Arlene, Edwin, her replacement and his replacement as leader of the DUP

ClosedAccountFuzzy

Bambi wrote: »

Whatever you think is happening with the GOP probably isn't happening.


Unionisms reaction to any change is always NEVERNEVERNEVER. DUP's problem is that they've been in government forever so now they can't be the firebrands who benefit from a NEVERNEVERNEVER reaction, and maybe, just maybe, the troops aren't going to rally against the latest threat to the union.

Well, I just see a party obsessed with abortion, opposition to gay rights, driven by people who are young earthers and so on.

That to me looks very much like the kind of politics that are all the rage in an aspect of the US.

I’m not exactly seeing the DUP, with positions like that, chiming much with the mainstream of Northern Ireland in 2021.

Most of those positions are only supported by and relevant to a shrinking niche.

They’re also alienating the DUP from even the Tories. They were still in Brexit, but considered to be a very strange phenomenon by almost anyone unfamiliar with them.

The recent polls certainly didn’t look positive for them.

Arlene put a gloss off the mainstream on the DUP in a way that the incoming leadership is very unlikely to continue.

She’s also not coming from that kind of background, both personally and geographically, she’s far closer to just a political unionist position than the rest of the baggage that the DUP has.

With the mainstream and somewhat, slightly more pragmatic element gone, we’re going to be seeing a much more firebrand and extreme position I suspect, but I’m not really seeing that as being likely to resonate in the way that it may have decades ago. They look to me like they’re in an echo chamber and going to end up on the fringes again.

BonnieSituation

blanch152 wrote: »

https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/arlene-foster-awarded-125000-damages-24199522

Not going to go back through the various Arlene threads, but this lie was referenced several times. With the money, she could go after anyone, including posters on here who repeated these allegations.

Don't ask me to quote them, because then I would get dragged into it as well, but you can find the relevant posts if you look hard enough.

Alright. So you have no examples. Cool.

Just another lie.

Dyr

Furze99 wrote: »

How old are you?? DUP are Johnny Come Latelys just like the Shinners!

Old enough to know that the UUP have only been in power for four years since 1974.

SDLP the same.


Funny how people forget.

Penfailed

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Was I the only one surprised to hear Gregory 'curry my yogurt' Campbell walked out as well, I thought he'd have been well on the side of Pootsy. No?

He came out in support of Donaldson when the two names were announced. MPs sticking together.

awec

Looks like Paul Givan is the favourite for FM. A complete balloon, religious nutter, one of Poots' mates.

Played a big part in the Stormont collapse in 17.

awec

awec wrote: »

Looks like Paul Givan is the favourite for FM. A complete balloon, religious nutter, one of Poots' mates.

Played a big part in the Stormont collapse in 17.

In other words, perfect. Can't imagine a better FM in that case.

ClosedAccountFuzzy

I’m assuming a collapse of the assembly by the end of the autumn and no Northern Ireland government until mid 2022. It’s really not going to be workable with no compromise.

Fairly disastrous for Northern Ireland as it’s the very time it needs pragmatic government and they’ll just be an inconvenience to the English government, so without the assembly, they’re risking sliding into a mess, although with the assembly as it stands, it mightn’t be much better.

BonnieSituation

FuzzyThinking wrote: »

I’m assuming a collapse of the assembly by the end of the autumn and no Northern Ireland government until mid 2022. It’s really not going to be workable with no compromise.

Fairly disastrous for Northern Ireland as it’s the very time it needs pragmatic government and they’ll just be an inconvenience to the English government, so without the assembly, they’re risking sliding into a mess, although with the assembly as it stands, it mightn’t be much better.

Well, who are we waiting on to compromise, again?

Imagine if they'd just agreed an ILA?

The continued implosion will be delicious.

Seth Brundle

The last time Stormont was suspended, London introduced same-sex marriage and abortion.
Do the DUP really want to play this game?

josip

Without an assembly, and no longer in the EU, the only representation the electorate have are 8 DUP, 2 SDLP and 1 Alliance MP at Westminster.

awec

Seth Brundle wrote: »

The last time Stormont was suspended, London introduced same-sex marriage and abortion.
Do the DUP really want to play this game?

I'd be fairly confident the DUP won't collapse the assembly.

Junkyard Tom

If the executive goes down again I'd say it will remain that way. Unionism can't cope with not having a dominant position.

Unionism needs to be honest with itself, its enclave in the north was primarily an attempt to maintain the Unionist/Protestant ascendancy that once ruled over all the Irish people.

NI has failure built into its design.

FuzzyThinking

FuzzyThinking wrote: »

I’m assuming a collapse of the assembly by the end of the autumn week and no Northern Ireland government until mid 2022. It’s really not going to be workable with no compromise.

FYP

realdanbreen

Fionn1952 wrote: »

The People's Front of Judea only had one split....

You're thinking of the Judean People's front!

breezy1985

Seth Brundle wrote: »

The last time Stormont was suspended, London introduced same-sex marriage and abortion.
Do the DUP really want to play this game?

Johnson will probably just be done with it and introduce an independent NI this time

BonnieSituation

josip wrote: »

Without an assembly, and no longer in the EU, the only representation the electorate have are 8 DUP, 2 SDLP and 1 Alliance MP at Westminster.

Sinn Féin continue to represent the wishes of their voters by not taking their seats in London.

jimmycrackcorm

awec wrote: »

I'd be fairly confident the DUP won't collapse the assembly.

If it did then there wouldn't be an opportunity for the DUP to try to remove the protocol via the consent mechanism.

cameramonkey

josip wrote: »

Without an assembly, and no longer in the EU, the only representation the electorate have are 8 DUP, 2 SDLP and 1 Alliance MP at Westminster.

Even when the Tories had the need of DUP MPs to form a government the DUP found it impossible to exert pressure or change UK government policy. The northern MPs will never have any real input into UK government policy. The tiny amount of MPs makes them powerless.

FrancieBrady

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

If it did then there wouldn't be an opportunity for the DUP to try to remove the protocol via the consent mechanism.

The DUP are many things, they aren't fools. They know that will never happen unless they magic up an alternative that has eluded everybody.

Penfailed

awec wrote: »

I'd be fairly confident the DUP won't collapse the assembly.

SF might. As soon as AF stands down, the clock starts. The two parties then have 7 days to nominate a first and deputy first minister. If SF don't (for example, if an ILA isn't agreed) down goes Stormont.

blanch152

Penfailed wrote: »

SF might. As soon as AF stands down, the clock starts. The two parties then have 7 days to nominate a first and deputy first minister. If SF don't (for example, if an ILA isn't agreed) down goes Stormont.

SF wouldn't collapse the Assembly when they disagreed with the Covid policies and people were dying. They will hardly collapse it for something as minor as an ILA.

blanch152

blanch152 wrote: »

something as minor as an ILA.

It being minor, shouldn't be a problem for the DUP.

BonnieSituation

blanch152 wrote: »

SF wouldn't collapse the Assembly when they disagreed with the Covid policies and people were dying. They will hardly collapse it for something as minor as an ILA.

Your political astuteness to the fore yet again

blanch152

BonnieSituation wrote: »

Your political astuteness to the fore yet again

You know me well enough to have been able to pick up on the sarcasm in that post.

BonnieSituation

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It being minor, shouldn't be a problem for the DUP.

I mean, DUPers are known for the pragmatism.

Blanch of course wouldn't merely be picking out SF here for no apparent reason outside of his hatred for SF and his continued disdain for the northern nationalist.

BonnieSituation

blanch152 wrote: »

You know me well enough to have been able to pick up on the sarcasm in that post.

I wouldn't dare. You could be playing devil's advocate. The new residence for partitionists to hide in.

ClosedAccountFuzzy

I begin to lose track of all the Three letter acronyms (TLA)s in Northern Ireland. ILA, DUP, TUV, UUP, PUP, MLA, UTV, etc etc.

Dyr

If the DUP want to be out banging the drum agin the protocol thru the summer, they'll probably want to be out of Stormont too

Kinda hard to be rioting about a government decision when you're in government

blanch152

BonnieSituation wrote: »

I wouldn't dare. You could be playing devil's advocate. The new residence for partitionists to hide in.

You are displaying a new level of paranoia. The sooner we get to see the Dubs in person the better.

Kewreeuss

I kind of feel sorry for Poots, flailing around, still trying to find someone else to blame, while winding up his supporters.