BBC NEWS | The Devenport Diaries (Free subscription) | 21/11/2009
I'm just back from the rain sodden La Mon hotel in County Down where I was helping out on our live coverage of the DUP conference. I've been asked to contribute a "colour " piece to our main news website so you should hopefully be able to see my more extened thoughts there. In brief, though, this was a well attended occasion in which the party staked its round for the next election. It has...
Bloggers4UKIP (Free subscription) | 20/11/2009
The chairman of the UK Independence Party has said the party will consider an alliance with Jim Allister's TUV in future elections. Paul Nuttall, UKIP MEP for the North West of England, was speaking to the News Letter yesterday after a low-key exploratory visit to the Province.UKIP has only one politician in Northern Ireland at present — Kilkeel councillor Henry Reilly, who defected from the...
BBC NEWS | The Devenport Diaries (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
The DUP has released a 35 page document on the eve of its annual conference under the optimistic title of "Building On Success". If you were to read Peter Robinson's foreword you might conclude that the party is about make a great leap forward. The party leader says that "once again unionism faces a choice in the next few years. Do we build on what we have achieved or risk throwing...
Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness (Free subscription) | 19/11/2009
The media has already established its angle on the North Antrim general election contest. It’s all about Jim Allister and whichever Paisley is nominated to rebuff his challenge. To a degree the preoccupation with the DUP / TUV contest is understandable. After all, in 2005 Senior romped home with more than 25,000 votes and Ulster Unionist candidate, Rodney McCune, was beaten to second spot by...
BBC NEWS | The Devenport Diaries (Free subscription) | 18/11/2009
During Monday's "Stormont Live" I asked Alasdair McDonnell if it really mattered who won the SDLP leadership contest as the party would inevitably face a squeeze at the next Assembly elections, given that Sinn Fein would tell nationalists it had a realistic chance of becoming the biggest Stormont party. Consequently Sinn Fein would have the right to nominate Martin McGuinness as First Minister,...
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 16/11/2009
Alex Kane responds to Jim Allister`s letter in the News Letter on Saturday, which itself was a response to Kane`s challenge for Allister to outline a realistic and achievable alternative to mandatory coalition. Jim Allister states: “ I and TUV do not accept that we must continue to be the only part of the democratic world where by law you can neither vote a party out of government nor have an...
The Irish Times (Free subscription) | 14/11/2009
A SENIOR SDLP Assembly member has called on First Minister Peter Robinson and the DUP to stop allowing the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister to “set the DUP agenda”.
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 13/11/2009
Chief Constable Matt Baggott has told Slugger O’Toole there will be no change in his decision to phase out “FTR” or full time reserves. Jim Allister says about three dozen reserves have moved to protection of judges. According to Mr Baggott two hundred and twenty former full time police reserves who left the service returned to the police as full timers through the normal channels....
BBC NEWS | The Devenport Diaries (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
Is the DUP contributing to community confidence in its latest utterances regarding the full time police reserve or just spreading confusion all around? Peter Robinson released a lengthy statement early this morning which sought to clarify the party position. Boiled down this is that "community confidence" is the only precondition, but the fate of the reserve is a "key element"...
The Guardian (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
A new book charting the downfall of Ian Paisley and his son retells one of the most remarkable political events in Northern Ireland of recent years Unionist hardliner Jim Allister likes to compare himself to a latter-day David-the-giant-slayer. At the annual conference of his Traditional Unionist Voice party in Belfast last weekend Allister relished the prospect of taking on a political Goliath that...
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 12/11/2009
This is my nomination for the music play list up to the point I make my welcoming remarks. I might even try to work some of the lyrics into those same remarks: A little less conversation, a little more action please All this aggravation aint satisfactioning me A little more bite and a little less bark A little less fight and a little more spark Let us have your suggestions… And remember time...
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
Peter Robinson says the expertise in the outgoing full time police can be harnessed in a civilian capacity. Jeffrey Donaldson’s so called deal breaker ‘retention as police officers or no devolution of policing and justice’ seems to have withered on the vine [see Jim Allister’s statement yesterday ] in the wake of a DUP chief constable meeting this afternoon. This would mean...
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 10/11/2009
Normally, the printing of press releases without comment would be considered lazy churnalism. In this case I’m declaring upfront that that is what I’m doing with the last two Pressers we’ve received from Jim Allister’s office, largely be cause it has a certain journalistic merit all of its own. It maps the shift in Jeffrey Donaldson’s stance yesterday, when he first went...
BBC NEWS | The Devenport Diaries (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
Tomorrow MLAs are due a late night as they will be voting on the Justice Bill, the measure which is meant to pave the way for the transfer of justice powers. The voting coinicided with the latest Assembly road show due to take place in South Antrim. Stormont officials had hoped to arrange a Westminster style pairing system, so that panel members wouldn't have to worry about their parties missing out...
Slugger O'Toole (Free subscription) | 09/11/2009
Another score on the board for Jim Allister. In an on air debate on the Nolan Show the TUV leader challenged the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson to say there will be no devolution of policing and justice powers unless Chief Constable Matt Baggott rescinds his decision on full time police reserves. Jeffrey went for Jim’s bait and set another precondition in stone or so it appears. Firstly Peter...
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