I thought the DUP where the extremists........?

"...the unionist population swung massively behind the DUP because it believes that, whatever the nuances of the DUP's theoretical position, it is the best bet for keeping Sinn Féin out at all costs.

How high those costs will be in the long term remains to be seen."

.....the costs will be £400 per household water charges. Thanks guys and gals for polarising the system so much that the government pushes on with this issue.

Jo,

You've swallowed the old line that anything bad must be a result of those bad old colonial direct rule ministers. Being in perpetual opposition allows our MPs to take the credit for anything nice and avoid blame without actually doing anything.

The water charges are as a direct consequence of decisions taken by the assembly when it was up and running.

I wonder why our politicians arent telling us that ?

I would agree with Steven King's analysis.

Poor Steven,

I suppose he has to say something but really....is that the best he can come up. I suggest that John Alderdice offers his professional services to those sad delusionists in the UUP who STILL think that they were cheated by those bad DUP'ers and their duped voters. The pro-Union electorate did that which the gutless UUC failed to do - it removed Trimble. Were we waiting on the Zimmerframe fraternity, DT would still be the man.

Steven King may go unchallenged in his revisionism on big media, but let's be honest, big media was SURPRISED at the wipe-out. How little it and the lickspittles that inhabit it, know!

Not sure how David Vance's comments relate to anything Steven King said.

Willowfield,

I'm not surprised you're not sure.

I'm not surprised you failed clearly to articulate how your comment related to what King said. You're more interested in bluster and assertion than in debate and argument.

Well somebody changed the DUP's approach to power sharing and inclusive Govt (including a photographed SF).
So if it wasn't the policies of Trimble and the UUP who was it ?

Somebody enabled them to visit the Dublin Govt because it no longer had Articles 2&3 - once again who put the DUP in this position ?

Put it another way if the DUP had entered this election saying they believed in simple majority rule, SF, under no circumstances, will ever be dealt with and they would have nothing to do with an interfering Dublin Govt would they now be the biggest Unionist Party ?

I think not - they have had to move and although they may have learned the tune of moderate Centre ground unionism they know few of the verses.

They are both slow learners and poor imitators feeding of a combination of protestant sectarianism and fear.

All bluster and swagger but SF will run rings round them because they will have to do absolutely nothing. Nationalism will simply usher in instability and decline and wait around for meaningful and broad support for the union to melt away.

Meanwhile the DUP will consider non participation of SF in a partitionist settlement as a victory.

I hope Paisley lives long enough to witness the arrival of the UI his policies will eventually usher in - it will be his ultimate humbling before he meets his maker.

David, I thought the rule was ball not man.
You hammered, indeed, bullied and threatened me for comments I made but dont seem to think the rule applies to you.
You've been very personally critical of and name-called Mark Devenport on numerous occasions and haven't been censored.
As for water charges, it would have taken a hell of a lot of balls on a local politician to foist anything like that on people here. None of them have the cohones, but are content that the legislation be passed so that they can shrug their shoulders at the extra tax burden on EVERYONE.

Oh, and mnob, I find it easier, if not better manners, to spit rather than swallow! ;)