OMG look what just came through the door.

I have just realised that Alliance is standing in west Belfast!!! There are no Alliance bill boards up in west Belfast at least to my knowledge, and the first I've heard of a candidate from that party is this morning when a leaflet from the party fell through the mail slot and on to the mat in the hall.

And who is their candidate Maire Hendron. Who? I mean did she ever visit this constituency. I know that Joe Hendron, who used to be my doctor stood and held the seat for a while and had a great following in this constituency, but he was in the SDLP, not Alliance, so if Maire is hoping to trade on the family name she is going to be severely disappointed. This is one outcome that can safely be predicted. Infact she is so unknown of in this constituency I'm sure people will wonder who she is on their ballot paper!!!

The pros and cons of tatical voting in this election in the north of Ireland.

Jim Gibney has been in the Irish News lately writing about tatical voting. He urges republicans in south Belfast to vote for Alasdair McDonnell of the SDLP saying it is better for nationalism overall to vote for the SDLP candidate rather than not vote and allow in a unionist candidate.

But I fear his predictions are based on very grand hopes that Sinn Fein cannot realise. According to Gibney Republicans should vote for the SDLP candidate as it is better for nationalism in achieving their ideal of a united Ireland to have McDonnell elected rather than a unionist candidate.

Gibney maintains that tatical voting is part of the landscape in the six counties and has been used before by various others with success, and that if done this time round it could result in nationalists holding nine out of the eighteen Westminister seats.
But this thinking of Gibneys and of Sinn Fein in removing Alex Maskey from the race is based on lifting Fermanagh and south Tyrone, and north Belfast seats and one must ask how realistic that goal is. Fermanagh and south Tyrone is much too close to call, the fate of that seat could literally lie with the weather and voter turn out. North Belfast is much more difficult to predict. Gibney claims that if Kelly is elected he will be one of three nationalist MP's out of four constituencies.  

I feel Gibney is much too optimistic and since when was politics here down to making Sinn Fein the biggest party? If Kelly was to become the third of four MP's for Belfast that would mean this city would have next to no representation at Westminister, we'd simply have more MP's doing nothing.
It is a matter of record that Sinn Voters have very little money, they are in the main working class people, people who would have next to no representation at Westminister in the mouth of savage cuts.

In the Waterfront with Nolan.

We went to the Stephen Nolan show special last night hosted in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast. There was an extremely good  cross section of people there from all walks of life, from first time voters to pensioners. After tea and refreshemnts, a fair range of questions was then put to candidates. Most of us got a question in, there was plenty of staff on, and mikes were floating about and everybody got the chance to say their piece. We even got treated to a little too much information on Stephen Nolan's trousers, and how he could not get them zipped up fully so he had some tape holding up the zip as the fat was pushing down on it. Yep its true, and the guy really does need to shed some of it, he is far too heavy.  

The show goes out on Friday morning at the usual time, and whether anyone else finds it enjoyable or not the event was certainly entertaining. The politicians there were Jeffrey Donaldson,Mike Nesbitt, John O'Dowd,Stephen Agnew,Alistair McDonnell, Gerry Lynch and David Vance.

Hungerstrike march this Sunday May 2nd 2010.

The Irish News is today reporting that trouble could be expected at a march on Sunday in Belfast which is being called by the United Independent Hungerstrike Commeration.
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The group United Independent Hungerstrike Commeration are also on facebook, and they say their parade will be entirely peaceful

Let us hope the parade is peaceful and passes of in a dignified manner. This is afterall to remember the Hungerstrike and a peaceful and dignified parade should be the aim of everyone attending, whether marching or assembling at Dunville.

Video below the fold.

Election, bits and bobs..

Gerry Adams does a much better interview with Noel Thompson on BBC Hearts and Minds, than with Jim Dougall on last night Northern Ireland leders debate, which was totally boring. Thompson does a more thorough job and less boringly. Also Seamus McKee gets Jim Allister rattled on Evening Extra (about 0.36minutes in. McKee gets Allister rattled on the employment of family members and his position when in the DUP and his position now, which McKee claims is not consistent. Jim bursts at him angrily 'You'll not besmirch my reputation Seamus', but McKee is calm under fire with the TUV leader as he was with Peter Robinson.

Meanwhile the SDLP locally have been out on the stump, not canvassing but putting leaflets through the doors.

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The puzzles of Paisley.

There is to be a talk and film tomorrow night at eight in the Spectrum Centre on the Shankill Road in west Belfast, as part of Queens film festival. Tickets are around £4 pay on line or at the door.  I know that one lecturer at Queens is thinking of doing a profile of Paisley in the autumn, and Ed Moloney wrote an excellent book chronicling the twists and turns of his life. 

 

A few people I know also went along to a lunch with him at Queens, I think it was Will Crawley who hosted it and I heard some brilliant reports about it.

 

Theres no doubt he'll go down in our history books, this will definitely be a worthwhile event for anyone to go to.

Election fever grips us.

This morning I heard on the Nolan Show that they are to record an election special on Wednesday, no doubt to co-incide with UTV's election debate live. I haven't seen audience places advertised as they do on the BBC but who ever is there it ought to be a lively debate. Twitter can certainly buzz with comments from various political commentators giving their views and I have seen plenty of party people out on the stump. Including ones that needed their shoe laces tied!

There is also a neat little mural on the Falls Road with a play on the word 'party'.

At least its different. There are of course the usual placards on the usual poles with all the usual faces on them, but Alliance have done a rather neat job of putting out various types of political poster. Driving through South and East Belfast is a voters dream, with Alliance and various shades of unionsim all on offer. Here in the nationalist west we have had blanket coverage of Adams which I was begining to think was a take it or leave it situation for voters but within the last few days the SDLP are poking their nose above the parapet and putting up some posters and I have seen them out on the stump, so maybe variety is looking up. Conservatives too, have been out and about in the west with some comments on twitter telling me they were in Lenadoon!!! And were treated favourably!! Maybe we are moving on. 

Shaun Woodward questions Danny Morrison’s innocence.

Sean Woodward the Northern Ireland secretary of state has ruled that  Danny Morrison and others ‘have still not proved themselves   demonstrably innocent’ and that ‘compensation should be paid where new evidence proves beyond reasonable doubt   a miscarriage of justice’. Shaun Woodward has said that they are unlikely to qualify for compensation in a letter to the solicitors of the acquitted. (scan below fold)

Journalist Anthony McIntyre has death threat says Sunday World.

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The underwriter for Ed Moloneys book 'Voices from the Grave' Anthony McIntyre has had his life threatened claims the Sunday World.