In his article in today’s Irish Times (‘Sinn Féin must end abstentionism’) ( Noel Whelan shows that he’s not very good at counting MPs and even less versed in policies north of the border. Whelan rightly accepts that Sinn Féin cannot end their policy of Westminster abstentionism, since they were elected on an abstentionist mandate. But he urges […]
Tag Archives | Westminster
Is Ted Heath guilty? No he’s not
Person 1: Ted Heath is innocent. Person 2: I beg your pardon? Person 1: I said Ted Heath, the former Conservative prime minister, is innocent. Person 2: You’re joking. Person 1: No I’m not. I don’t joke about things like this. Person 2: So Ted Heath, the man whom Scotland Yard have been investigating for […]
Peter looks homeward
As evolutions go, this is a significant one. That’s not how it was intended to be seen. But the facts are there. The DUP isn’t interested in the welfare of the UK. It’s interested in this tight little corner of Ireland alone. Sinn féin, you might say. How else to interpret Peter Robinson’s declaration that […]
Those OTR letters: remind me what was in them?
It was instructive to read some of the press articles about how Tony Blair was going to face a grilling at the hands of that Westminster committee looking into those on-the-run letters. He’d pleaded Middle East business, he’d rung up old pals and asked if he really really had to appear, but long runs the […]