assembly election 2017

A Year Without Government Series: Part II

Soapbox on January 24, 2018, 2:28 pm

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This article makes up the second part of a series that takes a satirical look back on the last year and a bit of Northern Irish Politics. The following was written entirely tongue in cheek and none of it should be taken very seriously. Find Part I here. The Assembly Election Debate It is a time honoured tradition of the Assembly election cycle that the BBC and UTV bring representatives from the five largest parties into a room together to shout …

A Year Without Government Series: Part I of III

Soapbox on January 22, 2018, 1:38 pm

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This week will mark one year since the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly and one year without government in Northern Ireland. Over the next few articles from myself on this site I hope to take a satirical and hopefully comical look back on the events of this year and how we managed to find ourselves in the situation. The following was written entirely tongue in cheek and none of it should be taken very seriously. How did we get …

Notional 90 seat 2016 Assembly Compared with 2017 results

Samuel Thompson on March 7, 2017, 2:58 pm

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*Whyte, Nicholas (22 December 2016). “If the 2016 Assembly election had had five seats per constituency…”. AE17 without the background noise As Northern Ireland’s turbulent history takes another turn there is a widespread feeling that AE17 has changed the local political situation profoundly. It was a good result for Sinn Féin, there is no doubt about that, and for Alliance too, but what about the others? The DUP admitted to a bad day at the office and Mike Nesbitt has …

Running to stand still – how the move from six seats to five seats could hurt the UUP much more than the DUP

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on February 16, 2017, 9:55 am

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Previously, I looked at what might be expected from next month’s Assembly election if the current polling, showing a fall in support for the DUP with a corresponding rise in support for the Alliance Party and the UUP, is indicative of public support. The forecast model anticipated that the UUP could expect to receive 14 seats under such a scenario, which would be a respectable result given that they won 16 out of 108 seats in the previous mandate. However, …

Forecasting the 2017 Assembly Election

Peter Donaghy (Salmon of Data) on February 12, 2017, 12:21 pm

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The snap Assembly election called for the 2nd of March 2017 will be the first to return 5 MLAs from each constituency, reducing the total number of MLAs from 108 to 90. This, combined with indications of a fall in support for the DUP and a rise in support for the Green Party and People Before Profit, makes this year’s election less predictable than is usually the case for Northern Ireland elections. I have built a forecast model in an …

Are women making their mark in political leadership?

Sara McCracken on January 30, 2017, 1:15 pm

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Regardless of whether you agree with their politics or not, the appointment of Michele O’Neill as Sinn Féin’s leader in Northern Ireland should be welcomed. Northern Ireland, potentially, could have female First and Deputy First Ministers. Of course that depends on how votes are cast on 2 March, however we now have women leading our two largest parties and if nothing else, it shows that it is possible to reach the top. Combine this with the leadership of Naomi Long …

Be grateful for small mercies & scandals

Neale Richmond on January 27, 2017, 1:58 pm

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This week in the Seanad we held a thorough debate on the current situation in Northern Ireland ahead of the upcoming Assembly Elections and the many challenges that lie ahead Beginning with an address by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Charlie Flanagan TD, where he laid out the Irish Government’s role and responsibilities, the House covered the many issues that will be debated with a serious focus on the major difficulties posed to the whole island by the UK’s decision to …

The glimmer of light seen in Martin McGuinness’s departure can become a beacon of hope

Brian Walker on January 20, 2017, 11:20 am

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So the political establishment and the media are in rare unison praising Martin McGuinness. Illness and the shadow of death – ordinary decent, natural sickness and intimations of mortality – bring out the sentimentalist in all types of the Irish people. Let’s not be too starry eyed. In a longish apologia for the different phases of his career, Martin McGuinness had no apology to make for the armed struggle. It was left to Gregory Campbell from across the Foyle – …

Whatever you do this election make your vote count…

Sara McCracken on January 19, 2017, 4:21 pm

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As the scandal, exposés and drip feed of information continues from various departments and political parties over the renewable heat incentive scheme, there is one certainty. We will be going to the polls on Thursday 2 March. Regardless of the why, we, the voters, have been handed a golden opportunity to pass judgement on the performance of our elected representatives. We have an opportunity to appease the ghosts of the 2016 elections, which saw Brexit and Trump triumph. We have an …