Further Disarray in UUP / UCUNF

[picador]

Leading UUP member and Stangford MLA David McNarry has renewed calls for the UUP and DUP to agree a pact in time for the Westminister elections. This despite the fact that the UUP is currently allied with the Conservative Party and that the Tories have emphatically ruled out a tripartite pact involving the DUP. In the wake of controversy following the Hatfield House talks sponsored by Tory NI spokesman Owen Paterson and the subsequent revelation of secret UUP-DUP discussions hosted by the Orange Order, the UUP Executive hastily reaffirmed its committment to the UCUNF arrangement. McNarry's latest comments call that commmittment into question.

The UUP is rumoured to be about to deselect its sole sitting MP, Sylvia Hermon on account of her refusal to endorse UCUNF. What action will party leader Reg Empey take against McNarry for publicly undermining that same alliance?

Meanwhile Tory leader David Cameron has this week seen himself labelled Orange Dave by both The Times and The Guardian. While Northern Ireland is very much a peripheral issue in UK politics the British public - and particularly the substantial part of it that is of Irish extraction - will no doubt be alarmed by any suggestion that Cameron is prepared to jeopardise peace in the North for the sake of short-term advantage. The UCUNF pact and the sectarianism of the UUP is calling Cameron's judgement into question.

[Panopticon]

Amending the FMDFM nomination was a high-stakes bet by the DUP that they lost. They bet on soft support from the UUP in the case that Sinn Féin were doing well. Now that the TUV has taken 5-10% of the DUP's core vote (for this electoral cycle anyway), they have so much ground to make up. Hence pacts and alliances and Orange Order cabals.

[factual]

I think in the six counties:

• there are not enough women in politics
• not enough young people
• not enough gay/lesbian or black and asian MLAs

There is a need for new people to enter politics there and take the political discussion onto ground that is focussed on helping the least well off.

Sinn Féin does not fear competition from the Conservatives indeed our electorate would be opposed to the right wing ideas of the Conservative party.

[SevenStars]

Sinn Féin does not fear competition from the Conservatives indeed our electorate would be opposed to the right wing ideas of the Conservative party.

Not necessarily....Remember that people often vote in the six counties along sectarian lines. I wonder how many DUP or UUP voters would vote for the Labour Party if they lived in England?

[Trans-Siberian]

I think in the six counties:

• there are not enough women in politics
• not enough young people
• not enough gay/lesbian or black and asian MLAs

There is a need for new people to enter politics there and take the political discussion onto ground that is focussed on helping the least well off.

Sinn Féin does not fear competition from the Conservatives indeed our electorate would be opposed to the right wing ideas of the Conservative party.

Again a post by factual that has very little to do with the topic been raised by thd OP.

Again another clever post to portray SF unfavourably in the eyes of the swing voter.

What a clever anti-republican Factual is!!

So there is not enough black MLA's? What rubbish, the black population in any one constiuency would hardly warrant this.

It should be the best person for the job,irrespective of there skin colour,sexual orientation or religion.And the people decide,thats democracy.

Factual, no on this site belives you have any connection to SF.Because you have none.That is fact.

[factual]

Not necessarily....Remember that people often vote in the six counties along sectarian lines. I wonder how many DUP or UUP voters would vote for the Labour Party if they lived in England?

I know that but either way SF face no electoral threat from the Conservatives.

[factual]

So there is not enough black MLA's? What rubbish, the black population in any one constiuency would hardly warrant this.

It should be the best person for the job,irrespective of there skin colour,sexual orientation or religion.And the people decide,thats democracy.

On the whole I think that its possible to have it both ways - both inclusive in terms of ethnic and sexual differences and in terms of having the best quality candidates. It is surely best to have a system where the full range of experiences are heard - e.g. a gay TD can understand better about homophobia and so on.

[SevenStars]

On the whole I think that its possible to have it both ways - both inclusive in terms of ethnic and sexual differences and in terms of having the best quality candidates. It is surely best to have a system where the full range of experiences are heard - e.g. a gay TD can understand better about homophobia and so on.

Factual you do realise that your type of liberalism is a walking advertisement for the BNP for a lot of working sensibilities and for that reason a lot of people believe that you are troll out to damage the Shinners who at least in the 26 counties are a mainly working class party?

[SevenStars]

On the whole I think that its possible to have it both ways - both inclusive in terms of ethnic and sexual differences and in terms of having the best quality candidates. It is surely best to have a system where the full range of experiences are heard - e.g. a gay TD can understand better about homophobia and so on.

IWCA - Independent Working Class Association - national website

Factual please read the above. It will help you understand the dangers of your type of politics.

[factual]

Factual you do realise that your type of liberalism is a walking advertisement for the BNP for a lot of working sensibilities and for that reason a lot of people believe that you are troll out to damage the Shinners who at least in the 26 counties are a mainly working class party?

The important thing here is a focus on employment rights for all - regardless of colour or religion - and getting the education and public service system right. So that includes minimum wage and better training and education and other innovations to social security system so that the focus is on taking people out of poverty regardless of background.