be the most fascinating electoral fight for decades. 

Lady Hermon has never taken a blind bit of notice of anything I have ever said (even when I have been in the same room as her, never mind appealing to her via the blogosphere) but I would urge her to run for Labour. 

She may not get official endorsement from the Party in London, but if she were to make clear that she would take the Labour whip, and she were to run against Ian Parsley as the Conservative candidate, she will be taking a significant step towards introducing real democracy to this place. 

For too long the Labour Party has hidden behind its Unity by Consent dogma as an excuse to ignore this part of the United Kingdom and to evade its responsibilities to seek a mandate to govern every part of the United Kingdom.

This is a master-stroke by Boyd Black and I wish him every success.  Over to you Sylvia…

Hatfield House: Details Emerge

Published February 2, 2010 Opinion 5 Comments
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Both The Guardian and The Times are running stories this morning about Owen Paterson’s tri-partite talks held in Hatfield House earlier in the month. 

Both stories suggest that the discussions focused on the creation of a united Unionist party in Northern Ireland politics.  In effect Paterson’s ambition was for the UUP and DUP to be absorbed into the Conservative Party.  This foolish initiative back-fired badly when the DUP promptly spilled the beans to the media.  A couple of the UUP’s more moronic MLAs played neatly into the DUP’s plans and argued the merits of Unionist unity as well.

This ill-conceived plan illustrates the extent of Paterson’s political naivity.  He may have learned his lessons from the experience but the learning comes too late.  In my view David Cameron needs to act swiftly to restore faith in his Northern Ireland project.  He could start by replacing Paterson.

However, the UUP ‘relationship’ is all but dead now.  Many UUP supporters of the link with the Conservative Party can show their support by joining the Conservative Party.  The Party should put up 18 candidates here at the general election – drawn entirely from its own membership. 

And I’m pretty sure that the three excellent candidates who withdrew from the candidate race would throw their hats back in.

Unionist Unity and Ulster Nationalism

Published January 20, 2010 Opinion 11 Comments
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A slide used by Owen Paterson MP to convince the UUP that the DUP was an Ulster Nationalist party. Click to enlarge.

If news reports are to be believed that the Conservative Party held talks with the DUP and UUP about an electoral ‘pact’ this will also spell the end of this author’s relationship with the Conservative Party.  It will also spell the end of hope for non-sectarian, secular politics in Northern Ireland. 

Conservatives met senior DUP and Ulster Unionist leaders at a secret venue in England at week-end. Issues: Unionist unity/hung parliament – How Eamonn Mallie broke the story on Twitter yesterday

Ian Paisley Junior, this morning on Radio Ulster, suggested the talks were about Unionist unity for the Unionist (AKA Protestant) people.  He may be right – but they will also clearly demonstrate that the Conservative Party is willing to behave cynically for short term electoral advantage.  Doing a deal with the UUP is bad enough.  However, a pact with the DUP – a discredited, Protestant fundamentalist and highly sectarian party – will dismay a significant cohort of voters that are sickened by what passes for politics here.

The fact that such talks were held reeks of the involvement of Jonathan Caine – Owen Paterson’s new “Chief of Staff”.  Jonathan’s “expert” perspectives on Northern Ireland politics map very neatly onto the DUP’s concept of a “Unionist people”.  However I’m disappointed that Owen Paterson agreed to this sordid little meeting.

At a national level the meeting also implies that the Conservatives are getting jittery and have assumed that a hung parliament might be a real possibility.  The current Tory poll lead is unlikely to provide the majority needed to form a government.  It’s highly ironic that a deal with the DUP is considered the political expedient required to secure the required majority.

The irony is all the greater for me.  I recall preparing a presentation with Owen Paterson, here in my home, prior to a presentation to the Ulster Unionist Council – one of many meetings organised to convince the UUP of the merits of a link with the Conservatives.  Owen was adamant that we include a slide clearly demonstrating his view that the DUP was little more than the Ulster equivalent of the Scots Nats.  The slide we used is included here in this post.

Politics is a dirty game.

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Musings on things political and secular…

This is my site where I share my world views for anyone who might be remotely interested. Visit only if you think the content is interesting. Oh and comment is free. So go right ahead and agree or disagree. But, please, be kind and polite (especially to me).
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