The DUP

[HTG]

7 hours ago, The Golden God said:

Also a hypocrite considering he’s slating the DUP but still going into Government himself. 

The substance of what he said had nothing to do with the protocol or Brexit. He zeroed in on the fact that the FM is from Sinn Fein and fired out a list of IRA atrocities as part of his "well done Jim" speech. The mask came off completely as to why unionist politicians like him have been sat with their thumb up their hole for the last 2 years - the GF agreement only works if there's a unionist majority. You'd be forgiven for thinking the electorate knew nothing of the past when they voted. Many of them have moved on whilst Jim and this Bryson punter seethe away to themselves. 

 

[CarrbridgeSaintee]

All things considered, I think Sir Jeffrey has played this very well.

Despite all the pressure from the other political parties, he stood firm and negotiated what I would say was a good deal.  It's by no means perfect, but is certainly not the disaster claimed by Bryson and Allister.  It's going to leave Unionism in a very strong position, which will increase it's support, a support which hadn't taken a seriously dent anyway.. even in spite of Brexit and all the Stormont chaos.

Any protests from the loyalist community will probably be fairly low key and fizzle away quickly.  The anger portrayed by Bryson's twitter feed just isn't there.

Electoral Unionism has three big challenges IMO:

1- To persuade the Alliance-voting Unionists to return home.

2- To have the Unionist vote coalesce round one party, rather than being so fractured. 

3- To wake up the non-voters in Unionist communities.

1 may happen quicker than you'd think.  Long is essentially pro-Union, and whenever she is replaced, it won't be by someone with the same appeal.  The Unionists who lend Alliance their vote, might not feel so comfortable if 'Shouty' Sorcha Eastwood or Stephen Farry take the reigns.

2 will be a challenge, but one that is surmountable.  Donaldson and Beattie have a close relationship so could come up with something, and it's possible that much of the TUV vote will return to the DUP anyway, as Donaldson indicates how this deal actually strengthens the Union.  Allister's mere presence in the chamber helps the DUP look moderate, which can only help them long-term.

3 could only happen with a mass campaign, which could be done with the right strategy.

Given the way some go on, you'd be forgiven for thinking that a United Ireland was just around the corner, but the reality is that it isn't.  Conditions for a border poll are nowhere near to having been met, and despite SF being the largest party, this has happened at the expense of the SDLP.  Unionism still got more seats at the last Assembly election.

P.S. Seeing Bryson giving a running commentary of the recent DUP meeting was hilarious!  I've got mixed feelings on the guy, but he certainly knows how to set the cat among the pigeons!

Edited February 4 by CarrbridgeSaintee

[Jacksgranda]

10 hours ago, The Golden God said:

Also a hypocrite considering he’s slating the DUP but still going into Government himself. 

He's not going in to government himself.

[HibeeJibee]

Justin McNulty: SDLP suspend MLA who left Stormont for GAA game - BBC News

A nationalist SDLP assembly member has been suspended from the party after quitting Stormont early "without permission" to manage a Gaelic football team - on the day politicians returned after an absence of two years.

Justin McNulty attended the first sitting of the NI Assembly on Saturday but left before proceedings ended. It later emerged he had driven to County Wexford where his team, Laois, were playing a match. Mr McNulty was appointed Laois manager last October. He was on the sideline when his team took on Wexford in Division Four of the National League at 18:00 local time - Laois won by 10 points.

However, he missed his party colleague Mathew O'Toole being nominated as leader of the official opposition.

The SDLP confirmed in a statement that the party has now suspended the whip from the Newry and Armagh assembly member (MLA), who won an All-Ireland title with Armagh in 2002. A spokesman said Mr McNulty left today's sitting of the assembly without "seeking permission" and did not return for "important parliamentary" business which included the SDLP taking up its role as official opposition at Stormont.

 

[HTG]

1 hour ago, CarrbridgeSaintee said:

 

P.S. Seeing Bryson giving a running commentary of the recent DUP meeting was hilarious!  I've got mixed feelings on the guy, but he certainly knows how to set the cat among the pigeons!

If you've got mixed views on Bryson you need to give your head a goo wobble. The c**t would never be happier than to see the whole thing kick off again. I don't understand the purpose or function of unionism today but that's my problem - others see it as a good thing. Bryson though is the Joey Barton equivalent of unionists. 

[tamthebam]

11 hours ago, HibeeJibee said:

Justin McNulty: SDLP suspend MLA who left Stormont for GAA game - BBC News

A nationalist SDLP assembly member has been suspended from the party after quitting Stormont early "without permission" to manage a Gaelic football team - on the day politicians returned after an absence of two years.

Justin McNulty attended the first sitting of the NI Assembly on Saturday but left before proceedings ended. It later emerged he had driven to County Wexford where his team, Laois, were playing a match. Mr McNulty was appointed Laois manager last October. He was on the sideline when his team took on Wexford in Division Four of the National League at 18:00 local time - Laois won by 10 points.

However, he missed his party colleague Mathew O'Toole being nominated as leader of the official opposition.

The SDLP confirmed in a statement that the party has now suspended the whip from the Newry and Armagh assembly member (MLA), who won an All-Ireland title with Armagh in 2002. A spokesman said Mr McNulty left today's sitting of the assembly without "seeking permission" and did not return for "important parliamentary" business which included the SDLP taking up its role as official opposition at Stormont.

 

You have to laugh given the attendance record of House of Commons MPs at debates and many of our noble Peers in the Lords.

[LongTimeLurker]

On 04/02/2024 at 11:53, HTG said:

...The mask came off completely as to why unionist politicians like him have been sat with their thumb up their hole for the last 2 years - the GF agreement only works if there's a unionist majority...

Meanwhile Emma Little-Pengelly is deputy first minister. Check out what her dad got up to in the 1980s if you think the optics of that are really  impossible to handle for Unionist hardliners. 

What has taken a couple of years appears to have been coming to terms emotionally with the fact that although remaining aligned with the EU to a greater extent than GB is uncomfortable in emotional terms for Ulster Unionism having unfettered access to both the EU and UK markets actually provides some very strong pragmatic arguments for NI's continuing existence. It's not perfect and they'll still try to make further changes if they can but given the circumstances and the backdrop of what might have unfolded instead Ulster Unionism has ultimately landed on its feet OK.

SF didn't get the type of Brexit they needed to persuade moderate opinion in NI that an immediate move to a United Ireland is the best way forward.

[MazzyStar]

Once again, 26+6=1

[Jacksgranda]

37 minutes ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Meanwhile Emma Little-Pengelly is deputy first minister. Check out what her dad got up to in the 1980s if you think the optics of that are really  impossible to handle for Unionist hardliners. 

What has taken a couple of years appears to have been coming to terms emotionally with the fact that although remaining aligned with the EU to a greater extent than GB is uncomfortable in emotional terms for Ulster Unionism having unfettered access to both the EU and UK markets actually provides some very strong pragmatic arguments for NI's continuing existence. It's not perfect and they'll still try to make further changes if they can but given the circumstances and the backdrop of what might have unfolded instead Ulster Unionism has ultimately landed on its feet OK.

SF didn't get the type of Brexit they needed to persuade moderate opinion in NI that an immediate move to a United Ireland is the best way forward.

Economically it will probably be good, constitutionally maybe not so good. We shall see.

[HTG]

1 hour ago, LongTimeLurker said:

Meanwhile Emma Little-Pengelly is deputy first minister. Check out what her dad got up to in the 1980s if you think the optics of that are really  impossible to handle for Unionist hardliners. 

What has taken a couple of years appears to have been coming to terms emotionally with the fact that although remaining aligned with the EU to a greater extent than GB is uncomfortable in emotional terms for Ulster Unionism having unfettered access to both the EU and UK markets actually provides some very strong pragmatic arguments for NI's continuing existence. It's not perfect and they'll still try to make further changes if they can but given the circumstances and the backdrop of what might have unfolded instead Ulster Unionism has ultimately landed on its feet OK.

SF didn't get the type of Brexit they needed to persuade moderate opinion in NI that an immediate move to a United Ireland is the best way forward.

I get all of that. Anyone on any side of politics in Northern Ireland will quickly be able to find reasons to distrust political opponents. But most have set that aside to try and make the GF agreement work and avoid more killing. I'll be shocked if Jim Allister has ever been in favour of the GF agreement - I'm not arsed to go hunting to find out though.

[The Golden God]

DUP Education Minister was at an Irish language school today and Michele O’Neill went to the Northern Ireland game last week, even stood for the anthem. Good to see progress and everyone might finally be growing up and letting the past be the past. 

[welshbairn]

 

[welshbairn]

UDA expanding their community protection services.

Residents’ anger as UDA pockets £5,000 to let paedo back on Rathcoole estate, Predator just out of jail for abusing schoolgirl with learning difficulties

[Jacksgranda]

48 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

UDA expanding their community protection services.

Residents’ anger as UDA pockets £5,000 to let paedo back on Rathcoole estate, Predator just out of jail for abusing schoolgirl with learning difficulties

If someone stumped up £6,000 do you think they would shoot him?

[Salt n Vinegar]

1 hour ago, welshbairn said:

UDA expanding their community protection services.

Residents’ anger as UDA pockets £5,000 to let paedo back on Rathcoole estate, Predator just out of jail for abusing schoolgirl with learning difficulties

That's vile.

[The Golden God]

This is the worst thing anyone in NI has ever done. All those kids who grew up in the 80s don’t know how lucky they had it. 

[welshbairn]

The sachet my father tore.  

Edited March 28 by welshbairn

[HTG]

22 hours ago, The Golden God said:

This is the worst thing anyone in NI has ever done. All those kids who grew up in the 80s don’t know how lucky they had it. 

To be fair to Bryson, you can see the brass on his neck shining through the collar of his shirt as he continues to slaughter Jeffrey Donaldson whilst simultaneously retaining his pinned post where he's happy to grift his book with a foreword contributed by said Jeffrey. Hasn't even had the sense to untag the boy. 

 

Edited March 26 by HTG

[Salt n Vinegar]

45 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

The sauce my father wore.  

Surely "the sachet my father wore"!

(I've never worn one and to the best of my knowledge, neither did my father!"

[welshbairn]

The traditionally Unionist Belfast Telegraph have taken against the UDA and are digging up humiliating dirt. Unsure if that's a new thing.

A unit in the South East Antrim (SEA) UDA drugs cartel has been told ‘dues’ from its members will no longer go to paying bosses.
But any hope the decision signals the terror group moving away from crime has been dashed.

SEA UDA members in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey have instead been told their £5 weekly payments will be put into an Eleventh Night bonfire fund. The money had previously been used to pay its leaders in the area.

The overall sum is not insignificant because with around 400 SEA UDA members in Rathcoole, dues regularly came in at £2,000 per week, which is more than £100,000 per year.

“The announcement about the dues was made by the 2IC (second-in-command) who we call ‘the Cokehead’ at a meeting last week,” a source said.

“With all the talk of transitioning, when he said ‘No more dues’, we thought we might finally be stood down, which is what the vast majority of members want.

“But no, we were told we’re expected to continue to pay money, only this time it will be for a bonfire fund, and we’ll have to go out collecting wood for it regardless of age or medical conditions.”

 

Insiders said the Rathcoole UDA was deeply embarrassed by the size of its bonfire at the Diamond last July which was much smaller than in years gone by.

The blame for this was placed on a lack of funds to buy pallets, which was caused by several significant PSNI drugs and cash seizures.

However, SEA UDA gangs in Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus and Larne managed to build huge bonfires despite police pressure on their rackets.

This left loyalists in Rathcoole red-faced, a situation they are determined to avoid this summer.

Our source said: “There’s a lot of one-upmanship between the different units. To an outsider, it might seem childish, but there are UDA members who take the bonfire really seriously.

“It’s like something out of Give My Head Peace. The majority of members just want the whole thing wound up instead of having to hand over money to bonfire funds and being forced to run around the place collecting wood.”

 

The Rathcoole UDA’s cashflow problems have also forced it to cut weekly payments to former prisoners who served long sentences for the gang.

Among those who had their ‘wages’ docked were convicted bomber Stanley Curry and feared gunman Harry ‘Turtle’ Smyth, who was jailed for planning to murder exiled loyalist Johnny Adair.

Rathcoole residents have expressed fears that a bigger Eleventh Night bonfire will bring trouble to the area.

Previous large bonfires at the Diamond have seen cars hijacked and set ablaze and a man attacked with a broken bottle.

Locals said the Rathcoole UDA boss known as ‘the Cokehead’ had taken personal charge of this year’s bonfire.

One explained: “He’s a complete waster and spent the St Patrick’s Day weekend falling about drunk on Buckfast and sniffing cocaine.

“He even boasted on social media about going on a three-day bender. The bonfire will be a disaster with him in charge.”

 

Sunday Life revealed last year how the SEA UDA had been in tentative talks with government officials about transitioning away from crime, similar to other loyalist paramilitary groups.

However, many within the terror gang believe that this, and having two terror murals painted over with images of the royal family, is just a ruse to get the Paramilitary Crime Task Force off the leadership’s back.

Last week the National Crime Agency (NCA) took official ownership of a holiday home linked to former SEA UDA leader Gary Fisher.

A court granted the seizure after the NCA said the caravan had been bought with the proceeds of money laundering.

The legal action spooked other SEA UDA leaders who fear their illegal property and business empires, amassed with drugs cash, could also be targeted.