Atlantic Archipelago Revisited
This blog has previously discussed the correct geographical description for these islands we live in. I got myself in hot water even before I had my first bowl of Mancunian cornflakes when I mentioned on Good Morning Ulster that the session of the Conservative conference which Sir Reg Empey is addressing today was headed "Great Britain". I'd taken that from the agenda linked to this page on the Tory website. However it's been pointed out to me that in official handbook the session is entitled "the Union".
Having been pulled up by Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff for apparently saying, when in New York, that Gordon Brown, Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness would have another meeting when they got "back home to England", I'm not going to get too pedantic about geography (the statement turned out to be wrong in more ways than I imagined).
Anyway whatever the session was called it was marked by Owen Paterson re-emphasising the Conservative pledge to end dual madates and to fight all 18 seats (tell that to the Ulster Unionists in South Belfast).
Ian Parsley was welcomed on board as a featured questioner from the floor. Then Sir Reg took to the platform at his allotted time of 10.53 am precisely. He didn't touch on the nitty gritty of devolving justice or executive deadlock - instead he stuck to the broad message of the two parties building a new inclusive, pluralist politics.
He ended by paraphrasing Casablanca - "David, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship", and then (two minutes early) the first speech by a UUP leader in a decade and the first of a leader of a conjoined party since Brian Faulkner was over and done with.
The conference organisers switched to a tape of Muses's Starlight. "Our hopes and expectations, Black holes and revelations". No doubt the UCUNF Westminster candidates will hope the first line of the chorus turns out to be more apt than the second one.
I'm 
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~16~RS~)
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On the South Belfast spat, I watched the Politics Show's piece on the Tory/UUP seat selections on Sunday and I was bemused as to why Basil McCrea is so insistent on standing in Lagan Valley where he has next to no hope of unseating Wee Jeffrey.
Would he not have a better chance in trying the far more winnable South Antrim or South Belfast? The DUP and SF have benefitted in the past by moving big names like Gregory Campbell, Sammy Wilson, Martin McGuinness and Mitchell McLaughlin from no hope areas into winnable seats, however the UUP still seem stuck in their parochial mindset.
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Mark,
I have suggested a few times before and as usual the MLA's in SDLP and Sinn Fein appear to be selectively blind.
Looking at previous election results -
2005 25,156 voted Paisley out of 46,226. That is a 54% share of the vote.
2007 21,733 voted DUP 1st preference out of 44,655.
On that evidence Jim Allister would need to win 13,000 votes. It is a big task which I can't see him winning. If he doesn't get in there he will definitely get an MLA post.
An interesting thought would be if the nationalist parties spoiled the party. If SDLP and Sinn Fein only fielded 1 candidate and asked both supporters to support the 1 candidate it would not only spoil the party it would ruin unionism....
If the SDLP and Sinn Fein want Paisley, DUP and Jim Allister finished this is the road to go down. By selecting their own candidates they might as well not bother.
Stormontspy
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Mark
Sorry you didn't find my little aside,funny!
It was a postscript to the theme geography/S Belfast UU's.
Suggested a crowded unionist landscape in the tatty fields
and along the coast of N Down.
Dame Sylvia/Parsley/TUV/UCUNF/DUP.Why not PUP and UKIP
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