[Oboogie]

This is really quite astonishing. And the Brexit headbangers want to throw it away...for what?

"Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has passed on her congratulations to the Queen on a “lifetime of service” on her Platinum Jubilee.
Mrs McDonald was reacting to the news that a tree is to be planted in the grounds of Parliament Buildings at Stormont to mark the jubilee.
The republican party leader said: “I think it is important that we are respectful of the identity of our citizens who are British.
“I think that is entirely appropriate and I welcome that decision.
Can I also extend to the British Queen a word of congratulations because 70 years is quite some record
“For those who will celebrate the jubilee, I wish them well and a good jubilee and for those of us that don’t I believe we are now big enough, bold enough, generous enough to acknowledge the identity of others.”
She added: “Can I also extend to the British Queen a word of congratulations because 70 years is quite some record.
“That is what you call a lifetime of service.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/m ... VNt6seOBoM

[Spoonman]

DUP MLA Christopher Stalford dies aged 39

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60451845

I would have had no time for Stalford myself, but 39 is no age. Sadly, the implication that he died "suddenly" is usually an euphemism for one thing that's best not to speculate on. Condolences to his family.

[Spoonman]

The hard-left wing in Irish Republican circles are too predictable...

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[Bones McCoy]

Armoured cars, and tanks and guns; came to take away our sons...

Now filed under local principles, for local people.

[Spoonman]

John Taylor aka Lord Kilclooney is at it again. Sitting in the House of Lords, folks...

[Youngian]

Will historians blame the DUP’s own stupidity for the first Republican minister of ‘the Six Counties?’

[Spoonman]

Okey Dokey, while some local elections were happening in GB, it was the Assembly elections over here.

ATM 88 of 90 seats have been declared (remaining two are in Foyle, likely to go one each to DUP & UUP at this stage and aren't included in the seat figures below). Percentage figures are of first preferences votes (FPV) & differences to the last (2017) election are in brackets.

[*] Sinn Fein - 29.0% (+1.1%) - 27 seats (nc)
[*] DUP - 21.3% (-6.7%) - 24 seats (-3)
[*] Alliance - 13.5% (+4.5%) - 17 seats (+9)
[*] UUP - 11.2% (-1.7%) - 9 seats (-1)
[*] SDLP - 9.1% (-2.9%) - 7 seats (-4)
[*] TUV - 7.6% (+5.1%) - 1 seat (nc)
[*] Greens - 1.9% (-0.4%) - 0 seats (-2)
[*] Aontú - 1.5% (new) - 0 seats (new)
[*] PBP - 1.1% (-0.6%) - 1 seat (nc)
[*] Independents - 2.9% (+1.1%) - 2 seats (+1)
[*] Others - 0.8% - 0 seats

What to take from it?

Sinn Fein had a modest voter share increase & only retained the same amount of seats, but becoming the biggest party in the NI Assembly is the major PR coup and they'll be happy with what they got.

Alliance will also be mostly happy with more than doubling their amount of seats in the Assembly, the only possible negative will be the lack of breakthrough in the west as they hoped to get at least one MLA elected there. Their FPV share ended up not being as high as some late opinion polling indicated, but it does mean they still have more to build on in the future.

Not a great night for the DUP - although their voter share crashed by nearly 7% it at least remained above 20% where again some late opinion polling had indicated it was likely to drop below, and they only lost (likely at this stage) 2 seats. However, they're not the top dawg any more and that will hurt! Arguably the rise of the TUV's FPV share hurt them here, more later...

Also not a great night for the SDLP, losing a quarter of their FPV share and going from 11 seats to just 7, votes likely lost to Sinn Fein, Alliance & Aontu. Party leader Colum Eastwood will likely have to consider his position.

As for the UUP, not a good night but not a complete disaster either as they'll likely retain their 10 seats. The problem for them and the SDLP will be their continued relevance among the voting public against not only Sinn Fein & DUP, but also Alliance.

On one hand TUV more than trebled their FPV share - on the other hand they remain on one seat in the Assembly, where in a pure PR election they would be expected to have six or seven, the trouble in fielding a party in an STV election that is inherently transfer unfriendly compared to Alliance whom have secured more seats than their FPV share would nominally award. If anything, their surge ate into the DUP FPV share and helped make Sinn Fein the largest party in the Assembly! Whoops!

As for everyone else, the Greens lost both of their seats, PBP retained their West Belfast seat but suffered a significant trimming in their FPV share overall (I think they can thank their stance on Brexit & being useful idiots for Putin contributing to that) while Aontu - essentially a party that is Sinn Fein for Sinn Feiners who think that Sinn Fein has become too PC/woke (I've somehow managed to say Sinn Fein with more frequency than any TUV election literature/media) will despite not winning any seats probably be quietly OK with their performance and believe that they can get a few councilors in the next local elections in 2024.

Now to the drama that'll be the first Assembly meeting post-election...

[The Weeping Angel]

A few Americans I follow are salivating at the thought of Irish re-unification.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

A few Americans I follow are salivating at the thought of Irish re-unification.

Looks good to me.

[mattomac]

Another headache for Johnson

[Bones McCoy]

A few Americans I follow are salivating at the thought of Irish re-unification.

Looks good to me.

Imaginary "American Ireland" often features a rural theocracy with Alabama level gun control and dental care and pubs that never close.
Also everybody's white.

[The Weeping Angel]

This thread points out that people may be jumping the gun

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yep, it's not like Sinn Fein have just racked up a stonking FPTP majority or anything. One thing they've done extremely well is play the long game on Brexit. They head a pro-protocol majority, and I think the British Government will have to pay some attention to that.

[MisterMuncher]

The thing is, the shinners ain't the ones talking border polls for the most part. It's almost all Unionist FUD

[davidjay]

If the DUP had the brains they were born with they'd call for a snap both sides of the border referendum. It would concentrate Unionist minds, split their opponents and the result would likely as not go their way.

[Andy McDandy]

Seems to me that the Duppers only really care about being in power, and the people can go hang as long as they believe some Catholics are getting it worse.

[davidjay]

Rather like John Smith, I wonder how different things in Northern Ireland would have been had David Ervine not died so young.

[MisterMuncher]

If the DUP had the brains they were born with they'd call for a snap both sides of the border referendum. It would concentrate Unionist minds, split their opponents and the result would likely as not go their way.

No chance. They're absolutely never going to call for it, not in case they lose, but because it's very, very useful to have a boogeyman.

[Nigredo]

[Nigredo]

Bloody woke lefty luvvies.