gdp's Comments

http://www.conservativehome.com/ : Remainers cannot re-write history: it is Covid-19, not Brexit, that challenges the Union

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 18:05:15 +0000

"Scotland has a conservative heart" Has it really? The Conservative Party began to lose support in Scotland in the early 1960s, a decline that has continued til the present day

http://www.conservativehome.com/ : Remainers cannot re-write history: it is Covid-19, not Brexit, that challenges the Union

Fri, 24 Jul 2020 17:54:54 +0000

the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement does not allow for re-partition. It's the status quo until the UK Secretary of State decides to call for a Border Poll (Referendum). According to the Agreement, the only 2 options on the ballot paper will be: Does Northern Ireland stay in the UK or join the Republic of Ireland?

http://www.conservativehome.com/ : Graham Gudgin: The Irish Border and Brexit - is Varadkar playing with fire?

Mon, 7 Aug 2017 20:17:29 +0000

Citing true Wikipedia info about roger casement as background to a dream/vision story indicates what? We can trade stories about our ancestors for as long as you want As a Londoner I can honestly say my g-grandfather served in the South African War, India and WWI. He was awarded medals and survived all his campiagns in good health. So? We are not our ancestors. We are living in today's world. And today's world includes Brexit. Better to try and understand what the DUP want - rather than attempting to shoot down the messenger. Or not?

http://www.conservativehome.com/ : Graham Gudgin: The Irish Border and Brexit - is Varadkar playing with fire?

Mon, 7 Aug 2017 16:02:29 +0000

Thanks for the ref. Ms barbara Sinead kelly wrote that comment. ben madigan didn't . people are free to comment as you say and other people are free to thank them for commenting. perhaps you would care to explain what you think the "underlying agenda" of the site is?

http://www.conservativehome.com/ : Graham Gudgin: The Irish Border and Brexit - is Varadkar playing with fire?

Mon, 7 Aug 2017 14:08:27 +0000

@ David MacD I notice you didn't comment on the post I cited about the DUP's game-plan or the comments I made on the article in this post on Conservative Home. You produced some citation with no reference as to where you found it beyond saying "from your linked website" Sorry mate but without a specific link and reference, your citation could have come from anywhere

http://www.conservativehome.com/ : Graham Gudgin: The Irish Border and Brexit - is Varadkar playing with fire?

Mon, 7 Aug 2017 12:46:23 +0000

There's so much to take issue with in this article that I hardly know where to start. I'll just pick out a few key concepts - "As the new Fine Gael government team led by Leo Varadkar has found its feet, the previous Irish position of preparing for a technological solution to minimise border disruption has been overturned". Mr Varadkar and Mr Coveney are both under 40 years old and grew up in a fully fledged Irish republic that was/is a member of the EU. Mr Kenny is an elderly man who has been in politics for years and years and was formed by a very different attitude to the UK. So changes in attitude towards the UK are to be expected with a younger generation of Fine Gael leaders. "This idea apparently came as a surprise to officials in Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)," It would be more correct to say the timing of this idea came as a surprise. The idea was expected to be launched later in the Brexit negotiations - whoever was Taoiseach "lack of overt (Irish) support for a free-trade agreement between the UK and the EU". No surprise here - As Gavin Daly wrote above - the brexit negotiations are nowhere near broaching the subject of a new EU-UK trade agreement. Why should Ireland be expected to be supportive of something that's not yet on the table and has not yet been discussed.? In any case Conservative voters and supporters might like to see what their partner in government, the DUP, envisages for Northern Ireland and England post- Brexit and consider how far they support these aims https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2017/08/06/the-du...

http://www.conservativehome.com/ : EXCLUSIVE. Now Fiona Hill quits too. Here's her statement.

Sat, 10 Jun 2017 18:42:29 +0000

"Now May is being allowed the gamble with Northern Irish peace and stability." I agree - but on a lighter note reflect on how the british conservative party is being DUP-ed Sad times indeed that our once great party and states- men and women are reduced to such bedfellows https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2017/06/10/dup-in...

http://www.conservativehome.com/ : Richard Ritchie: Power-sharing government at Stormont is always bound to break down

Sat, 18 Mar 2017 17:17:26 +0000

Thank you for an interesting analysis Mr Ritchie, I have no doubt that a minority of Unionists in Northern ireland would welcome a return to Direct Rule from Westminster However, we must bear in mind that once it was undertaken in the 1970s, the policy of successive UK governments was always to set up a "power-sharing agreement" in NI. The implicit answer to your final question is that the option of Direct Rule is no longer available - Time, circumstances, demographics etc have moved on since it was originally adopted Furthermore, given the various Agreements that have been signed since 1998, a new period of Direct Rule is a non-runner

Conservative Home : Neil Wilson: Here in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein are kidding their voters. And themselves.

Sun, 11 Dec 2016 13:50:58 +0000

I tend to agree. Holding on to NI in particular seems to be more trouble than it's worth, especially as the UK has already signed up to the GFA/Belfast Agreement, allowing people there to decide for themselves. As far as Scotland is concerned I don't think "Both the north and south of the island of Ireland are far more pluralistic than Scotland right now". Conservative, Labour and Lib-Dem parties all stand in Scotland, so it is certainly a pluralistic society. However the majority of people vote SNP and unlike England and Wales prefer to remain in the EU. How that particular circle is to be squared, and whether it even can be, remains to be seen.

Conservative Home : The EU referendum. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland - how will they vote?

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 12:43:34 +0000

Thanks to Gales Gattopardo, Samvines and Fernando Hobbs for clarifying the issue of how the voting patterns will be reported. @fanA1 below - I am not entirely sure N. Ireland will vote Brexit. And finally thanks @Samvines below for making another, very important point: "yes it would be odd to have England 'held back' by the other nations. The reverse would hold true". What happens then? Should Scottish and N. Irish people vote Remain while England, which is numerically much greater, votes Brexit , can EU citizenship be removed against the will of the majority in those nations?

Conservative Home : The EU referendum. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland - how will they vote?

Thu, 16 Jun 2016 11:33:08 +0000

Sorry MoneyQuestion - all I can do in reply to your query is add a series of other questions. Here's hoping someone will be able to provide us with some answers Will we get a regional breakdown of the Referendum outcome ie the voting patterns in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland? Or only an overall result i.e. UK says Remain X% vs Leave Y%? And what happens if the regional voting patterns sway the overall outcome towards what England didn't vote for? How is that constitutional crisis to be dealt with?

Conservative Home : Theresa Villiers: At the heart of my decision to support Leave is the conviction that our democracy

Sun, 21 Feb 2016 19:51:17 +0000

"For your information the Ulster Unionist Party MPs are also in favour of leaving" - unless you have information that is not yet in the public domain I am afraid you are mistaken on this point. The Ulster Unionist Party has not yet announced its Referendum position 16:20Sunday 21 February 2016 The UUP have said they will “move quickly” to formulate a decision on whether they should back the UK’s continued membership of the EU. Read more: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/uup-to-make-deci...

Conservative Home : Theresa Villiers: At the heart of my decision to support Leave is the conviction that our democracy

Sun, 21 Feb 2016 19:46:39 +0000

"Under no circumstances should a Conservative Minister ever be on the same side as SF or the SDLP-" Can't disagree with that - never suggested they should be. What i was proposing was a publicly neutral SOS in Northern Ireland as a pro-tem arrangement Having a SOS who backs Brexit (which about 50% of the NI population will oppose) , yet has to promote all other government lines and policies does not seem to be the best way of proceeding in such a difficult situation as exists in NI - .

Conservative Home : Theresa Villiers: At the heart of my decision to support Leave is the conviction that our democracy

Sun, 21 Feb 2016 12:24:39 +0000

The Welsh and Scottish Secretaries of State support the government line. Ms Villiers has, of course, every right to her opinion on the referendum. I am not disputing her view in any way or her right to campaign for Leave . I am rather concerned about her doing so as SOS for Northern Ireland. As SOS, she is the government representative in a very divided province, the only part of the UK which shares a land border with an EU country. This risks being reactivated if the UK votes for Leave.Cross-border EU funding to strengthen the NI peace process risks being suspended. In supporting Leave, Ms Villiers is aligning herself with the DUP and the TUV, two very reactionary parties and against SF and the SDLP, two nationalist parties who will be campaigning for Stay. Because of the potential conflicts of interests I respectfully request that Ms Villiers temporarily resign from the position of SOS for Northern Ireland and that a suitable person who will not express any view on Brexit (whatever s/he personally believes) be appointed on a pro-tem arrangement until the 24th June.

Conservative Home : Why Northern Ireland's government could collapse

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 21:44:16 +0000

"Why not try to govern the province like any other part of the Kingdom. Sharing authority with the Irish Republic was and remains a major mistake. Ulster should remain British and be ruled as a normal part of Britain like any other part of this country." That was what the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement tried to do. Power-sharing between parties in NI (not the Irish republic) was an attempt to stop prevarication of one over the other and to ensure amical government for the good of the people in NI within the UK framework. Unfortunately, as Mr Hill wrote “we must face up to the mounting evidence that Northern Ireland’s political institutions are fundamentally dysfunctional.” He speaks the truth. With regards to your point about dealing with PIRA, loyalist paramilitary associations like the UDA and the UVF, also need to be dealt with – otherwise the non-Unionist population in NI will not be happy bunnies. Dealing with them would be a very messy business indeed and unsurprisingly there seems to be little appetite to do so. This is another big problem. I agree with Mr Hill’s statement:” Unless Northern Ireland’s institutions can be reformed, there will come a time when their mere survival will no longer count as a worthwhile victory”. Joint Authority with the Irish government may well prove to be a suitable reform as it offers many advantages for the UK. I truly hope Mr Cameron and his government start considering it seriously - if not with the immediate crisis, at least in the near future. Please do read https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2015/08/28/joint-... and add any questions you want.

Conservative Home : Why Northern Ireland's government could collapse

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 14:59:49 +0000

Totally agree with so much of what you write. I hope Mr Cameron and his cabinet do too!! Maybe it's time to look for an alternative to power-sharing in NI? Maybe it's time for Joint Authority with the Irish government. It's the only approach that hasn't yet been attempted to solve the intractable problem of NI governance and it's one that might just work https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2015/08/28/joint-...

http://www.thepointhowever.org/ : No Easy Answers: Reflection on the Left and Scottish Politics in 2015

Sat, 30 May 2015 14:50:13 +0000

exactly what I have always thought was needed within the Scottish parliament - a leftwing/socialist party supporting Independence. moreover to make sure all Scotland's voices are heard in hollyrood a rightwing/conservative party supporting independence is also needed

http://www.thepointhowever.org/ : Why I am voting SNP

Tue, 5 May 2015 20:40:10 +0000

very good article - what an exciting time in scotland - hope as many seats as possible fall to the SNP on the day - the next steps can be worked out as we see what's happening in the rest of the UK - can't wait to start hearing the results - a fair wind and best to all SNP voters - Ben

Conservative Home : The DUP want to have their constitutional cake and eat it

Mon, 27 Apr 2015 12:25:10 +0000

well said - nice to find someone who is seeing through the DUP's appearance to the rather unsavoury reality below

Daily Wales : Question Time: A Welsh voice in Westminster is ‘really worrying’ for English

Fri, 27 Mar 2015 20:45:11 +0000

join the northern irish - no sign of a gaelic Act yet, though it was promised years and years ago. Ni is still working under some 18th century legisllation forbidding the use of irish https://eurofree3.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/acht-n... I'm not a gaelic speaker beyond a few words but i want to make one other point about the lady's comments “When you consider that the Welsh language is only kept alive by committees inventing new words for modern inventions like the motor car and the television set, you don’t know whether to laugh or cry”. Doesn't she know that's how languages evolve - by inventing new words for new things. How did English evolve from the "horseless carriage" to the "car'. The gaelic languages just have to do a bit of catching up quicker as they were suppressed for so long and encouraged to die out - which luckily hasn't happened,