Unlike for example Jeremy Paxman, Alastair Campbell appears to have lost none of his sharp edge. He has denounced the idea of the DUP going into some sort of coalition with the Tories as a “sordid, dangerous and distasteful deal.” He believes this has the capacity to damage the peace process here: “How can our government be the mediator [between the DUP and Sinn Féin] when the DUP are going to be part of our government?”
A fair point, I suppose, from his perspective. However, there are those of us here who think the British government were never the neutral arbiters that they like to paint themselves as. Just as the BBC is the British Broadcasting Corporation, and we shouldn’t be surprised when its Britishness shines through the cracks of coverage of events here, likewise we shouldn’t be surprised if the British Secretary of State acts in Britain’s interests, not ours, or the supposedly neutral chairperson twists the discussion to suit British interests.
But as with everything, there’s an upside. Suddenly, after decades in which they didn’t seem to notice, the British public are currently getting an education in the core values of the DUP. These include their opposition to gay marriage, to abortion, and the existence of global warming. They are entitled to have these views, and those views are not confined to the DUP. However, what hasn’t been brought home to the British public is the endorsement of the DUP by illegal unionist paramilitary groups like the UDA. Nor has the British public discovered the influence of the Orange Order on the DUP, along with the nature and history of said Orange Order. Yesterday, the Orange Order released this statement:
Yes I know the font is small but it’s worth peering at. It’s at one and the same time clapping the DUP for being in the position of king-makers, and at the same time reminding them how important the Orange Order is to their success. Wait until the great British public begin to discover the values and history of Orange Order. Grind not your teeth at the DUP’s pivotal position. Rejoice instead that a light is being shone in their dank and distasteful basement.
Dia duit ar maidin Jude,
‘Curiouser and curiouser cried Alice’ and, as on Friday, I’m not quite as surprised as Alice, it is a shocking outcome, especially for a people whom have been removed from the ‘greed’ of Thatcherism to the relative liberalism of same sex marriage Cameron.
What does this ‘arrangement’ mean for the tories? Allied now, as you point out, to the orange order, I should love to see them demand a new route down Buckingham Palace Road or Fleet St, at last the brit’s are going to see the malign approach of the orange order and their loyalist paramilitary membership.
When a wee gaisun I used to go, of a Tue. dinner time, to my friends house to hear the chart show on BBC radio one, that weekend we would have Larry Gogan (whose Father I think was in the IRA) present the Irish chart show, I was always concerned that we would simply follow the direction oif the brit’s (with the exception of ‘One day at a time’ for a year and a half, more people bought that single than lived in Ireland at the time).
The reason I mention this is, we now have the reversal of this tendency, in Ireland, a once massively popular party, Fine Gael, due to their failure to stick to election promises in a time of EU inspired austerity, to lost their support, albeit the electorate in the rest of Ireland focused their anger, in the main, upon the stickies, so, to form a government, the party of the Army Comrades Association are forced into the ‘confidence & supply’ arrangement which Fine Gael have been forced into with their old, military, enemy, Fianna Fáil, so, the brit’s are copying the route of the Irish.
I listened to Alasdair Campbell this morning, I would though disagree with you on this, Campbell, not dreadfully supportive of the leader of the brit. labour party, still pushes the new world order line of the EU, a thing Sinn Féin also supported last year, rather than what the people of his country voted for, the removal of the EU influence from their country.
I was delighted to see the brit Taoiseach would not appear on BBC this AM, while the, again, leader of her magesties opposition did, and appeared confident, competent and ready to take on the anti-democratic elements within his own party as well as those anti-democratic elements in europe. The best bet for exiting the EU I think lies with him, not the pending tory/DUP carve up we face.
Ho, ho, ho Jude,
I would agree with you the ordinary British public got to know the DUP a little better this weekend and I can tell you they found that poisoned pill repulsive to their sensative palets.
It was quite illuminating to watch while the ordinary general public ripped into the DUP for the views which we are expected to stomach in the name of tolerance. I have always found the ordinary British person to be quite tolerant but the closest they have come to being exposed to intolerance such as the DUP or Orange Order is to a small group of Britain First or the National Front and to be fair they are challenged and heckled in public.
Would the British public tolerate a National Front march through Hackney or Islington? Not on your nellie!
I am going to continue to enjoy the rest of the week while the Loyal Ulster British Patriots look on in absolute bemusement as they are rejected by their role models as being an unwelcome throwback to a much less tolerant era.
Jude
The deals will be done in “dank and distasteful basements” well away from the light of public scrutiny ..!!
Weird, Jude. That Orange order letter is sinister as usual. It talks about Portadown. Are they honestly trying to have the Drumcree March pushed through? I mean what planet do they inhabit? Then they talk about the DUP doing the right thing for the people of NI. By that they mean the good Protestant folk of course. It just illuminates OO thinking; They actually don’t consider Nationalist views as counting in NI. Scary people and they’ll be exposed and rejected just like the clan were.
It’s so bloody crass that one would wonder whether it was published by someone who wanted to discredit the Orange Order. It means the government can’t now touch Drumcree with a barge pole. Then again Theresa May is a desperate woman …???
” It talks about Portadown. Are they honestly trying to have the Drumcree March pushed through?”
That’s exactly what they want but they simply wont get it. I’d be surprised even if the DUP want to go down that route again. The Tories will certainly not disturb Drumcree or they would be extremely foolish if they were. That matter is settled, the residents said no and the Orange Order has done zero, zilch, in an attempt to convince the residents to change their views. Indeed the effective siege that the Orange Order had those residents under with the help of Unionist paramilitaries has ensured they will never parade in that area again. It was an utter disgrace.
If the parade were to be pushed through like in the late 1990’s, expect the world’s social media to be talking about it, which didn’t exist back then. Not to mention serious riots erupting all over the North just like in the 1990’s, except this time just increase the population of the rioters. It would make the fleg protests/riots look like a fun day.
” I mean what planet do they inhabit? ”
Planet 1690 by the looks of it.
“They actually don’t consider Nationalist views as counting in NI. ”
And that’s why their statelet is a failure. That’s why power sharing is compulsory. They simply don’t realize that. I mean, even SF realize even when a United Ireland happens that its important to ensure most Unionists feel at ease within it so that it works and succeeds. Edward Carson even said the same thing to Unionists, something along the lines of don’t give the Catholic minority a reason to fear the state. He didn’t say that for nothing, he said it because he knew the state wouldn’t survive if it was rejected by a significant section of the population and that’s what happened.
The irony is if Unionists didn’t discriminate against Catholics (widely encouraged by the Orange Order) and respected them back in the 1920’s onwards, I would say that NI could’ve actually succeeded and prospered. Catholics, despite being mostly nationalist minded, would’ve gradually adopted to NI as time went on, especially if they were at ease within it and played a part in its government. That’s what happened to the Unionists in the Republic when the Irish Free State was created. They were integrated into the new state and played a significant role and were at ease.
But unfortunately the political leadership of Unionism here opted for the ethnic cleansing/discrimination rather than integration of Catholics route.
This is getting better .Apparently a “womans march against the DUP ” is being organised to Downing st next weekend!
Where do we stop with the achievements that just keep on mesmerising the British general public?
It will be like a circus for the rag-tops when they can find members of the party and the Orange Order have been associated with or supported:-
Gays are ‘poofs’ and don’t pay rates!
Don’t trust Muslims,
Islam is Satanic.
Homosexuals are to blame for hurricanes
Reintroduction and enforcement of blasphemy laws.
Restricting pubs and entertainments on Sundays.
Protesting outside soccer matches which have been rescheduled on a Sunday
Calling Gays vile and distasteful.
Preventing gay men donating blood.
Supporting a change in the law to allow discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Believe the earth is 4,000 years old.
Believe the Pope is the Anti-Christ and Catholics are the devils disciples.
Attending and financially supporting bonfires where pictures of their political opponents are being burned.
Oppose themselves or their offspring marrying Catholics.
Refuse to attend a Catholic service such as funeral or a wedding.
Think they are part of the Lost tribe of Israel and are God’s own people.
Think that is perfectly ok to have UVF, UDA, UFF, ULSTER BANNER, Union flags hanging in mixed towns but get offended when seeing a tricolour in a Nationalist area.
Literally believe everything in the Old Testament happened as written for instance Jonah lived happily inside the belly of a live whale for 3 days as it swam about in the ocean and Noah put 2 of every animal inside the arc to survive the storm between 3000 and 4000 years ago and when the storm was over carefully redistributed them to the 4 corners of the world such as the South American Amazon region and North Pole.
Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution is bulls##t as is global warming!
In the future we will be able to tell the next generation that we were around when the ‘lost tribe of Israel’ were eventually found by the English but unfortunately the English didn’t like them or their vulgar ideas and sent them packing, bluffing to us that we would have to hang on to them for another while!
Let’s hope the rest of the United Kingdomers see the DUP for what they are and insist their governmenf drop them like a ton of bricks.
But I fear that the Tory stubbornness and hunger for power will exacerbate their continued blindness towards the DUP.
I cannot trust the British Government to take any action to protect the Stormont Assembly should the need arise.
Unfotunately there is nothing we can do about this, other than to have the Irish government to insist on joint authority during this period of instability and at least until the Assembly is reinstated
So not .plan A or B but plan C…..Cons/Dups and Irish government direct rule???
Will never happen.I see problems ahead. I don’y know whether to laugh or cry.
I said it to many republicans and many of them looked at me in shock: this has been a great election for Sinn Fein. Why?
1. The Unionist vote is below 50% for the very first time. Oh no, you cant blame that on a low turnout, its been a very high Unionist turnout and still, it is below 50% for the very first time….
2. The whole border now is Shinner territory. All of it.
3. The DUP is firmly in the spotlight. Now, I actually agree with the DUP on some things, being Pro-Life is one of them. Children are good for our society and I want to see more, not less, of them. Every single one of them has the right to life.
Where I differ from the DUP is their views on people who are different to them, some of those views are extreme. Whether it be LGBT people or Catholics, the DUP needs to learn to respect and value them, not discriminate or preach hatred towards them. That’s the core problem with the DUP, its extreme view of things. Its entitled to oppose Gay Marriage (I’m personally neutral on that question, despite having worked in a Gay Bar) but its reasons are extreme. We all know there’s elements of that opposition to Gay Marriage which is hatred of Gay people (read Sammy Wilsons quote on gay people or Catholics), not just because they want to protect traditional marriage.
As Jude rightly points out, there isn’t much attention being paid to the DUP’s foundation of anti-Catholicism or links to active Unionist paramilitary terror gangs. Why? Its just a matter of time before the focus does turn in that direction and rightly so.
Ever since the Shinners pulled Stormont down, their vote has been going up. That’s deeply troubling for the British Government and Unionism. It shows that Republicans have had enough and the status quo really isn’t an option anymore. A Border Poll will be a tighter contest than most people think, there’s a reason why Arlene doesn’t call SF’s bluff.
That’s the success of this election for SF. Sure, the DUP may have more seats than SF but that’s only temporary, its success came at the expense of the UUP. A SF/SDLP pact in North and South Belfast alone would easily take those seats. If the SDLP continues to refuse then its simply a waiting game until the numbers go in SF’s favour.
The DUP are of course loathsome, the Orange equally ghastly. However the British state and crown are intrinsically anti Catholic. Laugh at Arlene and Nigel and the other. politically hideous members but do not let the British off the hook for their own bigoted laws. Maybe this marriage of convenience will also shine a light on the British state’s skeletons.
The Orange Order is pretty much done as an influential organisation. A statement from Portadown LOL trying to barge their way into a government deal is best greeted with a LOL.