Irish Political News

In a sort of musical chairs, Jeffrey Donaldson resigns his seat on the Policing Board and gives it to Ian Paisley Junior… A rehabilitation of sorts then; despite the (perhaps inadvertent) glancing blow against another party Ministerial colleague...

Many cultures and societies have frightening non specific things they fear. Societies we now rather condescendingly call “primitive” are full of stories of frightening monsters which frequently needed to be appeased; usually by the sacrificing of virgins and such like before a hero confronts and defeats them. The minotaur from Greek mythology is a case in point. The people of Easter Island seem to have built massive statues to appease some unknown potentate. In the Anglo Saxon poem Beowulf (no not the film which I have not seen but was denounced by Kirsty Wark on Newsnight Review, and if the thinking man’s sex symbol disapproves: that is all we need to know; sorry I digress) the eponymous hero defeats the monster Grendel, then Grendel’s mother before at the end of his life killing a dragon but dying of the wounds he receives.

I suppose I should get on with the Northern Ireland politics bit.

A bit like one of these unspeakable monsters the DUP tell us they were faced with a similar (if more prosaically named) monster had they rejected the St. Andrew’s Agreement: Plan B. Whenever Jim Allister and other heretics complain about the agreement they are told of the dread Plan B which would have seen a greater role for Dublin.

This raises a number of interesting questions.

Firstly Plan B involving Dublin and London in running the country would not have involved having terrorists in government (the current British and Irish governments conspicuously lacking terrorist members). Clearly there would have been disadvantages for unionists. However, at least some unionists would probably have preferred this arrangement (even with the Dublin involvement) to the current situation with convicted and self confessed terrorists in government including one who of a time wanted to kill every British soldier in Londonderry. Such a plan might also have avoided some of our current ministers, including the comedy ones like Ms. Ruane who are indeed quite comical unless of course one has children of school age in which case she is more tragic than comic.

The next question is how long would Plan B have lasted. We were told in the run up to the St. Andrew’s that had no agreement been reached there would have been no further negotiations for many years. Remember, however, that Hain was desperate to get an agreement to help ensure Blair’s legacy was something other than Union flag draped coffins from the most unpopular war in recent British history. As such Hain might well have been bluffing; in the past Paisley might have called Hain’s bluff: but not this time. Any subsequent negotiations with a Brown government might well have had a less partisan British government to deal with than Blair’s with Mowlam and later Hain. As such it is surprising that Paisley lost his wile or nerve.

Next is the question of just how bad Plan B would have been. It might well have involved the end of academic selection but one has to question whether or not a minister could be found in all of Britain or Ireland to be as incompetent as Ruane. There is also the suggestion that Plan B might have involved the six super councils and effective repartition. I am highly dubious that these councils would have been given that much power although I agree that Irish on Fermanagh’s bins and bin lorries might well have been a disaster (they might even have painted them green). Other disasters like the tightening of planning laws would indeed have been a true tragedy, hurting various members of the DUP severely. The reality is that it might have been problematic but again it is highly likely that Hain was bluffing. In the Brown era with less interest in Northern Ireland and the nagging possibility of a hung parliament in the future it is possible that Brown might have been careful about antagonising unionists; leaving aside what does look like a general favouring of the United Kingdom in its overall sense in his politics. Also the fact that Britain would still have been paying the lion’s share of the subvention here: and he who pays the piper tends to want to call the tune.

Of course one of Jim Allister’s major theses has been that there was no real Plan B at all. He has claimed that Paisley never told him what it was and indeed if that were untrue surely the DUP would have revealed Plan B in all its ghastly awfulness by now in order to discredit Allister. I suspect there may have been a scarecrow Plan B but that it was not worked out or finalised and a real Plan B might not have been quite the Ancalagon the Black of Tolkien’s Silmarillon. It might instead have been Lord Tennyson’s Kraken which to quote the last line “In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die”; in other words it might not have amounted to very much.

So we do not know, but holding up Plan B as the terrifying assault on unionism which Paisley does: a sort of Kubrickian Doomsday machine may well itself, have been a bluff. Of course whatever it was, Plan B might well have been a disaster for Paisley as it might well have spelt the end of his ambitions to be First Minister himself as he would probably have been too old by the time the next opportunity came round.

Hence, to return to the beginning: No Beowulf our Dr. Paisley may fancy himself as a man who in his old age went forth to slay the dragon; but the dragon may well not have existed and if it did is most unlikely to have been of the dangerous fire breathing type. Maybe instead Dr. Paisley is a Faust, selling his political soul; in this case for power. Now I am sure various DUPers and others will ignore all my careful and painstaking allusions and will just attack the substance of the piece.

According to a report in Omagh’s Ulster Herald the Western Health Trust is considering ending 24 hour laboratory services at Omagh hospital. As the report correctly observes this would severely restrict the ability of the hospital to look after acute admissions especially after hours. This move appears to have been due to the Trust’s concerns about safety and also problems regarding compliance with the European Working Time directive. The suggested solution of “point of care” testing equipment is as the newspaper report states completely inadequate for a modern hospital.

Yet again, however, the politicians are living in a parallel universe. Omagh councillors met McGimpsey to attempt to increase the number and complexity of cases to be admitted to Omagh. At some point politicians are going to have to be honest and tell people that some hospitals are going to have to loose services. McGimpsey, however, seems to prefer to hide behind bland statements and tries to promise inpatient services, and an urgent care and treatment centre in Omagh; both of which, if they are to admit acutely ill patients will need a functioning laboratory. Avoiding telling the whole truth and avoiding difficult decisions seem, however, to be amongst McGimspey’s specialities (indeed he really should be a top consultant in the field).

I am sure that McGimpsey will wait till the Western Trust is forced to pull certain services, then publicly wash his hands of the problem and allow the Trust to take the blame just as is happening to the South Eastern Trust regarding maternity services in Lagan Valley.

JUDGE Dredd fans wanting to look zarjaz this St Paddy’s Day might want to check out this new 2000AD T-shirt. Hat-tip to NI’s very own Comic Book Guy, Mark the librarian.

Judging by the paragraph Gonzo referenced in Martin McGuinness’ speech to the party faithful the Deputy First Minister isn’t a fan of Slugger.. what with the talk of deadlines, commitments and the suggestion that central government could impose policing and justice powers on the devolved administration.  On 22nd November 2006 I posted this

Unless the government is now going to say that, in circumstances where one of the parties holding those offices [First and deputy First Ministers] do not agree that the confidence within the community exists for the devolving of those powers by March 2008 - they are then going to force through devolving powers on policing and justice by May 2008 whatever happens between now and then, the target date remains only a target date and not a commitment.

And in December 2006, when the UUP produced a letter from the then-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland - a letter which Reg Empey described as “a complete negation of the democratic process” - I made the point again. It took a while but, eventually, the UK government held their hands up on this one - as noted here.

Imposing those powers against the wishes of the Assembly would be a “constitutional nonsense” - and, importantly, “it is not the intention—nor is the power available to the Government—to do that.”

The only question left is why does only Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister continue to think otherwise?

On a more upbeat note, kudos to the BBC’s Jim Fitzpatrick for acknowledging his error last week [scroll down]

Apologies for a mistake in last week’s piece.

I misquoted poll statistics on the devolution of policing and justice.

I gave figures for September 2007 rather than January 2008.

The striking thing, upon realising the mistake, was how support for devolution of policing and justice among DUP voters had fallen over the period.

Not a message the NIO press release chose to headline, but at least their website does offer a link to the full results.

“Not a message the NIO press release chose to headline”.. Indeed.

THE Sinn Fein ard fheis is under way, and you can keep up to date with the latest news here at the party’s snazzy event website. You can read the list of motions here, and I’ve blogged a few thoughts on them below the fold. The Bearded One’s speech can be viewed here live tomorrow (Saturday March 1st) from 5-6pm. You can read Martin McGuinness’ keynote speech here, largely a tribute to ‘DUP Nua’. Intriguingly, on the subject of devolving policing and justice, he adds: “During the talks which led to the first meeting of the Sinn Fein and DUP leaderships on March 26th a senior member of the DUP delegation said that his party would stand by the St. Andrews Agreement. People are now demanding that they do just that.”

It looks as though, if motion 42 is adopted (the vote is probably over by now), there will be no co-operation with the Eames-Bradley group. The list of republican principles to underpin any future ‘truth process’ indicates another political conflict has started - a battle of narratives, in which both republicans and the British will want history to reflect their own particular version of events.

Setting the terms of reference for this is an important starting point for both sides, and mainstream republicanism clearly feels that the State has taken too much control of the process. And a process that doesn’t allow republicanism to justify its armed campaign is not one it will subscribe to. But while Sinn Fein doesn’t want a process that allows the State to cover up its illegal activities, creating one in which the IRA remains silent is equally valueless.

* * *
Several motions refer to An Photlacht (Republican News), the Sinn Fein newspaper. It’s obviously proving as successful as Daily Ireland and Lá Nua, with several desperate proposals to rescue it, although the Piaras McCann Cumann thinks it should be discontinued “due to lack of interest”. But if republicans aren’t reading AP/RN, they aren’t keen on the mainstream media either, with motion 120 condemning the “constant lies carried in the media regarding Sinn Féin” and complaining of “anti-republican bias”, while motion 85 calls on the ard fheis to recognise that “the media are hostile to our party”.

* * *
If motion 61 is passed, future motions need not be submitted in Irish.

* * *
If motion 62 is passed, Sinn Fein will ban use of “the language of ‘Brits Out’ in any publications or campaigns”. Could this be the end for Ogra Shinn Fein?

* * *
As a means of “finally ending partition”, motion 65 calls for the party constitution to be amended to replace the position of party president with a ‘joint-presidency’ - one from the north and the other from the south . While this is obviously a response to Gerry Adams’ pitiful leadership in the last southern election, it would have the neat effect of partitioning Sinn Fein.

* * *
On a related subject, one Dublin Cumann also calls for the national officer board to be censured “for its actions during the 2007 general election in purporting to change taxation policy as democratically decided at previous Ard Fheiseanna”. And motion 209 is a call to clarify SF policy on corporation tax, “policy endorsed by previous Ard Fheiseanna, following on from comments made during the last 26 County general election by members of the party leadership”. Another motion calls for a variable rate of corporation tax, starting at 22% and decreasing if certain conditions are met.

* * *
Motion 81 reads: “This Ard Fheis reaffirms Sinn Féin’s commitment to the achievement of a democratic socialist republic. It also asserts that this is a core value and not an optional extra.”

Obviously the writer of motion 112 was not aware of this, as the word ‘socialist’ appears to have been deliberately dropped. If passed, the SF constitutional aim would not be to “Establish a Democratic Socialist Republic”, but to “Establish a 32 County Democratic Republic to be governed according to the wishes of the citizens of a 32 County Republic”. And it would no longer be “based on Irish republican and socialist principles”, just “republican principles”. Clearly some Sinn Fein members are keen to drop the party’s socialist baggage and move to the right.

* * *
It’s proposed in motion 102 that the pledge for election candidates contains an additional line: “That should I resign as a member of Sinn Féin or should I be expelled from the party for any reason whatsoever that I shall immediately resign my seat.”

While this could not be enforced, presumably this is to try and counter the effect of resignations since last year, when disaffected members kept their seat and continued to criticise the party.

* * *
Motion 213 calls for all SF politicians to oppose the imposition of water charges. That’s ‘oppose’, Conor, not ‘introduce’.

* * *
Motion 216 calls for opposition to paying for public facilities by flogging off public assets, urging SF to “lead local people in defending public assets”. That’s ‘defending’, Michelle, not ‘selling’.

Back in early December I posted a run-down of the list of weekly columns on the Wardman Wire, using the excuse that the site “has been a bit of a building site recently with a lot of changes”. I’m pleased to say that the move from a personal political blog to a site with a wider team of writers is nearly complete - so there may be a bit more stability round here for the next few months (at least in terms of who is writing). This is an extra Blog Platform column to map out where we are and where we may be going. What Happens each Week I’m doing a rundown by day this time. There’s more to say, but I’ll keep this post as short as I can manage. Now that the rate of change on the blog is slowing down (at least in terms of new and guest writers), I’ll see if I can be more reliable at making sure that things appear on the right day. Our practice is - with one or two exceptions - to publish the column each day at 11:00am, to give time for the article to hit the RSS feed in time for the lunch break. Then nothing else appears until perhaps 4pm. As ever, the best way not to miss anything is to subscribe to our RSS feed. Nearly Every day “The Daily Roundup” is currently a roundup of 10 or a dozen newspaper stories designed to provide “blog fodder” for our readers. It focuses on interesting and occasionally unusual stories. On good days it is published around 1am; on not quite so good days with breakfast or a little later. As you can see from the podcast player in the sidebar, we experimented with a daily podcast - I hope to take that forward, but I’m thinking about a practical approach. The “Morning Funny” (which needs a better name) is a cartoon or joke which appears at the start of the day - usually at around 9:00am. There are agreements in place with 5 or 6 different cartoonists to reproduce their work, and I sometimes re-recycle a joke from the Adam Smith Institute Jokester; make that “used to re-recycle” - he has retired. Monday “The Day Job” is about what bloggers do when they are not blogging. I have only done one of these, and intend to increase the frequency. Tuesday “Politics Decoded” is Garbos weekly political comment column - running for 6 months now. Garbo publishes his “bon mots” before lunch on a Tuesday with the reliability of Mr Gordon asking Mr Cameron questions at PMQs instead of answering them. (more…)

George couldn’t decide whether it had been a nightmare about Evil Oona and the Battle of Bethnal Green, or a dream about a night of passion with a traffic warden to whom he had given a ticket … Inspired by Friday Lolcats meme. Tags: george galloway mp, respect, bethnal green, stop the war

From The Telegraph via Fleet of Worlds and Samizdata, a suggestion for a long overdue statue of Keith Park, one of (in my view) the two key figures in winning the Battle of Britain. The other was Hugh Dowding for fighting a political and bureaucratic battle to rebuild the RAF with modern equipment in the late 1930s, and for putting in place the best air control system in the world. From the Telegraph: A city philanthropist has called for the controversy over the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square to be permanently resolved by offering to fund a statue in tribute to the man who played a key role in saving Britain from Nazi invasion. on Keith Park’s role in the Battle: It was only after the war that the RAF officer’s pivotal role in defending Britain against Luftwaffe attacks was recognised by Lord Tedder, the RAF chief. “If any one man won the Battle of Britain, he did. I do not believe it is realised how much that one man, with his leadership, his calm judgment and his skill, did to save not only this country but the world,” he said in 1947. It’s those Scots again: The New Zealand-born son of a Scottish geologist, Sir Keith fought in the bloody battles of Gallipoli and the Somme before an injury forced him to join the Royal Flying Corps where he achieved at least 20 kills against the Germans. It was the pilot’s astute tactical awareness of modern air warfare that saw him lead the defence of London and the south-east. If Alex Salmond will put up a statue in Edinburgh, then I will think slightly less unkindly of him. So… A statue: yes. In Trafalgar Square: yes On the Fourth Plinth: no. That has proved its value as a place for “guest statues” - both the inane and the fascinating. Tags: keith park, biggin hill, defender of london, ok1

George Brock reviews Ed Moloney’s new book Paisley, Steve Bruce’s new book Paisley along with the second edition of Ed Moloney’s Secret History of the IRA while also looking at Kenneth Bloomfield’s A Tragedy of Errors, and concludes the real thanks for peace go to the spooks and spies that made it possible. It’s a fascinating read.

By 1987, when Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness were already in secret, deniable communication with London, the securocrats were well enough informed to nudge matters along. Adams’s interest in turning the Provos into a political force was longstanding: he first mentioned it in 1979. But his withdrawal from the pretence that killing could push Britain out of Northern Ireland had to be very gradual. A grim kind of balance between armed force and elections had been achieved with the “ballot box and Armalite” strategy. As Provisional Sinn Féin started to experiment politically in the late 1980s, the IRA also started to rearm. But Adams knew that the Armalite half of the equation was not working: the hit rate might occasionally rise but the failure rate was rising faster. The British knew that Adams knew. For besides Scappaticci, for twenty years they were running one of Adams’s inner circle, Denis Donaldson. Those two were only the stars among a network of spies that must have gone wider.

Adams was meeting internal opposition on both political and paramilitary fronts. One of the most intriguing puzzles to be solved by his biographers is this: when and to what extent was Adams aware that the havoc being wreaked by spies in the IRA was helping his cause? At any rate the British government was in a position to post a devastating warning to his opponents. Nowhere was the opposition inside the IRA likely to be tougher than in Tyrone. In 1987, at Loughgall in East Tyrone, the SAS ambushed and killed an eight-man IRA unit attempting to demolish a police station, killing more “volunteers” in a single incident than at any time since 1921. Up to the year 2000, the IRA in Tyrone had lost fifty-three people; but twenty-eight of those died between 1987 and 1992.

In other words, after Loughgall, they were being killed five times faster. This acceleration could be a coincidence, but that hardly seems possible. Despite appalling headline atrocities, the numbers revealed that the Provisionals were nearly finished everywhere they operated. In the summer of 1988, they killed soldiers at twice their average rate. In 1989, they killed twenty-four; the total halved in each of the next two years.

This sequence of events is important for an understanding of the long last act of the drama. Many accounts of the “peace process” suggest that Adams turned the IRA towards elections; many leave his exact motives for this switch mysterious. Somehow the hard man softened.

Read more: Who really brought peace to Belfast?

Correction, the Paisley book being reviewed is Steve Bruce’s, not Ed Moloney’s - thanks, John (below, #6).

A Civil Rights Commemoration Committee has been established. The committee aims: to honour all those who took part in the Civil Rights movement; to examine the civil rights challenges at home and abroad today, especially in the light of racism and sectarianism; to support and strengthen the protection of civil/human rights in Ireland and to share the lessons of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights movement with people working for human rights in situations of conflict.

To that end the committee will organise a series of lectures, exhibitions, seminars and discussions in the coming months. The committee officers are: Denis Haughey, chair; Michael Farrell, vice-chair; Fionnbarra Ó Dochartaigh, treasurer and Frank McManus vice-treasurer. Amongst the committee members and patrons are many who were active during the period, including Paul Bew, Paul Arthur, Ivan Barr, Ivan Cooper, Francie Brolly, John Hume, Bernadette McAliskey, Jean Coyle, Dr Con McCluskey and Mrs Patricia McCluskey.

The press release issued by the committee says: “Forty years ago, in 1968, a series of events took place here which changed the face of Northern Ireland irrevocably. These events were the culmination of attempts since the early 1960s by a number of different organisations and individuals to highlight injustices in Northern Ireland. The Campaign for Social Justice, the Derry Housing Action Committee and the Campaign for Democracy in Ulster were examples of this.

“Their concern was not with the great constitutional issues which had dominated political debate thereto, but with the everyday issues which dominated people's lives. In 1967, the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was founded to address all these issues. The following year, inspired by the courage of Civil Rights leaders in the United States, and by their example of peaceful non-violent protest, Civil Rights protesters began to take to the streets of Northern Ireland.

“Their objective was to bring an end to injustice in the system of public authority housing provision, injustice in public and private employment practices, injustice in voting and representational rights, and the arbitrary and oppressive powers available to the state to suppress dissent.

“The things that happened during that pivotal year had a profound effect upon our society, and precipitated an avalanche of change which left no part of our community untouched. Such was the importance of these events, and what they led to, that it is appropriate and even necessary, 40 years later, to commemorate them in a sober and reflective way, to seek to learn from what happened, to consider the significance of the Civil Rights Movement for our society today and the continuing resonance of the issues which it addressed, and the ideals which underpinned it.”

Information: Civil Rights Commemoration Committee, 66 Fairhill Road, Cookstown, Co Tyrone, BT80 8DF. Telephone: 078-842 370 62 or civilrights1968 [ - AT - ] yahoo.co.uk [Replace AT with @]

England Expects throws up an interesting anomaly. It seems that in a recent vote to respect the decision of the Republic’s referendum, the two Unionist MEPs (otherwise known Brussels as ‘the two Jims’) found themselves on opposite sides of the vote.  Sinn Fein’s Ms de Brún does not seem to have registered in the vote at all, which is strange since, presumably. her decision would have been something of a no brainer. The aye’s included Jim Allister, and the noes, Jim Nicholson. What makes it interesting is the degree to which the UUP MEP was critical of Brown when he refused a referendum for the UK:

“The new EU Treaty will have a profound effect on the way the UK is governed taking further powers away from Member States and it is nothing less than an affront to democracy that the Prime Minister will not allow the British people to have their say on it.

In which case, presumably, Jim would expect the rest of the EU to ignore the result of any such referendum?

UPDATE: Checking the figures at the original source, it seems Mc de Brún was there and voted in favour of the amendment. Interestingly, Prionsias de Rossa seems to have voted against respecting the outcome of the Republic’s referendum. Curiouser, and curiouser…

Now that he’s just an ordinary MLA, Ian Paisley Jnr may have more latitude in expressing support for the planning application by Seymour Sweeney for a Causeway Centre.. but I’d suggest there will be some raised eyebrows in the Environment Minister’s office over his comments on the news that Mr Sweeney has requested a hearing at the independent Planning Appeals Commission on the Minister’s ‘notice of opinion to refuse’ that application.  From the Belfast Telegraph report

Mr Paisley Jnr today welcomed the prospect of an appeal and said the merits of the planning case “have been somewhat distorted by political comment and controversy over the applicant”.

Looks like a must buy: the long awaited: the DVD documentary on the Cricket World cup in the West Indies. It has intrigue, tragedy unexpected success and ultimate failure. The DVD release date for “Breaking Boundaries - Ireland’s Extraordinary Cricket World Cup” is Friday March 7th, with a charity screening at Dublin’s Sugar Club in Lower Leeson Street on Monday 3rd March (and in the Gaiety in Sligo on the 5th).

More history, courtesy of Nevin…

Beano is annoyed with Matt Drudge for revealing the fact that Prince Harry is out in Afghanistan fighting in a front line situation, when a deal had already clearly been done with the BBC to keep it secret until he was safely shipped home. Drudge seems to have forced a tactical withdrawal on the British Army. The Telegraph calls this guy (a blogger, no less) the most powerful journalist in the world. Would he have done it if it had been a story concerning the US Military? Welcome to 24 hour, Sans Frontière news!

Update: Aaahhhh, it seems it was an Australian women’s magazine which broke the story on January 7th... H/T Nevin in the comments below…

What I remember of 1972 is searching through front page headlines to see who’d been killed the night before, and all but on one occasion being thankful it wasn’t anyone I knew. Even traumatic events like Bloody Sunday quickly faded as Republican and Loyalists took it upon themselves to conduct a particularly nasty game of tit for tat, snuffing out the lives of many ordinary people in the wider population as a kind of macabre tally of success. One Protestant assassinated one night, possibly meant two Catholics the next: a bloody arithmetic, that seemed to have no end. In the middle of it were journalists, the local variety used to writing up stories about lost budgies, new roads, and lovely girls who, in three years of sustained civil disorder barely knew what had hit them. It was Malachi O’Doherty’s first year as a journalist. A year he recounts with unremitting honesty in his book, A The Telling Year: Belfast 1972. You can read my review from this month’s Fortnight magazine here.

  A cartoon from Indexed. Tags: cartoon, indexed

Here is today’s roundup of stories. Blogs Economist (Economist) - Montana’s problem with new drivers’ licences Montana is larger than Germany or Japan"around 150,000 square miles. But the cities are small and scattered widely across the state, and this time of year the roads tend to be icy and treacherous. Comment Ali Eteraz (Comment is Free) - The prophet and politicsThe Prophet Muhammad was the first person to establish an Islamic state - and he should have been the last NYT (NYT) - For Obama, a Taste of What a Long Battle Holds If Mr. Obama becomes the Democratic presidential nominee, he is sure to face an onslaught from Republicans and their allies that will be very different in tone and intensity from what he has faced so far. Ben Macintyre (Times Online) - The Arts as Religion Art is our new secular religion. Just look at the motives of the criminal and the benefactor News BBC (BBC) - The most spied upon people in Europe Germany’s highest court has ruled that spying on personal computers violates privacy, but governments across Europe are under pressure to help their security services fight terrorism and organised crime. Here, BBC reporters give a snapshot of the extent of surveillance across Europe. James Mcintosh (FT) - Hedge Fund Implodes One of Londons most successful hedge funds imploded Thursday when Peloton Partners put the assets of its $2bn flagship fund up for sale and froze its remaining fund after geared mortgage bets left it unable to meet lenders demands. Guardian (Guardian) - McLaren rally round unsackable Dennis after Italian police raidsMcLaren last night dismissed rumours that their chairman Ron Dennis could be fired in the wake of the continuing Italian criminal investigation into the team’s involvement in the acquisition of confidential Ferrari design information. Richard Tyler (Telegraph) - Sting in the tail of CGT changes The Government has decided on the most severe way of introducing its new capital gains tax regime by insisting on a controversial measure that will catch thousands of Britain’s most successful entrepreneurs who have already sold businesses. Scotland BBC (BBC) - Clegg sets target for Lib Dem MPsThe Liberal Democrat leader is to set his party the task of doubling its tally of Scottish MPs within six years. BBC (BBC) - Trump disappointed over inquiryThe US tycoon Donald Trump has described as disappointing the decision to hold a public inquiry into his ?1bn golf resort application. Wales BBC (BBC) - Best practice of E.coli butcher A butcher at the centre of an E.coli outbreak had featured in an Welsh Assembly Government publication promoting local businesses.

Having made the preparations to forcibly evict residents in the vested lands around City of Derry Airport, if necessary, we’ll have to wait to see whether Derry City Council actually use those powers.  The deadline for residents to move out is Saturday 1st March but it’s worth highlighting, from the BBC report, that the Department of Environment has yet to decide on the Council’s application to approve interim rental payments - although there is no indication of when that application was made.

The DoE said Derry City Council asked them to approve compensation for interim rental payments. In a statement, the department said it was “approached by the council to discuss how best to submit a formal application for approval in respect of compensation for interim rental payments as part of a wider package of compensation for those affected. “The department is considering the council’s approach and will respond as soon as possible.”

And with reports that some residents have yet to receive any compensation, the Council’s reported statement may look less than convincing.

“Derry City Council recognises the need to facilitate former property owners during this difficult and distressing period and to ensure they achieve the maximum available compensation.”

It’s all part of the process of “moving the airport into a position where it will be fit to go commercial..”

With the apparent growing acceptance, despite Mrs Paisley’s wishes, that Ian Paisley Snr’s leadership of the DUP “is coming to the latter stages” what happens next is now a valid topic for questions to the Republic of Ireland’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, and for Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, who held a bilateral meeting in Dublin today.

Mr Ahern said he would like to see Mr Paisley continue in his position for the short-term as he has been very influential in achieving power sharing in Northern Ireland.

He was speaking in Dublin after a bilateral meeting with Secretary of State Shaun Woodward.

He agreed that the Taoiseach and Government had enjoyed a good relationship with Dr Paisley which had been significant in making political progress.

“The DUP, like any other political party has its own internal machinations. It is a robust party and will make its own decisions in due course,” Mr Ahern said.

He said there many people in the DUP “well able” to lead the party and did not know if a change of leader would affect the stability of the Assembly.

Questioned by reporters on the same issue, Mr Woodward said the personal legacy of Dr Paisley would be enormous.

“He has led his party into a government, into a shared future that few could have imagined possible just a few years.

“Whoever, one day, should succeed him, they are bound to continue that work too,” Mr Woodward said.

It's time for America's "aid and comfort to the enemy" patrol to censure Matt Drudge for leaking the news of Prince Harry's deployment in Afghanistan. Note that Drudge seems to be especially implicated because the previous leak, via Australia, never got any traction.

On the 9th December the Department of Education, under the direction of Education Minister Caitriona Ruane, decided to remove Premature Retired Compensation from redundant teachers from 1st April 2008. The decision was made without consultation with a promised working group consisting of employing authorities and teaching unions; this group was never even convened. As well as screwing classroom assistants the Minister has set her sights on teachers too.

This is not all. From April 2009, as well as not receiving added years, teachers will have their actual years reduced if they retire below the age of 60. The INTO argue that this will change the goalposts for teachers considering voluntary redundancy when it had PRC and, as well as damaging the morale and welfare of teachers, will raise the spectre of compulsory redundancy; all this with young teachers finding it harder to enter the profession.

One must ask why the Minister never consulted with the unions beforehand and it is impossible to discount the possibility of the weak position of teaching unions in Northern Ireland as a key reason. The divide and rule tactics that saw spats between NIPSA and GMB during the classroom assistant strike undermined the collective action of the workers when GMB sided with the management. There are many teaching unions in operation in the North and in many schools the breakdown is such; "I'm a nationalist so I'll join INTO" or "I'm a Unionist so I'll join UTU." The INTO is more willing to call out its members than the UTU (its headquarters are on the Malone Road which scarcely suggests militancy!) but maybe if teachers got their act together and amalgamated, much like Amicus and TGWU did to form Unite, they would have a more coherent voice that is willing to embark on collective action for the betterment of all teachers.

In a broader sense one of the many pities of the sectarian divisions that have ripped apart this island for so long is that a collective consciousness among workers of all sorts has not developed. This has had negative effects on workers and has prevented the flourishing of a Labour party representing both sides of the sectarian divide. The Northern Ireland Labour Party inevitably split over the constitutional question and the SDLP has largely failed in its original goal to attract members from both sides. When one thinks of Northern Ireland and strikes one invariably recalls the 'political strikes' of the UWC in May 1974 or the DUP-provoked protests at Martin McGuinness's appointment as the Minister for Education in 1999, neither of which had anything to do with collective action in the sense of improving pay or working conditions.

An event we should all remember is the Strike and Lockout of 1913 when workers of both sides of the community marched in working-class solidarity against poor conditions and the tyranny of William Martin Murphy. Hopefully in this post-conflict society workers from all sides will see themselves not as principally as Catholics or Protestants, nor as Unionists or Nationalists; but as people, and as workers. Maybe then we can begin, in the words of Sean Farren, "labouring on the hard road to national reconciliation" to build "an Ireland of which Larkin and Connolly would be very proud."

One hopes that US Defence Secretary Bob Gates is aware of the irony even if George Bush is not --

"I think they got our message," Gates told reporters after his talks with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other leaders, including the president and the minister of defense.

Still, Gates said Turkish officials did not discuss any deadline and he said he did not know if they will end the operation in a week as he's asked.

"I stand by where I've been on this. And that is that they should wrap this thing up as soon as they can," Gates said, noting his meetings with Turkish officials did not change his mind.

President Bush, asked about the situation at a White House news conference Thursday, made a similar point.

"It should not be long-lasting," Bush said. "The Turks need to move, move quickly, achieve their objective and get out."

Because of course in the US political context, a timetable for leaving Iraq is surrender to the terrorists, and "the objective" is so open ended as to facilitate that 100 year presence that John McCain says he wants.

The roundup is a compendium of last week’s outstanding posts in the British Blogosphere. Britblog Roundup No. 138 (25-Feb-08) is hosted at Redemption Blues. There was a 5 minute spot on Radio 5 Live’s Pods and Blogs show 26 February 2008: Download audio file (20080227-britblog-review-podsandblogs.mp3). For the full shownotes of the Pods and Blogs Show, and to download the whole show (well worth it), visit Chris Vallance’s site. The roundup is a compendium of last week’s outstanding posts in the British Blogosphere. I have a couple of posts in this week - but you’ll have to go there to find out which ones. Welcome to the 158th edition of the Britblog Roundup, which, in affectionate homage to Mr Eugenides, master of the witty title, I shall dub the When Worlds Collide edition. Without further preliminaries let us proceed to the substance. A cup of tea is recommended for full enjoyment. Tags: britblog roundup, britblog Tags: britblog roundup, britblog, audio, podcast, bbc pods and blogs, bbc podsandblogs, chris vallance, matt wardman

A short report from yesterday which almost slipped under the radar.  The trial of “good republican” Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy in the Special Criminal Court, on charges connected to alleged revenue offences, could begin in late May or early June.

Mr Murphy was remanded on continuing bail until April when the case will be mentioned again.

I have just created a 468×60 banner for anyone wanting to link back to the Wardman Wire: Click through for the full size version. You can include a hosted copy in your site from here: http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/host/ww-banner-468×60.jpg This banner is a bit rough and ready, as it was created in 2 minutes - I’ll be updating this file in due course with better lettering for the slogan - so you won’t need to uddate your web page. If you use the banner, please link back to: http://www.mattwardman.com/blog/ I’d like to thank in advance any readers who kindly use the banner to link back. Tags: wardman wire banner, banner advert  

Our friend in the north was not impressed with last week’s Let’s Talk and reckons it raises questions about the premise on which regional programmes are made. The problem is not the BBC’s per se:

...do not look upon it as merely a case of bad TV. BBC Northern Ireland is only reflecting what is going on in the local political arena. Outside of the studio sectarian differences and policy disagreements are, along with questionable finances, getting swept under the carpet in a province where debate and opposition are being sacrificed in exchange for an endless list of ‘historic moments’ and quaint photoshoots featuring sniggering old enemies to which we will all try our best to be excited and proclaim that we could never have imagined it happening a few years back. In this climate few in the media, politics or society in general want to appear to be the spoilsports. The aim of everyone is to steer away from discord.

Enter Malachi O’Doherty’s “sleepwalking into quiet censorship”…

With the British Irish Council establishing a permanent secretariat the British Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body could be excused a period of existential angst.  The DUP’s Peter Robinson may have made a presentation to the BIIP Body in April 2006, but neither the DUP nor the UUP have taken their seats.  The BBC’s Martina Purdy reports that the BIIPB steering committee member, Niall Blaney, TD, is in Belfast this week, meeting the DUP’s Peter Robinson and Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey.  He hopes to persuade both parties to change their abstentionist policies.  From the BBC report

The 50-strong body comprises TDs, MPs and representatives from Stormont, Edinbugh, Cardiff, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Mr Blaney said the body needs unionists on board to be more effective. He has invited proposals from unionists on a name change and a significant change in direction away from Northern Ireland politics. He has suggested a new body could focus on tourism, and shadow the British-Irish Council’s work on issues such as drug abuse.