It's grim up north

Things
2907

You’re the one bigging him up. There is nothing impressive about him, you can see through his bluster in a matter of seconds, all talk, no substance. His constituency is the biggest Stoop stronghold in the North, it’s no surprise that the SDLP have returned to the top here.

Nothing, it’s hard not to be disillusioned with them but they have always been voted in on an abstentionist mandate when it comes to Westminister and people have long memories when it comes to the SDLP and its intransigence when it comes to nationalism. It’s not as if nationalism is moving over in swathes to the SDLP, even despite the fact that there is a huge amount of disillusionment with SF right now, many many republicans and nationalists will not vote SDLP under any circumstance.

Nationalism has voted SF in on a mandate of abstentionism, if you can’t grasp that then there’s no point in dealing with you any further on this.

2908

@anon98850436 will one of the McGuinness boys replace McCallion next time?

You never answered my query the other day about the reasons for Fearon and O’Muilleoir leaving electoral politics. :rage:

2909

The people of Derry clearly thought he was impressive, which is why he won by over 17,000 votes

Nothing is the correct answer

In most places they voted SF either because of inertia and because the SDLP did not have a strong candidate (Newry and Armagh, West Tyrone, Mid Ulster, West Belfast) or because the SF candidate was the only viable nationalist candidate (North Belfast and Fermanagh South Tyrone - it helped that these two were SF’s two best candidates)

Hazzard in South Down only hung on by the skin of his teeth and could be extremely vulnerable to the SDLP next time if SF keep on their current path and have nothing to show for it, and it’s unlikely they will have anything to show for it as Brexit is going to make things very difficult for the north in general

SF have only one way to go over the next five years and that’s rabble rousing for a united Ireland referendum, it may work electorally or it may not but it is not something that is going to improve the real lives of people - they will definitely not improve in the next five years

2910

Why is that a surprise? Foyleside has always been and will always be a Stoop stronghold. SF even ran their party leader and the most revered figure in northern nationalism in another constituency such has been the traditional power base for the SDLP in Derry City.

I note you’re still unable to address the question. Eastwood is a weak candidate who runs in a power base of SDLP. On that basis you could argue the success of O’Neill because she tops the poll in Mid Ulster, it doesn’t say much.

You’ve ignored the rest.

It’s not really anything to do with strong candidates, SDLP are toxic and repellent to nationalism in the majority of Ulster. I think you’re labouring under the impression that the SDLP are a genuine alternative for nationalism when they’re not or won’t be. SF have made a huge balls up of things in recent years but the SDLP are repellent to nationalism - just look at Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick if you’re still a little confused to the standing of the stoops in nationalism.

2911

You’ve answered your own questions by saying that SF have achieved nothing and that it’s hard not to be disillusioned by them

I don’t think I need to add anything at this stage, that speaks for itself

2912

I’ve also countered your delusional statements that the Stoops are in some shape or form an alternative for nationalist politics.

2913

You haven’t countered anything

Your argument is literally: “Stoops!”

That’s not an argument

2914

I did you just chose to ignore it and hail Eastwood as some form of political protege on the basis of fuck all.

2915

McCallion got elected on the wave of sympathy still prevailing over the death of Derrys most famous cricket fan. She was awful, I can’t even think of five worst performers in the current dail, she was that bad. Foyle is an SDLP seat.
Eastwood won because of the banner primarily, I don’t think he has a lot going for him, unlike Hanna who is an excellent speaker.

2916

I don’t know about the resignations. Sometimes you need ‘independent sources’ which you need to have patience for.

Ask the lads in Derry. Martin was a tout. His Mrs was caught with guns in the boot of a car years ago and he spilled the beans ever since.

In Belfast, they had Gerry for the Fathers indiscretions.

The brits ran them. Michael McKevitt was set up by Dublin. His story is worse that the Birmingham six or Guildford four.

2917

How do you come to that conclusion

The Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four were innocent civilians who were put in prison for years for something they had no connection with

Michael McKevitt was a disso Republican who did the Omagh bomb which killed 29 civilians and maimed others

So your assertion is obviously a ludicrous one

2918

Michael McKevitt was innocent of the charges the state manufactured to convict him.
The B 6 and G 4 were too.

Whether Michael McKevitt had any part in any precious IRA operations is irrelevant.

His conviction was a sham.

2919

Eastwood, Another complete spoofer.

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2920

The SDLP have done well because people were frustrated about the lack of progress at Stormont. The lack of progress at Stormont happened because the figures temporarily fell the right way for the DUP in Westminster so they decided they’d rather work that gravy train for a while instead of the Stormont gravy train. Now the numbers are different so they’ll be back into Stormont fairly quickly. None of that has anything to do with any policies or leadership from either SF or the SDLP, although through complete chance it might make it look like the SDLP made a difference when the DUP now run back to Stormont.

If Eastwood is so great and talented then why hasn’t he achieved anything decent before now, especially considering he’s from the home of the SDLP in Derry? He’s been leader for over 4 years. Claire Hanna will take over that party soon enough.

1 Like
2921

I can never understand why desk jockeys from wexford get so apparently excited by what no mark gets elected in ballygobog, just because its an hour north of the pale. They should have evolved from feeling all grown up by posting “knowledgeably” about it, or reckoning they have the inside line on some one lane bar in a backstreet in magaluf, but clearly not. There’s a bit (lot) of want in them.

3 Likes
2922

Can see SDLP gaining some ground on foyleside , waiting for Gregory bloody Campbell to retire in the waterside never know what might happen

2923

How would you? You married a brit, live in britland, you don’t really give a shit about people of the 26 or 6.

Will you get the kids an Irish Passport?

What’s wrong with people of the 26 caring about the future of the 6 counties and a United Ireland.

It’s not just SF, Mark Daly of FF is most vocal in his call for a real discussion about a United Ireland despite his leaders dismissing it.

The issue is real, the discussion has to start and it will. There is no turning back when a border poll has taken place. The call for Scottish Independence is growing again. That’s why SF are asking for one, it may not pass first time but the genie is out of the bottle and the discussion starts and it will never go away again.

Don’t worry, It won’t effect you. The flood will still be in the lower field when you visit before jetting off to Knutsford.

1 Like
2924

A border poll should not happen until polls have shown a clear majority in favour of unification for at least 3-5 years, at least 53-47 and preferably higher than that

The reason is simple

Because if one is held prematurely, the campaign will be unbearable in its tension and it will cost lives

The Brexit referendum and to a lesser extent the Scottish referendum shows the tensions and the hatred that can be brought out by such a referendum

And those issues were far less contentious

This issue has war and sectarian slaughter in its recent past and the threat of war breaking out again because of it is very real

Also if one is held prematurely and the status quo wins, unification could become less likely in that people will not want to go through another referendum and the hatred it will engender in society

Unification has to become inevitable, it cannot be forced by a premature referendum in which the outcome is in doubt

That means a referendum should only happen when it is pretty much assured that unification will win

2925

The unionist for years hid behind the term majority.

Majority is 50% + 1.

The loyalist campaign in the 6 counties was ran by the brits. Without their support there would not have been any armed campaign from the loyalists.

No targeting, no guns, no getaways.

There will be no loyalist back lash. Who will they fight? They can’t fight to get back into the union. The war will be lost.

It will be like Owen Jones fighting to remain. It’s done…even he knows.

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2926

Who did they fight last time

They “fought” taxi drivers and teenage girls working in mobile shops and people in bookies’ shops and pubs

Who did people in Yugoslavia fight, they fought defenceless civilians

And yes, technically they can fight to get back into the union if there’s a united Ireland, because the Good Friday Agreement doesn’t suddenly stop if there’s unification

And people can campaign to rejoin the EU on February 1st, as they no doubt will, which is a campaign which likely gather serious momentum as the years go on

I don’t know why anybody would look at the Brexit referendum and see the tension and hatred brought about by that and say “oh, I fancy some of that”

Multiplied by about 20

Because that’s what you’re looking at if there’s a premature border poll in which the result is likely to go against unification, or on a knife edge

These referendums change everything, they change politics completely into atavistic tribalism, and the threat of war is not some abstract dystopian fantasy, some of us actually lived through the horrors, well most of us on this forum didn’t have to live through them directly, but it was just up the road

You can talk about the Brits all you like

The Troubles didn’t appear out of thin air and a premature referendum will poison and polarise society in the north way more than it already is poisoned

That’s why it shouldn’t happen until unification is inevitable

And the way British society and politics is going, you shouldn’t be under any illusions that the cunts in the Tory party who are unionists and imperialists to their fingertips would have any qualms putting the British Army back on the streets or helping out their Loyalist buddies

The seemingly unlikely has a very nasty habit of actually happening, why, because people don’t imagine what can go wrong and don’t learn from history

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