Everything Ulster - Election 2005

Welcome to Everything Ulster's Election 2005 mini-site. Everything Ulster is a news blog run by me, Beano, a simple Belfast man, in my spare time. The site began with a view to covering the Westminster (and local government) elections in Northern Ireland in 2005.

Everything Ulster has now grown beyond that, and as part of this process, I've registered the domain EverythingUlster.com - and that's where you'll find the main site with all today's news.

The Election 2005 site is being kept online as an archive for posterity and if all goes to plan this will be the last post made in it. So for all your Northern Ireland Election needs, hunt through the stories here (there's a search button on the left) and for up to date news from my wee country, check out the Everything Ulster home page at www.EverythingUlster.com.

Everything Ulster's Election 2005 coverage comes to an official end today with the launch of the new site at www.EverythingUlster.com where I've just set up a new hosting account.

At the new site, Everything Ulster will continue be a home for my own personal slant on happenings in Northern Ireland and I hope the site continues to grow the way it has done up until now. I couldn't have done it without the support of the commentators, so a big 'Thank you' to everyone who has contributed so far. I'll see you all at the new site.

It's been an interesting experience for me, this election. Despite the decline of the Ulster Unionists, it hasn't been an unmitigated disaster. I've learned quite a lot about blogging and about the different candidates through the Westminster Focus posts, taking a look at each constituency in turn.

I always said that once the election was over I'd continue and try to maybe grow the site. In that spirit, I'll be relaunching it and all the Election 2005 posts (any post up to now) will be moved, so you'll need to update your bookmarks. There'll also be new RSS feeds for the new site.

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While 9 DUP MPs made the journey to Westminster for the opening of the new Parliament today, Lady Sylvia Hermon returned alone. Re-elected as MP for North Down, she's the only Ulster Unionist elected to this Parliament. Lady Hermon still hasn't decided whether or not to stand for the Ulster Unionist Party leadership and seems to be genuinely having trouble weighing the responsibility of caring for her husband, who suffers from Alzheimers, with an apparent "sense of duty".

She was interviewed by the BBC today and took the opportunity to say (much to the disgust, I'm sure, of my friends over at A Tangled Web) that the Ulster Unionist party must become more liberal and 'put water between' themselves and the DUP.

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Finally, all the results from Northern Ireland's council elections are in. I have to admit that despite the DUP's successes on Friday, I wasn't expecting them to do quite so well as they did in the local government election! But fair play to them, congratulations. Now lets take a look at what it really means...

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Ulster Unionist David Archer Junior has been elected to Lisburn City Council despite withdrawing from the race a couple of weeks ago due to a late night "incident" in the council offices.

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MUCH to my own personal distaste, the DUP are soaring ahead in the local government elections in Northern Ireland with 170 seats (50 seats have still to be declared). Now that we're into the second day of polling the DUP have outperformed the already optimistic expectations of most pundits.

Participants in Nicholas Whyte's predictions competition expected the DUP to win, on average, just under 160 seats. The Ulster Unionists were expected to get around 130 and maybe even beat Sinn Fein into 3rd place but this doesn't seem to be the case. Sinn Fein are 13 seats in front of the UUP with 116 to the UUP's 103, so pending a late swing it looks like being a disappointing 3rd for the Ulster Unionists.

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As expected, the DUP are early leaders in the council elections in Northern Ireland with Sammy Wilson among the members already elected.

In Belfast, Sinn Fein already have 6 councillors elected and the SDLP and DUP 1 each.

Throughout Northern Ireland, with 196 seats declared, the DUP have 76, Sinn Fein coming in 2nd with 44, UUP 34 and SDLP 29. The Alliance currently have 9 (2 in Newtownabbey) and I'm hoping Tom Ekin will get in in Belfast too!

Check out the BBC's regular updates.

I just caught a discussion this morning on BBC Radio 5 about a rally being held today in Berlin by neo-Nazi/neo-fascist groups. It's a bit sickening really but one thing that stuck in my mind was a comment from a German citizen there who was disgusted that some people in Germany were trying to portray the Nazis as victims! That's right, the Nazis are the new MOPEs. It seems that it doesn't matter whether you're in Northern Ireland or Germany, victimhood is central to nationalist socialist mentality.

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I'm sure cheers will be going up from DUP supporters all over Northern Ireland following David Trimble's announcement today that he was resigning from he Ulster Unionist Party. Trimble blamed republicans for the state of his party following yesterday's disastrous election results.

Announcing his resignation, Trimble said "I am pleased to have had the privilege of leading what I regard as the best and most democratic political grouping in Ulster."

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As promised last night, here's my thoughts on yeserday's results. Apologies for not getting more on the site, but as I explained, I was otherwise engaged from about 6:30 that night until late on. This will not be scientific, but if you want number crunching, the BBC has a summary of results.

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Lady Sylvia Hermon has become the first UUP MP elected in this election. She won over 50% of the vote in a seat in which some thought she was under threat from the DUP. This despite a lower turnout than last time by some 5%.

Her share of the vote is down just 5% with the DUP standing. The Alliance's David Alderdice also polled 7.6% to take third place and Julian Robertson polled 2.5% for the Conservatives.

Full results from the BBC.

Pat Doherty has claimed West Tyrone for Sinn Fein.

The DUP came in 3rd behind Kieran Deeney, the independent candidate, as the Ulster Unionist vote seems to have collapsed.

Full results from the BBC.

This is my last post tonight as I'm going out - I'll do a post-mortem tomorrow.

Michelle Gildernew is back in for Fermanagh South Tyrone with 18,638 votes. At the same time, the DUP's Arlene Foster (14,056 votes) beat Ulster Unionist Tom Elliot (8,869 votes) quite convincingly.

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Another relatively safe DUP seat was won by Nigel Dodds. His turnout was up 4.5% to 13,935 while Gerry Kelly was 2nd with 28.6%. The Ulster Unionist vote seems to have collapsed below an already low total to 7.1% (down 4.9%).

Full results at the BBC.

Gregory Campbell won East Londonderry with 15,225 votes. Billy Leonard, Sinn Fein's "prize peeler" only polled 5,709 behind the Ulster Unionist candidate on 7,498.

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SAMMY Wilson has taken East Antrim from Ulster Unionist Roy Beggs by over 7,000 votes. No big shock as his was one of their top targets.

Some good news in that Sean Neeson's Alliance vote has crept up by 2.8% to 4,869 (15.3%).

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Peter Robinson got in in East Belfast, again no shock. Both the DUP and UUP share of the vote rose 5% and the Alliance's fell by 5%. The Conservatives' Alan Greer polled only 434 votes.

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Paisley has got in in North Antrim. No shock there. What is surprising is that Sinn Fein have moved up into second ahead of the UUP!

It just shows that fundamentalist nutcases will always beat out all reason in Northern Ireland politics.

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Alasdair McDonnell has come through the middle of the two Unionist candidates to top the poll in South Belfast with 10,339 votes (32.3%). Spratt came second on 9,104 (28%) and McGimpsey 3rd on 7263 (23%).

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WEST Belfast was the first constituency to elect an MP in the 2005 election from Northern Ireland. Gerry Adams was elected with 24,000 votes and 70% of the vote (3,000 votes down on 2001 but a 4% increase).

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WOKE this morning to news that Tony Blair's Labour party had won the election (no surprise there) but with a much reduced majority (no big shock there either).

He got a ticking off for the way he handled the Iraq war and his majority (with only 9 mainland seats left to declare) the BBC think it'll be around the 66 mark predicted by the exit polls yesterday - so my bet for a 61-80 majority is still on!! Happy days.

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The first seat to declare has gone to Labour. The seat was a safe Labour seat that they were expeced to win.

More interestingly, the exit poll conducted by MORI has suggested Labour will end up with a majority of 66 seats. Why's this more interesting? Well if it comes true my £2 stake at BetFair will turn me £9.60 profit (money's on a majority of between 61 and 80)

That said, these exit polls tend to vary slightly from the actual result so it's not guaranteed, I'll have to keep my fingers crossed.

The Electoral Commission have said polling has so far been "slow and steady" all day, but that they're expecting a big rush over dinner time. Indeed the electoral officer in my own polling station in south Belfast just shrugged and said "steadyish" when I asked if they'd been busy and there were only a couple of other voters about.

If turnout does stay low, Burnside, McGimpsey and Trimble are more likely to lose out than their DUP counterparts. Remember, if you don't vote - you can't complain so get out there!

I just came down the stairs, ready to go to bed and noticed something red folded up on the carpet. On picking it up I noticed it was a Jimmy Spratt campaign leaflet. It then listed all the reasons why he is such a good candidate and what he plans to do for South Belfast at Westminster...

Did it hell...

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I was listening to Newsline on BBC One Northern Ireland earlier whilst making my dinner in the kitchen and heard them start to talk about the actual process for the voting tomorrow. It made me think that maybe I should do a quick recap of how the voting system will work as EU's contribution - a public service responsibility if you will.

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My predictions through the Westminster Focus series are as follows:

DUP 7 - UUP 4 - SF 5 - SDLP 2

For seat by seat details and analysis as well as BetFair election odds and a free punt on the UK-wide General Election result, read on!

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NORTH Belfast is the last constituency left to cover in the Westminster Focus series. Here, Nigel Dodds seems firm favourite, after a dramatic win from the Ulster Unionists in 2001. The population of North Belfast is one of the smallest in Northern Ireland with 86,066 and that includes some areas of the Newtownabbey Borough Council area (most of the Macedon ward which includes Rathcoole). Nearly 45% of the population are Catholic by background and Sinn Fein's vote has grown steadily since 1996 without the SDLP's changing much.

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SOUTH Antrim, with a population of 99,810 which is just under 30% Catholic, will be a seat to watch for Unionists in this election. David Burnside will be defending the seat he won, from 8 month MP Rev Willie McCrea, in 2001. The seat takes in Antrim District Council, which is largely rural, and also includes Antrim Line (Glengormley) and Ballyclare DEAs from Newtownabbey Borough Council.

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USERS who view Everything Ulster through the Firefox web browser can now get instant access to a list of our recent comments, as well as recent posts.

I'm still working out how blogs in general and sepcifically the open-source b2evolution software, used at EverythingUlster.com, operate. These RSS/Atom feeds have always been available through links on the right hand side of the site, but now you can access them through Firefox directly using this icon, which can be found at the right hand side of the status bar at the bottom of the browser window. (see Note)

Users can choose from RSS 2 and the new Atom technology for syndicating either EU Comments or the EverythingUlster blog itself (ie our recent posts).

Let me know if any of you find this feature useful.

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SOUTH Belfast is one of the older seats in Northern Ireland, in fact in one form or another it has been around since the birth of Northern Ireland in 1921 and further even as far back as the 19th century. South Belfast, with a population of ~ 95,000, is currently held by Martin Smyth of the Ulster Unionists who is stepping down this year after 23 years as MP for the constituency. As well as the southern quarter of Belfast City Council, it also takes in a little bit of the Castlereagh District Council area. With a potentially evenly split Unionist vote, and a 40% Catholic population, this seat should be one to watch.

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NO, this is nothing to do with the questionable campaign slogan employed by the Ulster Unionists. This is something much more disturbing. Liam Kennedy, the Queen's University professor standing in West Belfast calling on the paramilitaries to go away had a severe blow dealt to his campaign today... from an advertising agency!

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NEWRY & Armagh constituency is made up of the Armagh District Council area and the west part of Newry & Mourne. Seamus Mallon has been MP for the area since he defeated Ulster Unionist Jim Nicholson (now MEP for NI) in 1986, but is stepping down after 19 years of service. The population of Newry & Armagh is 100,950 as of 2001 and is two-thirds Catholic.

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Sinn Fein launched their manifesto on Friday and what a whopper - a veritable 56 page sleeping pill! It's all the sort of drivel you'd expect from Sinn Fein. Let's see what we've got...

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THE constituency of Strangford is a safe Unionist seat, with a Catholic population of only 15% (the total population being 98,158 in 2001). Iris Robinson of the DUP will be defending the seat she won here with 42.8% of the vote in 2001 (although David McNarry of the UUP was only 2.5% behind on 10.3%). The consituency includes the Ards peninsula as well as Saintfield (part of Down District Council) and parts of Castlereagh District Council.

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I came home from work today to find a number of leaflets to add to my now considerable deluge of election information in preparation for next Thursday's poll. I already had received communication from the Ulster Unionists, DUP and Alliance, today I found information from most of the remaining parties (with the notable exception of the Workers' Party, political component of the official IRA). So what did they all have to say for themselves...?

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SINN Fein today accused PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde of "political intervention" when he revealed that his assessment was that the IRA were still recruiting. He said that his current assessment was that they have the "capability" and "capacity" to return to armed struggle. Of course the Daily Ireland (AKA the Völkischer Beobachter) was on the case to stand up for the brave men of Sinn Fein against the evil 'extension of the British state' that Orde leads.

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EAST Antrim is the 2nd smallest constituency by population ( ~15% Catholic) with a 2001 census total of 84,062 people (of which I was one!). It also had one of the lowest turnouts in 2003 with only 56% of the 60,897-strong electorate. Here we see Ulster Unionist incumbent, and MP for 22 years, Roy Beggs attempting to see of a fierce challenge from one of the DUP's big names, Sammy Wilson, who was a hair's breadth away from taking the seat in the 2001 General Election.

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FOYLE is the most populous (105,066 people in 2001) of the 18 constituencies and covers the same area as the district council of Londonderry (which contains the city and a rural area to the south east). It will definitely be one of the more interesting constituencies to watch in this election as, SDLP leader Mark Durkan defends the seat for his party (won convincingly by John Hume in 2001) from Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin in what is bound to be a tight race.

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CONSTITUENCY of Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, since 1990, Upper Bann has an electorate of 72,402 from a population of 102,947 (2001 census; 3rd highest in NI). For a seat that is so closely associated with Unionism, Upper Bann has a Catholic population (by community background) of 43%.

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EAST Londonderry has a (largely rural) population of 88,737 with the electorate this year numbering some 58,861. It should be an interesting seat this year, not least due to Sinn Fein, who's friends in the IRA spent 30 years killing protestants and police officers, who are standing a Protestant former RUC reservist, Billy Leonard.

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WEST Belfast is another seat that has a fairly predictable outcome. Sinn Fein's president, Gerry Adams, won the seat in 2001 with a massive 66% of the vote. In 2001, West Belfast had the 2nd youngest population out of all the constituencies, with an average age of 33 and a population of 87,610 (electorate: 59,617), and is also the most Catholic (76% - or 83% by 'community background').

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ONE of the smallest constituencies in Northern Ireland, Mid-Ulster had a 2001 population of 86,496, 63% of whom are Catholic. Martin McGuinness (SF) is the incumbent MP and his seat would seem reasonably safe after receving more than 50% of the vote in 2001. Mid-Ulster is situated along the east coast of Lough Neagh, including parts of Counties Tyrone and Londonderry.

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SOUTH Down is the 2nd biggest constituency, in Northern Ireland, by population with a total of 104,658 (62% of whom are Catholic) in 2001's census. It's unique this year in being home to an outgoing SDLP MP, Eddie McGrady, who is seeking re-election, and it's probably the least likely SDLP seat to fall to Sinn Fein..

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LEAFLETS have been distributed to homes in west Belfast warning ethnic minorities not to talk to the police.

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NORTH Down has the 3rd lowest population of any constituency in Northern Ireland with just 85,992 and a 2001 electorate of 62,212. The outgoing MP is Lady Sylvia Hermon of the Ulster Unionists, who is again contesting the seat. North Down is traditionally a good seat for non-mainstream unionists, presumably because the chances of the seat going to a nationalist candidate are slim with a catholic population of just 9%.

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WEST Tyrone, population: 86,200 (2001 electorate: 60,739), was one of the first seats to spark interest in this election campaign, long before the election was confirmed. Here, independent MLA Dr Kieran Deeney topped the poll in the 2003 Assembly election fighting on the single issue of retaining the hospital in Omagh. Dr Deeney is running again this time round, but his chances of topping the poll are slim.

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THE DUP has launched their manifesto and, again, the BBC have compiled a report. I've used the BBC report on their manifesto, checking a few details in the document itself, to compile my own analysis...

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THE SDLP launched their manifesto yesterday. I haven't been able to get a hold of the document (their website's been a bit screwed today as far as I can tell) but the BBC published a summary report. Let's see what we've got....

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Few conclusions in this year's election in Northern Ireland are more forgone than the result in North Antrim. With the biggest population of any constituency in Northern Ireland, Weighing in with 101,000+ constituents, North Antrim had a 2001 electorate of 74,451. This has been Ian Paisley's seat for 35 years since he was elected MP in 1970 (as an MP of the Protestant Unionist Party, later becoming the DUP) and it doesn't seem likely to change now, in what many believe will be his final election.

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Thanks to Aaron Scullion at Slugger O'Toole for pointing out that the BBC has kept copies of of Party Election Broadcasts*, available to download. With the help of this store, I have followed up on yesterday's post on the Northern Ireland Conservatives. So why should we vote Conservative...?

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The Conservatives are only standing in 3 seats in Northern Ireland - and why should we vote for them since they're so unlikely to win? Well the Northern Ireland Conservatives were allotted a brief Party Election Broadcast last night and here's a summary.

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East Belfast has long been a safe seat for the DUP's Peter Robinson since he was elected in 1979. It's an overwhelmingly Unionist constituency, but includes the nationalist stronghold of the Short Strand. It's the smallest constituency in Northern Ireland, with a population of 79,621 in the 2001 census and a 2001 electorate of 58,455 and 63% turnout. It takes in the eastern quarter of Belfast city council and 9 of the 23 Castlereagh DEAs and is the home of the Alliance's former leader, Lord Alderdice. Issues affecting the local area include planning, in particular the evergrowing number of new apartments, and the expansion of Belfast City Airport.

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HANDS up, we made a mistake. Everything Ulster would like to issue an apology over an article posted yesterday regarding UUP MLA Michael (not Ray) Copeland. I completely misread the source and thanks to a commenter on the site going by the name of Traditional Unionist, have realised my mistake.

Firstly the MLA in question is Michael Copeland, not Ray as originally posted.

He is an MLA for East Belfast, not North Down.

He is not connected with North Down Borough Council, who had their offices searched. Therefore their claim that "no councillor or member of council staff" was involved does not vindicate Mr Copeland (although in fairness we must point out no charges have been brought either at this moment in time). He is currently a councillor on Castlereagh Borough Council.

I will resume my 'wait and see' stance on this issue, and apologise again to EU readers.

beano

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Lagan Valley, constituency of former Ulster Unionist leader Lord Molyneaux, with a population of just a touch over 100,000, is, I predict (and it doesn't take Mystic Meg), a safe unionist seat. With a 2001 electorate of 72,671, it has provided the best result for the Ulster Unionists out of all constituencies in Northern Ireland in recent years, but it's not unlikely that this will change in the 2005 election.

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THERE are 18 days left to polling day on 5th May and between now and then Everything Ulster will bring you daily coverage of one of the 18 Westminster constituencies in Northern Ireland. These should serve as beginners' guides for people unfamiliar with the candidates and are unlikely to cover any particular topic in fine toothed comb type detail.

We begin today with Fermanagh & South Tyrone, currently held by Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew.

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DAVID Trimble has called on voters to back his party and the SDLP to 'reinvigorate' the centre ground of Northern Ireland politics. Since the extreme parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, became the largest parties in Northern Ireland in 2003, the Assembly has remained suspended.

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The SDLP yesterday made public news that the PSNI have discharged a quarter of all their informers as the result of an intelligence review. Their candidate for West Belfast, Alex Attwood claims this shakeup is "proof that the policing culture of the past is being replaced" and that the SDLP would use their positions on the policing board to ensure there are no more Brian Nelsons.

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IN a new direction for the provisional republican movement, Gerry Adams today claimed that the southern Irish government had no right to meddle in the affairs of Northern Irish politics.

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... at least according to David Burnside, UUP candidate for South Antrim and widely tipped as a potential successor to David Trimble for the leadership. Burnside seems to suggest that his UUP should merge with the DUP.

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HENRY McDonald, the Observer's Ireland corrspeondent, is writing a weekly column in Belfast's new paper, the Daily View. This week he wrote an article attacking the NIO's decision that the Maze/Long Kesh site was the 'only viable option' for Northern Ireland's new national stadium.

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RECENT public declarations by senior (and some not so senior) members of the Ulster Unionist Party that they will be backing Jimmy Spratt and other DUP candidates rather than those from their own party have been seen as the death knell in the coffin of the Ulster Unionist Party. Indeed it's hardly something that can be seen as in any way good. But is it really the end?

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DAVID Trimble said today that there couldn't be executive power sharing with Sinn Fein any time soon. His statement echoed what he said at last months centenary Ulster Unionist AGM:

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APOLOGIES to anyone trying to access Everything Ulster during late morning/early afternoon today. My web hosts had a problem and their domains weren't being found, in short rendering Everything Ulster inaccessible (I know, I was gutted too). Among other things, the clock seems to have reverted back North American Central Time!

But EU is back (hopefully permanently!) and will resume reporting on this election's big stories from its own distinct viewpoint ASAP.

Thanks for baring with me.

WILL the average Joe be able to tell the difference in post-election Northern Ireland, whether the DUP/UU top the Unionist vote, whether Sinn Fein beat the SDLP in the nationalist one, or who wins overall?

My prediciton is no. For all the money and effort spent electioneering, the parties seem to largely ignore the big issues that actually affect people on the ground. What of Belfast and Northern Ireland's ever growing waste problem? What of punishment beatings, as news broke yesterday that the IRA have appointed someone in North Belfast to deal out their own brand of justice to 'anti-social elements' there? What of the fact that the police and the ARA seem petrified of organised crime - only moving in to act once the perpetrators have been ousted from their gang? All these stories were reported in the local press over the weekend.

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CHRISTOPHER Stalford wrote his last article in the Newsletter today. I for one am glad, as I'm not sure I could take much more of his bland column which, for the last couple of weeks during which time I've read it, did little more than regurgitate DUP propaganda. He's so good he could nearly work for Sinn Fein.

Today's column enraged me. He bgins by saying that he's leaving and that apparently the Newsletter is now sufficiently pro-DUP for his liking. Apparently the paper had previously been criticised for only being reperesetnative of pro-agreement, pro-Trimble unionism. Apparently now "all shades of unionist political opinion are given a fair hearing on the pages of this publication". It's obviously just my own misapprehension that caused me to think this morning, as I walked to the shop, how biased towards the DUP the paper has seemed in the past few weeks!! (I only started reading it, in preference to the Belfast Telegraph, in the last few weeks)

He then goes on to give a shamefully inaccurate account of what has happened in Northern Ireland over the last year. Apparently "Sinn Fein/IRA, so used to getting their own way, dictating to unionists and reaping concessions... have been humiliated, exposed and played off the proverbial field by the [DUP]." If you say so Chris!

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IT sounds nuts doesn't it? With their long-standing position being that the Policing Board is just a mask for an unaccountable force for British occupation on the island of Ireland (or something like that). However, that's the story tucked away at the bottom of page 8 of today's Daily View (no website as yet) after it was hinted at in Gerry Adams's "Keynote speech" yesterday.

According to the Daily View, senior IRA members across Belfast have been told that Gerry Adams wants to 'move the process' forward by signing republicans up to the policing system and standing down IRA 'volunteers'. The paper goes on to claim that Adams's mid-Ulster cohort, Martin McGuinness has delivered a similar message to the IRA members in the north west of the province.

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Well what a day. First Gerry says he's got something important to tell us, then Big Ian tries to grab the limelight with another "Never, never, never" type speech (or to paraphrase: "We won't share power with terrorists and we really mean it this time").

Gerry had told us this morning there would be a "keynote speech" and people had been waiting all day to find out what it would be.

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TB announced the dissolution of Parliament yesterday, also signalling the election date for 5th May.

Gerry Adams took the opportunity to announce he's going to make an announcement, and observers are already speculating what that announcement might be.

Paisley seized upon Adams's announcement as an opportunity to show what a good unionist politician he is by claiming his party would never share power with Sinn Fein/IRA terrorists (there's an incentive to disarm if ever I heard one).

Expect a lot more of this flag waving from the DUP and Sinn Fein, while the SDLP and UU run around like headless chickens wondering why people aren't voting for them. To be fair I wonder too, they seem to be the only parties (save the minority of neutrals) able to work together.

UTV have an overview of the battle's in each of the 18 constituencies with details of who's standing and for which party.

The BBC have also launched the Northern Ireland section of their Vote 2005 site.

ANOTHER attempt to DUPe Unionists appeared in today's Newsletter. At the same time as some DUP supporters liberally accuse the Ulster Unionists of arrogance, it was interesting to read Christopher Salford's article, in which he tries to frighten the unionist electorate into voting for his party. He writes a Newsletter article called "DUP are only serious option for unionists." (If that isn't arrogance... what is?)

I beg the question, far from the only serious option - are the DUP a serious option at all?

What Salford is basically saying is "If you don't vote for us, Sinn Fein have won," going on to warn that if voters don't "rally to the DUP" we should "prepare for a very smug Gerry Adams on May 6." I'm well used to the DUP spouting rubbish like this, but what scares me is that suddenly it seems to be working!

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RECENTLY retired PSNI superintendent Barney Fitzpatrick is to stand against Sinn Fein's much publicised former RUC officer, Billy Leonard in Coleraine's Skerries ward in the forthcoming local elections in May.

Fitzpatrick says he is 'astounded' that an ex-colleague would represent a group that has murdered their former colleagues. He points out that the same group has hindered murder investigations (including the recent Robert McCartney case) and provided political cover for the IRA following the Northern Bank raid.

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THAT's the claim made today by SDLP leader Mark Durkan. He told colleagues in his Foyle constituency that the provisionals are acting like a political settlement will just fall into place after the elections, and that Sinn Fein are misleading voters by talking as if a deal will just 'click into place' after May.

Durkan went on "They ask people to strengthen Sinn Fein’s hand for one last bit of negotiation. We have heard this all before. That is what we they told people before the last elections, the ones before that and the ones before that again." He also said that as long as Sinn Fein's vote has continued to grow, the provisional movement as a whole has "no incentive to clean up it's act".

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Today the Direct Misrule minister for finance, Ian Pearson, Labour MP for Dudley South announced that the Maze site was the only viable proposal for Northern Ireland's new stadium.

Despite opposition from sports fans across Northern Ireland, from Belfast to Londonderry, to Bangor, to Drumahoe, the government have decided to land Northern Ireland with a stadium in the backend of nowhere, against the wishes of Northern Ireland football fans and Ulster Rugby fans. It's true the site is only a few miles form the City* of Lisburn, but as the Millenium Stadim and Lansdowne Road (remember the Bertie Bowl?) testify, to get any kind of decent atmosphere about a city on the day of a big game, the stadium must be located in the city centre. The arguments for this have been made ad nauseum and I won't go into them here.

I'd love to see the reports on the viability of the sites (if such reports even exist) just to compare and contrast how far the government went to investigate the potential for the other sites. We were always going to be told the Maze site was the only show in town. Unofficial sources have been saying this for months, now we know.

It would certainly seem plausible that Ian Pearson and his friend Angela Smith, have been lying from day one on this. Why is the Maze the only viable option? Was it really about the money? Did they genuinely try and overcome this? Or was the site selection simply about the career of a few jumped up Labour government ministers, attempting to make a name for themselves?

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OK, it nearly rhymes!

Nothing much going on today in the world of Election Northern Ireland 2005. There was a letter in the Newsletter from one Dr Kieran Deeny, independent West Tyrone candidate for Westminster, responding to DUP criticism that he'd be a single issue candidate. He accused the DUP of trying to score points of the Ulster Unionists.

Dr Deeny went on to say "It is fine to focus completely and entirely on a single issue when aiming for one of six Assembly seats. As an MP comes added responsibility and I will not shirk that responsibility..." before going on to claim that unionists in West Tyrone would understand if both unionists candidates stood down.

The reason for this, Deeny argues is that in him "Tyrone can vote for the person most likely to acquire modern-day health and hospital services for their families and, at the same time, be able to remove the present abstentionist MP," of course referring to current Sinn Fein MP Pat Doherty, who refuses to take his seat in Westminster.

While Deeny has said he is not a single-issue candidate, I have yet to learn where he stands on other issues. Much as I would like to back anyone who has a chance to remove cirminals and/or their apologists from their seat, it would be nice to know a bit more about him first. Something telling, when you google the words 'kieran deeny policies' the top result returned to you is a DUP page!! Oh dear...

OK, strictly speaking, the existence of roughly one million unionists in Northern Ireland is the biggest obstacle, but according to the SDLP leader Mark Durkan, the key to a United Ireland is persuasion, not coercion. He goes on to say "The existence of the IRA is only making the task of persuasion more difficult."

At the same time, Newry-Armagh MLA Dominic Bradley has backed up the Irish government's claims that the provisionals are to blame for the current impasse in the peace process. He said "The core problems are the failure of the DUP to work the Agreement, failure of Sinn Fein to sign up to policing and the failure of all paramilitaries to go away now and for good.

In an attempt to switch the focus back onto the Irish government, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has said "What about policing? Demilitarisation? Human rights and equality? The political institutions?"

Read more!

SOUTH Antrim Ulster Unionist David Burnside MP has said unionists should only consider voting for the SDLP in an effort to keep Sinn Fein from winning seats in a multi-seat PR election. He went on to say that in a Westminster election, it is vital that unionists vote for a unionists candidate.

He also called for the SDLP to publicly state that they will form a voluntary assembly coalition with the DUP, UUP and Alliance at Stormont, going on to say that "Without that condition... unionist voters should not vote for the SDLP because they would be endorsing a pan-nationalist agenda to put Sinn Fein in government. ... No Republican criminals must ever again be put in the government of Northern Ireland."

The SDLP's Dominic Bradley, MLA for Newry-Armagh, ruled out this arrangement claiming his party was sticking to the Good Friday Agreement's commitment to inclusion and claimed that "That doesnt mean we tolerate wrongdoing from any paramilitary group, but excluding Sinn Fein would achieve nothing."

One has to question what the SDLP's position on wrongdoing from a paramilitary group is. They say they won't tolerate it, while at the same time refusing to punish it.

This article was reported in today's Newsletter, but is not, at the time of publishing, available online.

Slugger O'Toole reports on an article in the Irish Times (subs required) on the Policing Board's decision to approve a 'less lethal' plastic bullet, although there was opposition from the SDLP.

Some background: Plastic bullets have caused controversy in Northern Ireland throughout the troubles, and nationalists especially are against their use. Plastic bullets are used by the PSNI, instead of live rounds as they are less likely to result in death. However there have been cases where the firing of plastic bullets have led to the targets dying later from severe injuries.

The recommendation to endorse the new form of plastic bullet, which is supposedly less lethal, came originally from Hugh Orde, the Cheif Constable of the PSNI. The policing board has accepted Hugh Orde's advice and agreed, in principle, to allow the police to use the new "attenuating energy projectile", despite SDLP opposition.

The interesting part of this story, from an election point of view, is the reaction from the various parties...

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DUP leader Rev. Ian Paisley has written to David Trimble stating that a unionist electoral pact is still possible according to the Newsletter. However, the Reverend insists that the only seats worth discussing are Fermanagh/South Tyrone and South Belfast, both traditionally UU seats, and therein lies the problem.

Read more!

The SDLP got in some early electioneering yesterday, announcing their proposals for an all-ireland state. We all know the SDLP exist in order to achieve the creation of an independent all-ireland state. That part of the story is not particularly newsworthy. The reason this launch is making news is that, apparently for the first time, they've sat down and thought out how it might function. The result is their new document, "A Better Way to a Better Ireland".

Read more!

Today sees the launch of Everything Ulster, a Northern Ireland blog site which will bring you news, politics and the odd bit of sport from Northern Ireland all the way to your web browser!

In the initial months, the main focus will be on the 2005 election in Northern Ireland, as Everything Ulster tries to differentiate between the parties.

The domain www.EverythingUlster.com has been registered and should be redirecting people here in the next day or two. In the mean time, sit back, put your feet up, and wait for the show to begin!