I cannot really take Basil McCrea MLA seriously. He never seems to actually live up to the billing of a genuine “liberal” unionist….not that I believe they exist.
So the news item on TV tonight where he addresses the question of John McCallister’s sacking. ……..was not significant because of what he said about McCallister……the really significant fact was that it was an event organised by the Lagan Valley Branch of the Norn Iron Conservatives. Is he going to jump ship?
And good to see our old friend Felicity Houston….mother of local Tory Boy, Alex Houston. Mrs Houston was until recently the Appointments Commissioner for Norn Iron…..at the top table along with Basil McCrea.
Keeping An Eye On the Czar of Russia 
Good capture for the Tories – if he and John McCallister jumped ship – it would be good day for Unionism (if the electorate reelected them) and a very bad day for and possibly the end of, the UU.
Its a strange situation. When Nesbitt joined UUP he was avowedly a “Conservative” and was one of the more identifiable Tories at the 2010 Election……Yet Mainwaring, Parsley, Bradshaw, Ringland, Hamilton all Tories leave the UUP……….and Nesbitt stays on and becomes Leader.
If McCrea doesnt jump before the next Assembly Election……..and that might be the wisest tactic…….he would get a rump of UUP votes AND pick up Conservative transfers and possibly AP transfers. He has a better strategy for getting re-elected than McCallister.
With UUP reduced to a handful of MLAs McCrea could then simply defect to the Conservatives.
FJH,
He may have difficulty staying inside the tent until the next election if he is seriously at odds with Nesbit – more disaster awaits the UUP with the forthcoming byelection – so perhaps he will jump sooner rather than later.
Possibly…….and the private conversations which took place last night between Felicity, Alex, Trevor and Basil would be much more interesting than anything said in public.
McCallister has in part ……had his decision made for him. Nesbitt sacked him. What does McCallister do now?
On the other hand McCrea is……to a large extent still controlling his own destiny.
Looking at Mike this evening on BBC Newsline being quite sour about Basil spoke volumes about the trouble the UUP is facing. TBH, I expect the party to fizzle out with a rump joining the DUP (Nesbitt for Deputy leader and someone else (Danny Kennedy) gets Chair of the ‘new’ party) and the rest dividing up between Tories, Alliance or going it alone.
It may not be a net gain for DUP.
Certainly the UUP are behaving like they are lapdogs and Nesbitt might actually want one Party like in the good old days but I think some like Kinahan would go Tory (even if his father was an Alliance MLA in the 1970s) and I just cant see some other unionists staying in politics.
Nesbitt……would be a total liability……and some of the more traditional DUPers would not tolerate him.
I honestly think if the UUP goes, as seems increasingly likely, a sizeable chunk of their support will not migrate. They will simply stop voting.
Agreed! Many of them have already stopped voting so their friends will do the same. If I were you all I would open up a garden centre somewhere near Hillsborough, Fermanagh or Ards maybe? Lots more business pretty soon
Its basically like the National Party in South Africa.
lol, and I have to laugh, I have never seen a more politically inept or self destructive lot ever. The Garden Centre analogy is actually an admission of the ageing demographic of Unionism. I also thought it was sad tonight seeing the representative of the loyalist band on TV pleading that they had done nothing wrong. The guy was obviously naieve and clueless but why do they elect political rep’s such as 1/2 Nelson McC ?
Naive certainly but the bandsman was also in denial as if his “Sloop John B” excuse would persuade anyone at all.
I noticed that one too re demographics much thanks to your ploughing through the census data we have so far. I occasionally get the very nice ‘Antrim Coaster’ from Belfast up to my Mum’s in the Glens and it is hard not to notice that predominantly Protestant towns are getting older by the day. Very nice gardens they all have, needless to say…
Speaking as a man with a bus pass…is the Antrim Coaster a express bus? That neck of the woods is on my hit list.
It is FJH, though be aware that it has a stop in Larne for about 40 minutes so I recommend that you go to the Lidl around the corner, get a few croissants and some coffee in the Streat cafe and make your way back.
Places of interest would include Carnlough, Cushendall, Cushendun and Ballycastle. I would give Glenarm and Waterfoot a miss, not much to see there.
Also, be aware that you might have trouble trying to make your way back to Belfast in one day on the same route. You may have to make your way from Ballycastle to either Ballymena or Coleraine and then bust a move down the M2 from there.
If you do decide to do it let me know, you’re more than welcome to call round for a cup of tea!
Ill take you up on the tea. My Bus Pass travels were a bit limited during the summer because of my grandchildren being off school. North Antrim is an area I know reasonably well.
Please do FJH, though it will have to be before I head of to Aus of course!
re. tonights program. I could not believe the police were not asked why there no prosecutions after the previous flouting of the PC determination and why the PC chappies were not asked why having flouted the determination the no music restriction was not placed on the Covenant parade. Very poor jounalism.
ps Has anbody got a link to the High Court statement in which the judge threw out the Carrick Hill appeal – the subsequent behaviour makes that statement look a tad off the mark.
That was actually an open goal that the reporter missed. The question was probably being shouted at a lot of TV screens. But there is a kinda narrative …..that residents groups were being “balanced” with the very worst elements of the loyalists. Folks like Mervyn Gibson and the North Belfast Orangeman “my sons and daughters are in the parade…..I hope the 200th anniversary gets celebrated” were presented as reasonable……and I thought Nelson McCausland got off a bit too easily (they showed an old clip from August).
Thats the problem with Balance…it obscures the Truth rather than enhancing it.
Have a hunt here Sammy
http://www.courtsni.gov.uk/en-GB/Judicial%20Decisions/Pages/default.aspx
FJH,
Yes, perhaps it was balance that obscured the facts. The debate ‘in another place’ about whether the St Pats pedetermination was breached should also have been clarified.
BD,
It seems it is too early for that site to publish the details thanks.
Anybody else think (at the time) that the judges remarks were at least worthy of some discussion?
Presuambly it is the job of the dept of justice to deal with concerns regarding High Court judges?
I certainly thought the Judge had gone too far. And the conspiracy theorist in me tends to think of Judge John Deed. Everytime Judge Deed returns to his Chambers for a wee cup of tea, there is a high ranking official there from the Lord Chancellors Office, trying to steer the learned and noble Judge in the direction of Government thinking.
Presumably there is no such high ranking official in David Fords Ministry steering court decisions in a certain way that Government would prefer.
FJH,
RE. “I certainly thought the Judge had gone too far”.
Yes, and I think that subsequent events (although previous events also suggested this) have underlined that he had ‘misjudged’ the nature of the Covenant parading event and the attitude of its organisers and therefore failed to protect the rights of the residents.
Do you have any contact within the SDLP who could confirm that a) they were ‘unhappy’ with the summing up remarks b) that there is an official means of recording such ‘unhappiness’ and c) if the answer to b) is yes – that they have actually done so. The details of this case will not be published on the website(although other judicial reviews are), see BD website link above, but are availvable on DVD (at a cost).
Possibly the boy Alban attended the hearing and took osme notes?
I dont know what the SDLP lawyers made of it. If there is an official outlet then I hope it has been used. What I always seem to notice about Stormont is a lot of people hanging around in very expensive suits (they make MLAs look shabby) and have fancy security passes and an air of superiority. They annoy me. And I really wish someone would speak out about them.
FJH,
Perhaps I will just contact the SLDP – any tips on doing that other than just emailing Alban who seems to be running with this?
I will contact someone later on who might know.
FJH,
ok ta let me know, his remarks had little coverage or comment over on ‘you know where’.
FJH,
As you are aware I have spent some time in Stormont and I have to say the sartorial wars were always hilarious. If I may, I will summarise:
DUP: Ridiculously pretentious pinstripes (Boys) Big Shoulders (Girls)
SDLP: Sober, but off the peg suits, locally bought sensible two pieces.
Shinners: (2 types)Armani, sharp suits, shades and matching belts and shoes or Dunnes finest. Girls- Austere business attire with buttoned up collars. (Def not Bernadette Devlin Chic)
UUP: More Pinstripes or Farmer style but badly fitting, big collars and tie knots. There was a slightly “agricultural” air to them.
Alliance: No idea, sorry I never noticed them.
Best Dressed MLA: Gerry Kelly by a country mile 🙂
Actually thats very true…….but hilarious.
In the week before the SDLP Conference it will not be possible to buy anything red in Debenhams Ladies Suits Dept…..Mrs FJH is particuarly good at watching Stormont Today and advising me where clothes are bought……and how much.
I buy my Armani in Italy ! very reasonable costwise.
I suggest that Mrs FJH takes you on a daytrip to the outlet in Banbridge, I imagine a nice Magee suit with an outrageous tie will do the trick.
lol