Everything Ulster - Election 2005

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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The Conservatives are the only party standing in Northern Ireland that can form a UK government
This point speaks for itself. Tony Blair isn't much more popular here than he is in England. You want him out? Vote Tory.

The Conservatives want a comprehensive solution Northern Ireland's situation
This would include, ideally, a devloved assembly to run local matters from Northern Ireland. Nothing unusual there, most parties say that.

In the absence of said assembly, they will make Direct Rule more accountable
Again this is something that all the parties want, but as members of a national party with the potential to form a government, would they be in more of a position to deliver on this promise?

The Conservatives will investigate all areas of public administration to see where savings can be made
This is totally in line with the Conservative's policy nationwide, but should ring especially true in Northern Ireland. Remember something like a third of our work-force are currently employed in the public sector and we probably waste more money than anywhere else in the UK. I would suggest one of the first things they do is reduce the number of members in any future assembly from 108 to 72 (from 6 per constituency to 4). They say all the savings would go into lowering taxes and investing in public services - who can argue with that?

Sorry but that's all I was able to scribble down, if I catch another PEB I'll be sure to post in more detail.

The Conservatives are standing in East Belfast, Strangford and North Down. If we really want a change from the usual fighting between politicians locally, would giving the Tories a try help? Admittedly it's a longshot but perhaps it would send a message to the usual suspects that we really are sick of the bickering. We want politicians with real policies (don't we?) and they're long overdue.