A couple of days ago Mick Fealty mentioned rumours about an impending move by the Labour Party to organise properly in Northern Ireland. While I'd welcome such a move towards the normalisation of politics in this little corner of Britain, it turns out they still won't be allowing members to contest elections.

The Labour Party only agreed to allow Northern Ireland residents to be members of the party in 2004 after they were dragged through the courts, and then they adapted their rules to prevent those members from organising to contest elections.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives have made little or no progress in prising the voters of Ulster away from the sectarian headcount that passes for an election here, winning 0.4% of the 2005 Westminster vote and half that figure in the council elections. They have been the beneficiary of a number of UUP defections in recent months, since the Ulster Unionists forged their assembly party relationship with the PUP. There seems to be a significant feeling (at least between Iain Dale and Alex Kane) that this time sees the Conservatives' best opportunity here for 20 years to actually bring themselves to the fore of local politics.

Follow up:

The Irish Labour party have already attempted to organise here about 50 years ago after the Northern Ireland Labour Party's conference voted in favour of the Union, but abandoned the idea. Nevertheless they have recruited Mark Langhammer (from Newtownabbey) and now run the "Northern Ireland Labour Forum" which, like the new rules of the British party, will allow individuals from Northern Ireland to become members, but not to contest elections.

Given the lack of progress (so far) of the Conservatives and Irish Labour, as well as the other non-sectarian parties (Alliance, Womens' Coalition etc); is it fair to say that the problem with real politics that we, the voters, in Northern Ireland just cannot bare to tear ourselves away from the old sectarian headcount every 4 or 5 years? We all say we want something new, that green-and-orange politics is stale and boring, and yet when it comes to election time 9 out of 10 Northern Irelanders who turn out to vote end up doing so for one of the big 4 parties. Wake up people, nothing else here is going to change until that does.