"It’s time for David Cameron to come clean about the position of his new alliance on policing and justice.
"With the UUP saying one thing, and the Tories saying the complete opposite, voters will struggle to understand what exactly joint Tory/UUP candidates stand for.
"What we're seeing is the Tories in complete disarray. When it takes George Bush to step in as the voice of reason, it's clear that David Cameron has dug himself a very big hole.
"This raises serious questions about David Cameron's judgement. If he can't manage to steer a straight course in opposition, how on earth would he cope as Prime Minister?"
Don't forget that Cameron and Reg Empey the UUP leader are going into this General Election with a joint slate of candidates. Should any of the UUP lot be elected they have promised to take the Tory whip. As it stands we may well be facing a tight election or a minority Tory administration. Yet on the single most important piece of devolved Northern Irish policy that will not only be discussed and voted on, not just this year but years either side, David said do one thing and Reg and his buddies at Stormont did the opposite.
As for George W. Bush having to step in to sort out an 'internal' party matter. I think today's Peter Brookes cartoon in the Times sums that up rather nicely.
Strange to think that today it was the Ulster Unionists that said 'No'. That used to the be single word epithet us from Northern Ireland used to place with the DUP.
If this had been the first assembly there wouldn't have been the cross community agreement to devolve police powers. But that was was when the UUP were a bigger Unionist voice than the other Unionist parties now that role is reversed.
There is of course one dissenting UUP voice, Lady Sylvia Hermon MP is the widow of former RUC Chief Constable Sir Jack Hermon. She herself trained in law and was a professor at Queens alongside David Trimble for a time. In February while the talks about devolution of policing and justice were ongoing she asked Shaun Woodward in the Commons:
"For those of us who definitely do not want to go back to direct rule and who want devolution and the talks at Hillsborough to succeed, with the principles of tolerance and respect at their core, what more can we in this House do to encourage those in the negotiations to take them forward and make them successful, in the interests of everyone in Northern Ireland?"
Interesting that the sole UUP representative with inside knowledge both of the upper echelons of Northern Irish policing and law should take such a different stance from Economist and leader Reg Empey.
I think her independence from a bizarrely shaping up UUP and Tory marriage, is probably all that is going to be needed to return my home seat to becoming held by some form of independent Unionist once again after 9 years or experiencing the mainstream. Or is having the only UUP member for the last 5 years really the mainstream?
Babish: You broke some laws, Abbey, and quite frankly you should be ashamed of yourself, but this investigation isn't about that. Abbey: Look... Babish: It's about the criminalization of politics. An attempt to do in the hearing room what they couldn't do at the ballot box. Abbey: I understand, but we don't have the luxury... Babish: Abbey, stop eating fruits, stop eating vegetables, it's doing something bad to you. Fruits and vegetables will seduce you, like a woman, with their... Abbey: Oliver! Babish: Truth isn't a luxury. You're going to go in there, you're going to swear an oath, you're going to get asked questions, and you're going to tell the truth. It's the way you stand up and say 'Stop!' Abbey: You should be careful Oliver. You keep talking like a person, they're going to kick you out of the bar. Babish: I've been kicked out of bars before. Abbey: I meant... Babish: I know what you meant.
from All Gone Quiet episode 3-06 The West Wing
So Peter Robinson was back in BBC Northern Ireland earlier to say that he was employing a senior counsel, no not Oliver Babish, to look at the Spotlight programme of last night and ask him any questions they wish to ask to give an opinion as to what he should have disclosed or whether I have breached an obligation.
However, Robinson is remaining defiant that he has done nothing wrong, he even says that he was shocked of some of the allegations in the programme. This doesn't seem to be going down well either within his own party or in the other half of the OFMDFM. He does however say that the reverse repayments of the money was carried out through a solicitor.
On the question of him telling his wife to resign all her political offices at the time rather than waiting for them to run their course, he told Mark Davenport "you jump to conclusions, based on the smears in the Spotlight programme". The only advise he believed he should have given was that his wife should have paid it back in the proper manner.
However, surely as a longer standing MP and in light of the who issue over MPs expenses earlier this year surely it would have dawned on him to also advise his wife to declare the original loans ever if they were being repaid. He doesn't seem to deny that the loans were made to her and or her hands on dealing with their repayment.
Sir Reg Empey the leader of the UUP is calling on Mrs Robinson to vacate all her public offices from today, saying it is not right to carry on receiving pay from the public purse for them in light of the revelations about her financial dealings.
UPDATE: Mind you somebody has been quick of the mark reworking that Simon and Garfunkle classic to take into account recent events. Hat tip to Slugger O’Toole via Paul Walters
I've been asked by Mick Fealty who runs the Northern Irish blog Slugger O'Toole whether the Scottish Tories are getting the same deal as my former Minister* Reg Empey has managed for Northern Ireland as part of the Ulster Unionists dowry. Basically Cameron has promised the earth to Northern Ireland:
"What we have agreed is that all of Northern Ireland will be designated as an enterprise zone," the UUP leader said. "It allows us to start to work on tax issues." Asked if that would allow Northern Ireland to set a lower corporation tax, Empey said: "I would harbour that ambition to achieve special tax status."
Judging my Annabel and Co's comments on the Lib Dems trying to get changes to taxation in Scotland. It would seem that Annabel's time around the shadow cabinet table haven't been as productive as Reg has used his time in discussions. I am of course happy to hear from any of my Scottish Conservative friends who wish to prove otherwise.
BTW I've started to write a little column for Slugger as well.
*From my time working in the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment.
My former Minister, from when I worked at the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment, Sir Reg Empey and Conservative leader David Cameron have today issued what may be an historic statement. The will set up a "joint working group to explore the possibilities of closer cooperation leading to the creation of a new political and electoral force in Northern Ireland. That working group will report to us in the autumn." Possibly paving the way for full involvement in the mainland parties in Northern Ireland.
While there is the Northern Ireland Branch of the Liberal Democrats and Labour has allowed Northern Irish members full rights since 2003 none of the main UK Parties have made much of an impact in Northern Politics against the sectarian nature of the recent past. One exception may be the one term that the Conservatives were the largest group on North Down Borough Council but then my home area has always been a little bit maverick. Labour and the Conservatives both had representation, through the top up system, at the talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement but failed to gain representation at the first Assembly Elections that followed. The Lib Dem NI Branch has not been actively seeking election while the Alliance Party has been seen as a more credible Liberal voice in the province.
Of course in typical Tory parlance they have set up another exploratory so like most of their policy aims nothing is firmed up yet. But is it the time? Is Northern Ireland ready to throw off the sectarian politics that have existed for decades?
When Northern Ireland first gained devolved power as an insider on the civil service side I was impressed at how the local politicians actually really relished the change to start talking about and dealing with the real bread and butter issues. They no longer had to posture for the sake of posturing, they had power to make changes and they wanted to use it wisely. In that respect the politicians I'm sure are still ready. It is the voters that have often inherited their voting patterns based not so much on policy but on religious affiliation where the issues may lie.
Again there was a willingness when the Assembly first gathered to give this a go, however the last elections did show a move towards the extremes yet again, which at the time I saw as a worrying sign. Personally I'd be glad to see the end of being a side show at Westminster but being able for Northern Irish people to fully engage as every other part of the UK can.
I will however, as with so much, wait and see what comes out of the Cameron started working group, nothing is really set in stone just yet.
