Who next to lead the UUP?

Yesterday the news in the poll that the Ulster Unionist had the least influence of the five parties in the Northern Ireland Executive. Today three weeks ahead of the party's AGM the leader Tom Elliott has said he will not be seeking re-election for that position.

So who next to try and lead the UUP.

Basil McCrea was the runner up to Elliott less than 2 years ago and is an obvious contended to throw his hat into the ring. He was always seen as more liberal that Elliott especially when it came to issue of inclusion. The Donegal born MLA for Lagan Valley would clearly have a clear advantage of knowing who was supporting him last time out.

Danny Kennedy, the UUPs only minister at the Department of Regional Development, was as recently as this weekend denying that he would be challenging Elliot. Of course now there is a vacancy so all bets are off. As a former deputy leader of the party until the last leadership change he has the experience of ministerial office since 2010. The Newry and Armagh MLA is almost certainly going to throw his hat into the ring, trying to secure the more conservative branch of the party that took Elliott to the top job after the General Election

The former UTV journalist Mike Nesbitt has only been the MLA for Stangford since May last year, but because of his previous profession his is obviously a lot more assured in front of the camera than Elliott ever appeared to be. He may have only been an elected politician for 9 months but he is an assured character who oozes authority through his voice.

The current deputy leader John McCallister was seen as being given the role to appease the McCrea camp. The two men are from the same strand of the party, so it is unlikely that the two of them will both seek the leadership. He is another strong performer and someone who as  Health Spokesman has been great at challenging Edwin Poots over the issues that he tends to want to sweep under the cover.

Looking at the four possibles I see it most likely being a battle between McCrea and Kennedy as possibly just the two candidates. No doubt we'll learn more over the next few days.

First Minister takes his seat...

...at the GAA Dr McKenna Cup Final.

Now those of you outside Northern Ireland may be saying this is no biggy it is only a game. This is the first time a Unionist First Minister (or Prime Minister) has attended a game of the Gaelic Athletic Association, ever! Tom Elliot, his opposite number as leader of the UUP, said in his bid for the leadership in September 2010 that he would not attend GAA or gay events.

One wonders if the Pride organisers in Northern Ireland are sending off their invites to Peter Robinson to attend one of their events this summer after his has shown his is inclusive on one of the things that the other main Unionist Party in Northern Ireland's leader has shown reticence over. After all my predictions for this year did include the suggestion that a DUP politician would take part in Pride events this year.

Either way the attendance at a GAA event is big news. It shows that the First Minister is serious about inclusiveness. It is not a first for the DUP, Edwin Poots, while Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure did attend the same event 4 years ago. He may have arrived in his seat after the Irish National Anthem was sung, but then the current Minister for CAL, Carál Ní Chuilín, arrived at her first Northern Ireland football international after Good Save the Queen. But that he was there is none the less a significant step.

The First Minister said:

"It's good to be here. I have had several meetings with the GAA, at a meeting-to-meeting level and when the invitation came I was glad to take it up. 

"I'm not sure if I have caught all the finer points of the game, but I'm on the side of the referee on this one!"

As for the finer points of the game that can only come with attending more of them. It may also be too early to start kitting out the Castlereagh man with all the An Dún regalia, jersey, hoody, ball etc as a Down man should start to have. But when he feels confortable about getting one so he can wear it with the gay Gaelic players in Belfast Pride he could always purchase in in the O'Neills' Store in Enniskillen.

SNP MP claims to be an Unionist

Watson: How can MacNeill claim to be a unionist when he is of Nationalist stock?

Holmes: It's 1603, my dear Watson. 

Angus MacNeill, the SNP MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, has just appeared on BBC Northern Ireland's Hearts and Minds [link to iPlayer from this point] claiming to be a Unionist!

The thing is that the tactic that he was using was which version of the Union was his opponent in debate, the UUP leader Tom Elliott, referring to. He kept going back to it as Elliott tried to mention that the United Kingdom was stronger under the European Union (throwing another union into the mix shows how poor a debater Elliott is). So my Scottish friends beware!


Having worked on the referendum for the yes to AV campaign one thing that the No team did was to try and confuse and complex the issues. Something that MacNeill was trying to do to a clearly unprepared and unaware Elliot and presenter Noel Thompson. Yes there are a number of Unions involved the Union of the Crowns (of England and Scotland) in 1603, the Act of Union 1707, which did away with the separate states and parliaments under the same crown, there are of course the Acts of Union of 1800 that united Ireland into that Kingdom. There is also the Statue of Rhuddlan from 1284 which effectively binds Wales to England.

MacNeill was using the confusion which anyone who hasn't spent time with the SNP could easily fall into distracting the debate away from the issues to Northern Ireland as a result of Scottish independence by trying to tie Northern Irish unionists up by their understanding of what the Union is. The thing is of course there are different views of what the union is for amongst unionists. There is the Northern Irish viewpoint. There is one largely shared by Conservatives and Labour, then there is a different one that Liberal Democrats hold. Other parties such as UKIP hold other opinions as well.

Was MacNeill trying a line of attack on a show in Belfast this evening that may eventually get used in Glasgow and Edinburgh? One that accentuates differences in what the union means to various people who support it to pull the union apart? Is claiming to be a 1603 unionist a cunning plot to assuage people that Scottish Nationalists are going to change things that much. Though look at their continuing vision to centralise with the police and fire services bill publication today.

I think we are well aware that the SNP are not going to play by the rules that currently exist, because each time they get knocked back it becomes one more trophy for them to parade about a repressive Westminster. Now it looks like they may also be trying to confuse people by just what union we're all talking about. They may have launched a divide and conquer approach tonight, to try and win through.

Backward Orange

When does a political attending the funeral of a murdered police officer become a disciplinary matter? Well only if the location in Northern Ireland, the police officer Catholic and the Politicians members of the Loyal Orders.

LOL 821 St Simon's Church Total Abstinence from the Sandy Row may complain against Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliot and minister for Regional Development for attending Constable Ronan Kerr's Requiem Mass in April. However, the majority of people in Northern Ireland were pleased to see representatives of all our parties attending such a funeral that led to a public outpouring of grief and outrage. As you can see from the picture below there was cross party support, with Alliance MLA Chris Lyttle on the left, thier MP Naomi Long just behind me and the SDLP's Conall McDevitt and DUP's Jim Wells side by side on the right.

Copyright © Kevin Cooper Photoline

The UUP leadership rather than showing political expediency as stated by the Sandy Row Lodge were actually reflecting the public mood, something that maybe the Orange Order would do well to reflect on. A funeral for someone who was serving the whole community and was murdered in cold blood should be attended by all our political leaders.

The Catholic Church lifted their restrictions on members attending other churches in the 60s to enable this to happen. I've even been to an Ordination of a new minister in Donegal at which the local catholic priest not only attended but took part. Yet the Orange Order still on paper ban their members from attending a service in a Catholic Church, even if it is a funeral. So work colleagues, friends or in this case brave police officers cannot be given the respect they deserve as human beings by Orange Order members giving their respects. They do not have to take part in the service or partake in the Mass, but merely have to sit there and they are seen as traitors.

It is time for the Orange Order to catch up with the rest of us in Northern Ireland and realise that attending a funeral isn't going to change someones political stance, but is merely how we pay respects to those who have lost their lives, their family and friends.

Eventually Tom says sorry, to some, for his "scum" remarks

The art of leadership is not just knowing that you are right, but also knowing when you are wrong. On Monday the Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliot certainly didn't realise the second was the case, as I blogged, and tried to maintain strangely that he still was the former. All of this despite the furore over the weekend since he let the word scum slip from his mouth about political opponents.

It has taken him another 2 days and another round of disgust for his to finally say sorry. Although it sorry only to those he offendede not for being 'provocated' to say it in the first place. The apology is still somewhat half-hearted and still in my opinion not one you'd expect to find of someone that is leading the first Unionist party to really accept that we need a shared future that acknowledges but does not dwell on our past.

Here's what he actually told the BBC Northern Ireland Politics Show:

"I will certainly apologise to all those good nationalists, republicans, even Sinn Fein voters who felt offended by it.

"It was certainly not directed at them so if they took offence at it, yes I regret that to them.

"For those people who do not regret the murders that they may have carried out in the past, I have to say that if they come to regret what they have done, then I think we could move forward much quicker."

Listening to the clip on the link  it seems almost like a forced apology even by Tom Elliot's standards. While Tom himself is not talking of resigning I still think he days are numbered.

Fisking Tom Elliot's defence of those comments

In today's Newsletter UUP leader Tom Elliot tries to defend his outburst in his acceptance speech where he called talked of "the scum of Sinn Féin". I am producing it in full so I cam fisk it in red.

 My Comment was right um I'll get unto that later by Tom Elliot UUP

MY remarks at the count in Omagh have attracted a great deal of attention and comment.

The people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone suffered grievously at the hands of the IRA, many of whom were members of Sinn Fein for decades. This is true, there is no denying history.

Whilst we are now in a new era and many people would prefer us to whitewash the past, many of us are not whitewashing the past, what we are doing is attempting to move on the fact is that Sinn Fein as a party does come with some pretty awful baggage. As does the UUP and Elliot himself, he will no doubt still be commemorating a Battle from 1690 all summer. As I stood in that hall yesterday I was subjected to abuse and heckling from the worst type of Sinn Fein’s supporters.

My comments were certainly not directed at broad nationalism, republicanism or indeed Sinn Fein supporters and members in general, as I am aware that a number of their members may not have been involved in terrorism.

However we need to remember that a number of these Sinn Fein members are unrepentant members of the IRA, who have murdered people from this province. Sinn Féin have renounced violence and recent murders. Their political aim is still the same that of a united Ireland. They are now seeking to achieve that through democratic means. Just as in the same way that Elliot's Unionist Party forebears sought to keep Ireland, and since 1921 Northern Ireland, in the Union. Indeed the Unionist set up a militia the Ulster Volunteers in 1913 to defend the Union by force if necessary. Neither side is without a paramilitary past in Irish conflict history.

My comments may have shocked or caused discomfort to some people, but I have to say that the murder campaign mounted by the IRA, which resulted in over 3,000 deaths, caused a great deal more.

It is amazing that I get severely criticised for these comments, while just two weeks ago at the republican Easter Rising commemorations senior Sinn Fein representatives glorified the IRA terrorist campaign that murdered many Northern Ireland citizens with comments like: “The IRA were not war mongers. They were a revolutionary force....” Was this a dig at his fellow Fermanagh and South Tyrone representative Sean Lynch.

And: “They took up arms in a bid to force the British out of our country. Their sacrifice and selflessness is an inspiration to us all.” I'll remind Tom that through the summer with a culmination on 12th July he will be celebrating a force from the Netherlands that came over to Ireland to rid the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland of its rightful sovereign, because he worshiped God in a different way.

None of these comments, which are insulting to many within our community, received the same type of adverse publicity or attention. Maybe that is because you are a political leader who is talking about a shared future and this was your acceptance speech on being elected to represent ALL the people of Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Yes! Even those that choose to fly a tricolour.

With regard to the results of the election, the UUP entered it with 16 seats and we have returned with 16 seats. Clearly many media commentators and pundits will be deeply disappointed this morning that their gleeful forecasts of meltdown and wipe-out did not come to pass. I’m not sorry to disappoint them.

The Ulster Unionist Party has been around for over 100 years Should I be pedantic and point out that from 1905 -1920 it was the Irish Unionist Party and Ulster Unionists have learned the ability to take a few knocks and come back from them. Life is not just about setbacks, but how you respond to them.

He then goes on to what a leader should be talking about in his acceptance speech.

We did indeed face setbacks in this election, but we also have some good news. I am obviously deeply sad that Fred Cobain did not manage to hold his seat. He will be sorely missed by the Ulster Unionist assembly team and the ordinary working people of North Belfast for whom he was a tireless worker and advocate.
I also regret the loss of our second seat in East Antrim where Rodney McCune put up a great fight but ultimately lost out to Sinn Fein. My commiserations and best wishes go out to all the defeated Ulster Unionist candidates.

But there is good news too with the addition of five new faces to the UUP assembly team, providing fresh ideas and approaches to complement the tried and trusted performers. Amongst the five new faces are two female MLAs in the form of Jo-Anne Dobson and Sandra Overend. I would also like to congratulate Ross Hussey on regaining a seat for the UUP in West Tyrone and Mike Nesbitt for regaining a second seat in Strangford. We will also benefit from the emergence of new blood in the form of Robin Swann in North Antrim.

It is vital that the next four years will provide a settled position for education in terms of both post-primary transfer and a way forward with an administration body. This is something that would instill much confidence within the public of Northern Ireland.

There also needs to be an immediate slimming down of our government and reduction of the size of the structures.

Finally some thoughts from me.

Tom I consider myself a proud Ulster man. On Saturday I  took great pride in wearing an Ulster county tartan. I'm a true man with roots in the north of Ireland. As one family member only people with viking blood like us could have survived and farmed where the family farmed for centuries. Thing is Tom that tartan was Donegal, the farm was in the frozen north of Malin head, the west facing side. One of my grandparents was born there, three of my great-grand parents, three branches of the family have roots in Donegal. Indeed one member of the family was Grand Master of the Orange Order in St. Johnstown, Donegal.

So yeah they may have been staunch Unionists but the flag of the land of my roots combines the Green of nationalism, the orange of unionism and the white of peace. It is a flag that was meant to symbolise a shared future, much in the same way that Elliot is meant to be leader of a party that is looking for a shared future. He should be one of those who really needs to grow up on the issue of symbols.

Pity Meeting with LGBT Groups Counts as News, but Welcome Step

Tom Elliott MLA Picture Belfast Telegraph

In 2011 it is a pity that the leader of the UUP saying he will meet with a Northern Ireland's gay community counts as a headline, but as Tom Elliot has said he will this is welcome. Depending how wide the group that he ends up meeting is he may find it interesting how many of the LGBT community leaders he has already met in other capacities rather than merely LGBT advocacy.

There are two interesting things about this, first that Tom did say he wouldn't attend Gay Pride parades during his leadership contest, but it was his comments about reading of support on gay websites that had sparked the invite. So well done to P A Mag Lochlainn of NIGRA for following through with an invite.

The second is that obviously we are now 12 years on from the Belfast Agreement, in which the LGBT community were established as one of the minority groups within Northern Ireland that the Assembly were meant to look out for an include in the future of Northern Ireland. It would appear that it has been easier for some politicians in Northern Ireland to sit down with former terrorists long before they are prepared to sit down and talk to people who are happy and proud in their sexuality which is non-heterosexual. Not that I'm saying that is the case here, but it could be assumed that some of the supporters that Tom wanted to reach out to win the leadership thought that was the case.

I look forward to the LGBT community being able to share their concerns with the leader of the UUP in open and frank dialogue, as already with other party leaders. I hope soon this headline sort of thing won't be so newsworthy for any of the party leaders involvement in Northern Ireland.

UUP Leader Elect Elliott : My Reader

Last night the Ulster Unionist Party elected Tom Elliott MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone as their new leader. This morning he said:

"What I want to see is a party that actually represents the population of Northern Ireland.

"I want to see for the Ulster Unionist Party the same as I want to see for the people of Northern Ireland - that is a working together, that is an integration, not a carve up between two parties or two sections of our community.

"I want an all-embracing party that actually represents Northern Ireland."

However, how all-embracing a party can it be if the leader of the UUP is not prepared to attend Pride events of GAA sporting events. As my friend and colleague Mícheál pointed out not in certain communities. 3000 Versts asks questions about what direction the UUP is going to take, again asking will it retreat back to Orange Order and the 'unionists'. Over at Slugger O'Toole there is still a warning that the party need to take off the brake and come out of reverse, something that must not be forgotten simply by the size of Elliott's victory.

Slugger carries this analysis of the result, much in line with the feeling on BBC Northern Ireland's Hearts and Minds last Thursday:

"The DUP will be happy tonight. Alliance will be happy that the UUP won’t be steering too far into their centre ground. And the SDLP will be upset that they’ll still not have a credible ally in the centre ground – the UUP and SDLP tend to succeed together and fail together."

So the reforming campaign of Basil McCrea had fallen by the wayside. Does it seem that the UUP have taken the lesson from the 2010 election that being too liberal is not the way to reach out to Northern Ireland? If it is and Elliott retracts to the right the fight for certain parts of the community of Northern Ireland will become harder once again.