The LibDem vote crumbled; the SNP want all of the YES votes as well as from those whose minds have been changed since the Referendum; the Tories believe that the Labour vote is vulnerable; you should not split the Unionist vote .
Psephologists and journalists often assume, for convenience sake, that blocks of votes belong to a particular, political grouping. Since the foundation of the partitioned state of Northern Ireland, it has been determined along crude, sectarian boundaries, albeit that there may nowadays be a degree of splintering within those monoliths. In the elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the only genuine challenge to these assumptions is being mounted by those candidates standing on ‘People Before Profit ‘ platforms. They solely seem to recognise that votes are not the property of any political grouping; it is the individual right of people to make choices in the polling booths .
I have known Eamonn McCann for more than sixty years and place a high value on our continuing friendship. Since I live permanently in Scotland, I will not have a vote in these Assembly elections. However, as an onlooker with strong family and emotional attachment to Derry, it is evident to me that there is one candidate whose well documented commitment to human rights and the welfare of working class people is outstandingly apparent and that clearly is Eamonn McCann.
When he joined with other members of the Derry Housing Action Committee in pushing a caravan across Hamilton Street in 1967, he was planting the seeds for social action which would soon see people demand their rights throughout the Six Counties. McCann and his fellow activists were seeking justice for the whole working class population, Catholic and Protestant; they were not hidebound by the Orange and Green insignia which tragically persist into 2016 and are wickedly exploited by political factions on both sides of the divide. They wanted real change then and their demands remain constant as the Northern star.
Whenever I return to Derry, I see paltry evidence of real change which benefits the whole people of the City. The old Nationalist party, Unionists, SDLP and Sinn Fein have failed to deliver for them.
Eamonn has been honoured as a consistent, campaigning journalist by his peers; he is widely recognised as one of the most capable public speakers in these islands; he has one of the finest political brains in the country. A moribund Assembly would certainly be resuscitated with his election and the voice of working people would finally be heard in Stormont. A great many voters in the south have already recognised that Independents offer some hope of an improvement in the plight of people who were betrayed by Fianna Fáil and further punished by Fine Gael. People before Profit has made already progress there and inspired swathes of the electorate.
You can trust Eamonn McCann.
Use that arbiter to assess each of the other candidates.
Personally, I would like to see a group like PBP do well in the assembly elections. Down South I voted for Sinn Féin one and PBP two, I did this because despite all of the claims against Sinn Féin, we are left wing but people who have no involvement with Sinn Féin and hence no nothing about us claim us to be Fascist, right wing or any other ridiculous political position which we in Sinn Féin laugh at. Sinn Féin fought austerity in the North and were left completely isolated so I fully welcome an ally who will fight for the people of the North. Unionists have put up the walls that Sinn Féin are trying to break down and to attack is counter productive for a new party in its first election where they stand a chance of getting seats. Why criticise Sinn Féin when it is clearly Unionists who hold bigotry and hatred as their core values
Know, not no, apologies
Oh here we go again, SF members claiming to be whiter than white and only Protestants can be sectarian. It’s a pity then their armed wing didn’t stick to their holier than thou principles during their quote-unquote war. So keep repeating those porkies and eventually enough people will be taken in by them as Joseph Goebbels discovered for himself.
KC, not all protestants are unionist and no one said anything negative about protestants or religion at all.
Irish unionism is the equivalent of supporting the continuation of apartheid in south Africa and yes, the vast majority are religious and sectarian bigots.
You don’t do much to suggest otherwise I should add.
Moribund is the word given the evidence from recent UTV or BBC debates about the forthcoming sectarian headcount. Stormont is working, Stormont is making a difference, we were told.
Waiting lists for health care and the morale in the Health Service tell a different story. Investment in Early Years provision tells a different story. Young teachers are unable to find posts and many are leaving the country. The roads and other infrastructure leave much to be desired. Many people are being forced to depend on food banks. Attacks on vulnerable older people are becoming the norm as millions of pounds are being spent on policing interface areas. Call centres and zero hours contracts are poor responses to the scourge of unemployment.
Mr McCann would be a breath of fresh air in Stormont. Voters all over Ireland need to reflect on promises made by elected representatives and promises broken. Mr McCann has no truck with sectarianism or racism. There are alternatives. For the bean counters who pose questions about finance and resources, perhaps they should reflect on the existence of off shore accounts. An eminent member of the legal fraternity recently raised interesting questions about the recurring finance available for nuclear submarines and wars. Perhaps we do get the elected representatives we deserve?
I’d like Mr Patton to visit some of SF advice centres which offer first class constituency services across the Island and then come back and tell us who is delivering or not for the thousands of people who trust them with their vote.
With the greatest of respect John, I’m afraid you are totally wrong. Eamon has indeed been involved in all things you say in your article but apart from campaigning and speeches has not, and will not deliver anything for Derry.
The only party capable of changing the things that matter, and the things you were campaigning about 50 years ago, like expanding Magee, getting the A5 and A6 built and creating jobs for our young people is Sinn Fein.
Your nephew
Conor Heaney
more snouts in the trough he may as well jump on the bandwagon.
Eamon will get damn all votes from the protestant community.Bernadette McAliskey launched both his and Gerry Carrolls campaigns.Please don’t pretend that Bernadette “straddles the divide” for that is utter nonsense.I applaud both her and McCann for the positions they took in support of Republicanism for decades but please don’t reinvent them as being “above all that” now.
Despite a public rebuke from my nephew, these responses are encouraging for People Before Profit; their 43% support would see Eamonn comfortably elected on the first ballot. My thanks for Jude’s magnanimity in hosting a political view which may have been somewhat at variance with those usually expressed on this site
Fadhb ar bith, John. I’m happy to take posts with any loyalty, short of fascism and …I was going to say the Orange Order but no, I’d take one from them too.
John
I assume you are a regular reader of this blogspot .If so,you’ll have gathered that even implied criticism of Sinn Fein is not welcomed with any great enthusiasm by many of the posters.A good example of this is in the above contribution by Conor Heaney who describes himself as your nephew.I wonder if this is the same Conor Heaney who works as a Special Adviser to Sinn Fein at Stormont .Many would query his boast that S F is the only party that can deliver for Derry.His party certainly seem to be good at delivering jobs for their own followers.If anything ,Magee University seems to have been allowed to run down despite the fact that D F M is from the city
“you’ll have gathered that even implied criticism of Sinn Fein is not welcomed with any great enthusiasm by many of the posters” . That’s probably true, Argie, since most of those responding tend to have a nationalist/republican take on things. I’m sure you’re not suggesting that non- or even anti-republican views aren’t given full space on this blogsite. I welcome same – your views, MT’s, gio’s, and any other unionist perspective. And as I’m sure you remember, the site is open to a guest blog from any perspective, including non/anti-republican, providing it’s not simply abuse and/or libel-material. Why don’t you have a crack at a guest blog yourself, Argie?….
Jude
I can’t speak for Argenta but I am not a Unionist.
I have mentioned this many times and you have commented on it so it seems a bit rude to imply that I am.
Oh. Sorry gio. Case of mistaken identity, then. Why on earth did I think that?
Jude
No idea. Memory problems?
Gio
Thanks for bringing Jude’s words(“and any other unionist perspective “)to my attention.The implication seems clear.If you cast the least doubt on Sinn Fein,you must be a unionist.A very black and white world!!
I accept your correction, Argie. So how would you describe your political position? (so I’ll know next time…)
Argenta
No problem.
As you say things are very black and white (or green and orange) in these parts!
I don’t see why one has to have a designation in order to comment on current affairs.
For myself I have voted for a range of parties over the years for various reasons,even Sinn Fein once.
I think it is tempting to allocate a box to people then argue with the label on that box rather than what the person is actually saying. Once designated as a Unionist,for example, your comments can be dismissed as hypocrisy because Unionists have done such and such at some time in the past 800 years.
And that is how many threads here tend to go.
I think you exaggerate a little, gio. ‘Once designated a Unionist’, you clearly announce your commitment to rule from Westminster. Which is a perfectly legitimate stand to take. But I’m afraid you must also allow others to see that union as damaging to Ireland, and allow them to designate themselves as nationalists/republicans. There are of course shades of unionism and shades of nationalism/republicanism, but the difference between the two is actually quite clear – black and white indeed. That doesn’t mean addressing the difference isn’t complex and layered; but it means that ignoring that core difference will ensure that the divide continues, with all its attendant consequences.
Jude
I’m really referring to the habit of inferring what political persuasion people are based on their comments.
If I believe I am arguing with a Unionist I may just argue against everything done by Unionists ever, and vice versa.
No doubt some who are unequivocal about their allegiance have no problem with that, but others (and I think that is what Argenta is saying) do not see themselves as fitting into such neat boxes.
Maybe it is not any longer necessary to define oneself politically according to the constitutional question, which has been parked in accordance with the GFA.
You were going SO well until that last sentence, gio…The constitutional question isn’t so much parked as resting…It’s perfectly understandable if it’s a huge issue for people, either way. That doesn’t mean you ignore all the b and b matters – au contraire – but it doesn’t mean the reverse – that thinking people only address social issues. Countries have foreign and domestic policies. People are actually able to handle two ideas/problems/issues at once.
“I’m really referring to the habit of inferring what political persuasion people are based on their comments.
If I believe I am arguing with a Unionist I may just argue against everything done by Unionists ever, and vice versa.
No doubt some who are unequivocal about their allegiance have no problem with that, but others (and I think that is what Argenta is saying) do not see themselves as fitting into such neat boxes.
Maybe it is not any longer necessary to define oneself politically according to the constitutional question, which has been parked in accordance with the GFA.”
You just sound to me like someone with no principals.
I don’t define myself according to any constitutional question, I was born Irish and there is nothing I can do about it even if I wanted to. The constitutional question only arises because Britain still occupies a part of Ireland which has created a division among the people of Ireland which is something I as an Irish person am entitled to object to and have a right to fight for its end. Britain have no right to claim any part of Ireland and their opinion on this has no merit and will be forever meaningless.
Britain has to leave and that is all there is to it.
How and when they leave will have an impact on the type of relationship we will have between our two islands during occupation and after.
If you are as indifferent about fitting into these boxes as you suggest then why the hell do you spend so much time talking about it?
What you fail to realise is that many peoples opinions are based on life experiences. People who have had similar experiences could well end up in similar boxes, others who have had no real impact either way may well not care so much either way.
Jude
Whether it is parked or resting or joined the choir invisible is not the point.
It is neither necessary or reasonable to pigeonhole people according to their perceived stance.
As I have said before if my argument is weak then take it apart. It makes no difference whether I am a Unionist or Nationalist or Anarcho-Syndicalist.
That should be ‘neither necessary nor reasonable’, gio – please try to keep the tone of the site up… To say someone is ‘pigeonholed’ implies/states that they’ve been given a label/description that doesn’t fit them. I think ‘nationalist/republican’ or ‘unionist/loyalist’ is a simple distinction, leaving lots of room for other descriptors, as I’ve already said. (Are you reading what I write, gio, or just trying to give me the runaround??)
“It makes no difference whether I am a Unionist or Nationalist or Anarcho-Syndicalist.”
I agree, there is only Irish or British, both is pro partition and therefore British by default.
I am Irish only whereas you sound more pro British to me.
Jude
Thanks for the correction.
I was wondering if indeed you are reading what I write.
Your descriptors do rather assume we must all be one or the other. And although that is broadly true it is not always the case and I just don’t see why people need to make these assumptions.
Even if I was a unionist masquerading as a non-unionist (though honestly I couldn’t be bothered)as some here seem to think, it should make no difference to the discussion if we focus on the issues and not the person,
Jessica, disagreeing with Sinn Fein supporters does not make me pro British.
I completely accept your last sentence, gio, and I suppose it is an assumption that can be made – probably because in many cases it’s true. But not necessarily, as you point out. I don’t really think you’re a unionist but I don’t believe you’re neutral on the constitutional question. Perhaps you see what should be done about it differently from me. I think it should be addressed much more than it is – when’s the last time you heard a SF politician making a speech about a united Ireland? – since it is the single issue that divides us. Which is hardly surprising. I know there are people who profess, not just that they’ll park the constitutional question (temporarily, presumably) but who see it as an irrelevance. I think that’s either disingenuous or very short-sighted.
Eamon McCann has had a very long political history. In all that time he has achieved nothing concrete politically (correct me if I am wrong). He has always been good at talking and I was attracted to some of his ideas when I was younger. But really anyone can say things, getting out and doing them is the real challenge. When he joined the establishment and started attacking Sinn Fein Iost all interest in the man. As for breaking the sectarian headcount- don’t see it. He is really only appealing for middle class Nationalists. He might get some votes from Sinn Fein but I feel he will get more from SDLP supporters annoyed at career politics ruling the party. He has always reminded me of the middle class socialist worker people I knew in England. I think he would do slightly better in British elections if he ever thought about crossing the pond.
Eamon McCann Has a very high regard for Eamon McCann.
What exactly has he done or achieved since his involvement in the civil rights movement?
Since then he has been more of a critic than anything else.
McCann may come across as a bit smug at times, as BelfastDan suggests, but his voice would be welcome in the assembly in my view,
It is far too cosy and like Jim Allister he is sharp enough.to ask the awkward questions of the ruling classes, in our case the DUP and Sinn Fein.
I read Eamon`s book about the conflict in Derry a long time ago and if I remember correctly he took a much more Nationalistic/Republican position then, I could be wrong but I got the impression he realised who the bad guys were. I have voted for Sinn Féin since 1982 and I will always vote for them, in war or peace.
AJ
Pronouncing your intention to vote for Sinn Fein no matter what is surely just blind loyalty.
Supposing they decided to take their seats in Westminster say, or decide to support abortion on demand, or even a return to the armalite and the ballot box?
Never say never!