Wonder how a Con/Lib coalition will work. Or not. Hope that NI's public spending doesn't suffer too badly. Most interesting things in NI were Belfast East (goodbye, Robinson) and Fermanagh South Tyrone (Four votes. Four!)
What all of this has proved to me is that I know nothing at all about the Northern Irish parties and that this is shameful. (I mean, I could probably pick Ian Paisley senior out of a police lineup, but that's about it and I'm not even sure if he's still alive). Google mostly seems to be giving me long summaries of the Troubles. I'm sorry to be all 'Hi, please take time out from your busy lifestyle to educate me' but can you point me at a simple-ish explanation of how things are at present?
I couldn't find a simple explanation on the net either. It seems you're expected to either already know, or to not care.
The DUP are still the largest party (and Paisley senior is still alive, though retired), although they have lost some credibility due to co-operation with Sinn Fein in Stormont, and due to various dodgy deals with property developers on the part of several party members.
The minority unionist parties are the Tradition Unionist Voice (basically same position as the DUP were 10 or 15 years ago, we will not sit in government with terrorists), and the Ulster Unionists, who have made their link with the Tories explicit by rebranding themselves as Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force for this election.
Both of them did badly, the UCUNF (sounds like a pig grunting) losing their last seat to an independent Unionist (Lady Sylvia Hermon, the incumbent, quit the party when they joined the Conservatives, and was re-elected as an independent).
Sinn Fein and the SDLP split the Nationalist vote five to three, assuming that Gildernew keeps the Fermanagh and South Tyrone seat, which she won from another independent Unionist with four votes. After three recounts, and the Unionists are saying that there were more ballots counted than were actually distributed.
The Belfast East seat has just been won by Naomi Long of the Alliance Party, the only non-sectarian one. It had been held for thirty years by Peter Robinson, who is now the leader of the DUP and the First Minister. I imagine that recent scandals of buying bits of land for £5 and his wife (just stood down as MP for Strangford, the neighbouring constituency) having an affair with a 19-year-old, had a lot to do with this.
So we've got DUP: 8 Sinn Fein: 5 (assuming FST doesn't go to the High Court) SDLP: 3 Alliance: 1 Independent: 1 (assuming FST doesn't go to the High Court)
Thank you! So that was what was going on with Lady Sylvia Hermon - I saw her elected but thought she had become an Independent due to the expenses scandal or something.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2010-05-08 08:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-08 05:57 pm (UTC)The DUP are still the largest party (and Paisley senior is still alive, though retired), although they have lost some credibility due to co-operation with Sinn Fein in Stormont, and due to various dodgy deals with property developers on the part of several party members.
The minority unionist parties are the Tradition Unionist Voice (basically same position as the DUP were 10 or 15 years ago, we will not sit in government with terrorists), and the Ulster Unionists, who have made their link with the Tories explicit by rebranding themselves as Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force for this election.
Both of them did badly, the UCUNF (sounds like a pig grunting) losing their last seat to an independent Unionist (Lady Sylvia Hermon, the incumbent, quit the party when they joined the Conservatives, and was re-elected as an independent).
Sinn Fein and the SDLP split the Nationalist vote five to three, assuming that Gildernew keeps the Fermanagh and South Tyrone seat, which she won from another independent Unionist with four votes. After three recounts, and the Unionists are saying that there were more ballots counted than were actually distributed.
The Belfast East seat has just been won by Naomi Long of the Alliance Party, the only non-sectarian one. It had been held for thirty years by Peter Robinson, who is now the leader of the DUP and the First Minister. I imagine that recent scandals of buying bits of land for £5 and his wife (just stood down as MP for Strangford, the neighbouring constituency) having an affair with a 19-year-old, had a lot to do with this.
So we've got DUP: 8
Sinn Fein: 5 (assuming FST doesn't go to the High Court)
SDLP: 3
Alliance: 1
Independent: 1 (assuming FST doesn't go to the High Court)
no subject
Date: 2010-05-08 06:20 pm (UTC)This makes things a lot clearer!