Note: this column appeared in The Andersonstown News last week, prior to the election.
By the time you read this, you may have cast your election vote. Several times, for all I know. In that case, go out and have a pint or do some slug-killing in the back garden or whatever your idea of fun is.
If you have yet to vote, it’s always good to go into the booth having done a bit of thinking in advance. I know people who’ve neglected this, had a rush of blood to the head in the polling booth,and given Jim Allister their No 1. So here are a few pre-voting thoughts I’ve indulged in to keep me sensible when I come to make my mark.
People Before Profit: I’ve a vested emotional interest here, since Eamonn McCann was a classmate of mine fadó fadó, and I’ve always found him pleasant, intelligent and consistent in his socialism. On the other hand, I don’t think he or Gerry Carroll has made any impact in the Assembly over the past nine months, I think PbP’s enthusiasm for Brexit is misguided, and given that Carroll is elected in West Belfast and McCann is elected in Derry, their socialism falls markedly short of transcending Orange and Green. On the contrary, it’s based on taking chunks out of the nationalist/republican vote while leaving the unionist vote unmolested. And to say that they’ve been silent on Irish re-unification would be an understatement.
Alliance. Naomi Long is a formidable political opponent and an outstanding debater. However, the Alliance Party has always positioned itself as a cross-community party with no views on the constitutional question. In reality it is a passively-unionist party that’d be at home in Finchley or Hampshire. Nice people but no cigar.
The Green Party. Steven Agnew is nothing if not pleasant and agreeable, and green issues deserve more attention than they get. But like Alliance, the Greens have no problem with a divided Ireland and show little interest in promoting or even protecting Irish culture. .They could be (maybe are) at home in Finchley. Sorry, Steven.
The SDLP. Again, I plead emotional vested interest. I have known and know a number of the SDLP people and for the most part they are good company and decent people. Where I recoil is that they have always been ambiguous on the constitutional question (“post-nationalist” and all that) and they are a firmly middle-class party. Plus they’re not averse to taking the odd OBE, which is depressing.
The UUP. There was a time when I thought the UUP might become a promising alternative to the DUP. Then a couple of years ago I gave a talk to young UUP people in East Belfast and I emerged depressed. The party leader, Mike Nesbitt, came in near the end of my talk and clearly seconded their misguided vision of the Troubles. The only good thing I can think of saying about the UUP is that they’re not the DUP.
The DUP. Are you kidding? Red Sky, NAMA, the Irish language, Ministers lighting and/or standing grinning before Eleventh Night bonfires, Brexit, Glow-for-Dough – the DUP ticks all the boxes, but unfortunately they’re all the wrong boxes. I’d rather have every drop of blood sucked from my body by Nelson McCausland than endorse them.
Sinn Féin. As in the case of PbP and the SDLP, I know and like a number of Sinn Féin people. I am hugely impressed that Gerry Adams and others have taken republicanism from what could have been a violence cul-de-sac and forged the biggest party in Ireland, against a constant mainstream media tide. Massive achievement. I like that abolition of partition is central to their platform and that they have a left perspective on most issues. Their position on abortion I don’t agree with, but then my views on the matter are not be those of many sincere people in Sinn Féin, other political parties and the wider community. I like their stance on Europe – firmly anti-Brexit, while aware of the need to improve and democratize the EU. If they can open the door to bright young professionals by changing their average-industrial-wage ruling, they will be doing themselves and society a favour. Post election, I’m confident they’ll hold DUP feet to the flames of respect-reconciliation-honesty before even thinking about forming a fresh Executive. They’ve said it themselves: we’re not going back to the sneering, shady-deal days. Not now, not ever.
Right. That’s it. Now get your ample rear-end out of that chair and down to the polling station. You’re not being asked to die for Ireland, just vote. The pint and the back-garden slugs can wait.
PS (Tues 7 March): It appears the electorate were listening to me. How wise of them…
Jude, will you look into your crystal ball and tell me will Arlene stay or will she go
I think you summed it up pretty well , Jude. In a “normal” society that hadn’t been designed specifically as a “Homeland” for a specific unionist tribe , all those other smaller parties would and probably eventually will do much better, but this is and never has been normal. If it was normal ,Arlene Foster would now be on gardening leave and no mistake and we wouldn’t have to be sitting around trying to make a case for any of it ,either way.Make no mistake , the election was fought because of her and her stupidity.All that other stuff was only cream on the top. I know of many people who would otherwise be long-term , much older SDLP voters ,who voted for SInn Fein for the first time simply because of Arlene Foster and her attitide. Obviously Sinn Fein also got the younger voters out too, but many now see Sinn Fein, not as some shabby street party with blood on their fingers,(they all know what the real reasons for the violence were complicated, but that’s now as much history to them as the Battle Of Waterloo)… but they do see them as a growing progressive party who are on the right side of the Brexit debate , the right side on the corruption debate and consistently on the right side of the whole equality deal for everyone ,no matter , race , colour, creed ,nationalist, unionist or gay .They simply think that even current unionists would be served much better if they guided their own affairs within a united country, given that the UK doesn’t really give a damn about any of us , at bottom.If Arlene does not step aside for gardening leave until this is sorted out , they’ll simply wait her out.They’ve been waiting for a long time already and that is what people expect them to do if they abide by the current law of the land..
QUID PRO QUO
Former leader Seamas of the famous mallet
W’d approve of the ballot strat of John Dallat
QuIck learners know
That the quid pro quo
Goes: nincomstoop pal provides no palette.