Picture by toryscallywag
“There’s no more money!” If I had a quid for every time I’ve heard that from unionist politicians in recent months, I’d be a rich man. The repeated statement was usually directed at Sinn Féin, who the unionist politicians believed had added stupidity to stubbornness by refusing to acknowledge what was for them the fact: the British government simply didn’t have any more money to ease welfare cuts, here or anywhere else, so the sooner we got on with implementing them, the better. The DUP and the UUP are both democratic parties, in that they’ve been elected, not appointed. So it’s fair to assume they were speaking for their people, or perhaps educating their people (by that I mean those who voted for them) in emphasizing the need to face hard facts.
And now? Well who’da thunk it? The House of Lords, that unelected body, into which you get by dint of who your da was, or if you’re a Church of England bishop, or if you’ve been appointed a life peer – that is, been given a freebie – by the government of the day: this same House of Lords has stood up and said George Osborne and his smooth pal David Cameron really should not implement these cuts – they’ll hurt the most vulnerable in society.
Now where have I heard that before? Oh right – the Shinners were pushing that line which was brushed aside by the pragmatic unionist MLAs in Stormont. And wonder of wonders: no sooner are the words out of their mouth than George Osborne has said he’ll look at ways to ameliorate these cuts for the most vulnerable. In other words (pace the DUP/UUP) there is some more money.
Politics makes strange bed-fellows, but not in their wildest nightmares can Peter Robinson or Mike Nesbitt have imagined the House of Lords pulling back the duvet and hopping in there with the Shinners. But maybe as pragmatists, they’ll accept that they got it wrong and thank the Lords (and the Lord) for the money they insisted didn’t exist.
The DUP were quick out of the blocks on Monday night, stating they aligned themselves with Labour and Lib Dem peers to vote against government bill, well to have it temporarily halted – yet, quite happy to implement Tory cuts in the North.
Uniquely though, Seven peers, all with links to the UUP, including David Trimble,Paul Bew, Ken McGuinness,John Taylor voted in favour (two didn’t attend vote) of Osborne’s tax credit cuts! Supporting cuts to the most vulnerable?
Should read, “all HAD links to UUP”
This should make for some interesting discussions between DUP canvassers with their voters on doorsteps at the election. Peter Nigel, and Gregory were telling them also there was no more money for welfare here. Scales must be falling from eyes chez dup electoral base about the party’s attitude to them.
It’ll make not a jot of a difference come election time Daniel, unionists don’t vote for unionist parties they vote against Sinn Féin. DUP/UUP will produce the great satan and all will be well again for them.
Please do not upset the apple-cart.
Mr Osborne was starting to take suggestions, sorry, policy initiatives from the Official Unionist Party seriously for a minute or two. Just imagine the savings if an army of retired people started helping out in schools, we could do with less teachers.
Mr Osborne has flagged bullet points for urgent action. What about the Health Service being run by a Chief Constable and the Paramedic Service Northern Ireland. “Doctor, doctor, we need conscription.” Brilliant idea, waiting lists reduced with the stroke of a pen and administrative staff surplus to requirements as there would be no need to keep files. No complaints departments necessary either, the operation was a success, however, the patient died. Might be necessary to keep some volunteers on the books though, just in case. On second thoughts, forget the books, not needed, National Security will cover the lack of books, more savings, brilliant.
That made me laugh,
Love it lolar 🙂
sounds like some people looking a soft landing for those implementing these cuts.
Just read today that ‘Osborne & Little’ , the company in which George has a 15% share ,has generated sales in excess of £200 million between 2008 and 2015 but has paid no corporation tax in same period….Perhaps if the millionaire Tory party tightened the law on tax evasion and closed the loopholes on tax avoidance and off-shore accounts he could end the witch-hunt of the most vulnerable people in society…..the poor….but when you keep people in poverty ,with no employment opportunities you’ve ready -made cannon fodder for your next war…….simple
Great.work.jude
Grma, Jim…
Didn’t many UUP Lords vote for tax credit cuts or didn’t bother to turn up to vote?
Ryan, the two UUP Lords, who are still members of the party, Lord Empey and Baron Rogan failed to attend for the vote – 5 other Lords, who had previous connections to the UUP – Trimble, Mcguiness, Bew, Kilconney and Laird all voted in favour of tax credit cuts – as Nesbitt would say “this is not as good as it gets.”
“Finance Minister Arlene Foster has secured around £133million funding from HM Treasury to meet the cost of pension settlements for affected retired police and fire fighters in Northern Ireland.”
“Following negotiations with the Chancellor, I have been able to secure the necessary funding from HM Treasury to meet the upfront costs associated with making payments to the affected pensioners. As a result, we will avoid the potentially catastrophic consequences of the two Departments having to absorb these costs,” she said.
This was just last week. There’s a money tree somewhere, it seems.
Although speaking with all the authority of an economic illiterate of long standing (lost one’s deckchair at the Titanic Visitor Experience !), Esteemed Blogmeister, one vouches that there is one establishment on Liffeyside where there is no shortage of moolah.
That would be Amharclann na Mainistreach/ The Abbey Theatre.
Whose distinguished CEO (which is leprechaun for FOG) one, Senator Fiach Mac Conghai pulled back the safety curtains on the theatre’s elaborate 1916 Commemorative Programme:
– Waking the Nation !
No, nothing to do with the old ballad so beloved of Brendan Behan: ‘Me old alarm clock’. Rather more weighted in the direction of the loyalist cohort: the programme is an inclusive sort of thingy, you understand.
Ranging from the worthy if not weary war-horse ‘Observe the Sons of Ulster Warbling Somme Enchanted Evening’ to the world premiere of a new play by Belfast thespian, David Ireland (no relation): ‘Cyprus Avenue’.
Whose tagline reads thus: ‘Eric Miller is a Belfast Loyalist. He believes his five week old grand-daughter is…….Gerry Adams !’.
This masterpiece of black (Protestant) humour is down to run from mid-February to Mid-March, fitting neatly into the run-up to the General Election in the Free Southern Stateen.
Did one say that it was the Prime Minister E. Kenny who played Caligula to F. Mac Conghail’s Senatorial role?
Stand by for Ceist Mhor an Ollthoghchain / The Big Question of Election, 2016:
-Was Gerry Adams in the (gulp) Girl Guides?
The DUP and the UUP are left looking like fools at best. Sadly this will not affect their popularity because of several factors:
1. A larger proportion of the Unionist Electorate do not think for themselves and accept Unionists’ statements as Gospel (even when it is bad news).
2. The media won’t spend much time highlighting Unionist flaws which make them unfit for government- they will look for the next scandal that can do damage to Sinn Fein.
3. Sectarian voters won’t stray from the anti-Catholic parties.
Lucky we don’t have the traditional political system of the largest block in parliament having the power to legislate. If we did we would have had severe cuts already and Unionists would have taken delight in adding a few cuts of their own to show loyal they were to their masters.
This notion that there is no more money is laughable given that the world supply of money has increased 70 fold in the last 40 years (Bank of England). This was while the global population barely doubled. So if we lived in a sane world every woman, man & child would be comfortably off instead of half of us living in poverty.
There is plenty of money. Its just in the wrong places like in the pockets of bankers, generals & politicians.
So let’s stop peddling this nonsense that ‘there’s no more money’.
seems theres money for these migrants,according to the lord mayor they will receive a full package on landing.
Jude,
Are there any scenarios in which SF can can get out of corner they are now in on Welfare – apart from the suspension of Stormo.
I think they (reasonably) bet that the Labour party were going to get elected and could they therefore avoid implementing Tory cuts.
Now in order to maximise their vote in the South(as well as the principle) they will need something from the Tories to avoid being pilloried in the South(by Labour) for implementing Tory cuts. The current impasse will not last long enough to get past the Southern election.
The difficult question is not if there is any (British) money – plenty for Trident etc,but but WILL the Tories use any of it to reverse/change/fudge their policy to suit SF? (whether they SHOULD or not is academic).
Really cant see what is in it for the Tories? The destabilising of Stormo is probably the only SF card has to play.
Or am I missing something?
“Jude,Are there any scenarios in which SF can can get out of corner they are now in on Welfare – apart from the suspension of Stormo.”
It looks to me that the DUP and Sinn Fein have already agreed an amount and some means of getting it that robbo is comfortable asking for cameron to get involved.
If there wasn’t more money being asked for and a proposed solution, why would he say the PM was needed?
I would have thought that the suspension of stormont would be the worst scenario for SF in the south. Agreeing a budget plan that will make NI self sufficient and ready for reunification would be the best outcome.
If a budget isnt agreed, the two governments will step in, and come up with the same plan anyway. Fianna Fail will take the advantage both in the south and by announcing their intention to stand in the norths elections in 2019 and become the second republican party on this island, they will come across as having the economic savvy needed and this will hurt SF the most.
So both DUP and Sinn Fein or indeed any party on both sides need stormont and an agreed budget.
As long as Sinn Fein show there is a reasonable solution that limits austerity, why would it effect the elections in the south?
Jessica,
Yes you are probably right(ish). Some sort of plan fudge must be partly made.
Will there be more money? Will it be called ‘more’ by SF and the Tories and Unionists say it is money from somewhere else that was coming anyway.
The impact on the South is if SF can be seen to have ‘implemented Tory cuts’ – even if they have mitigated their effects Labour(Southern) and FF will be on their case.
Whatever SF pull out of the hat – it will be an achievement – but will be judged on whether it was significant enough to have caused a ‘crisis’ over many months.
ps Presumably Cameron is needed (even if there is no ‘more’ money) to agree to scrap the ‘fines’ that have been imposed by the Treasury for not agreeing a budget for many months.
maybe another cavalcade would convince some,