Sinn Fein? They have gone away, you know.

[Applesisapples]

I can't help but feel the Shinners are quite happy to limp along, portraying Unionists as the wreckers. There is no real love for Stormont with the Nationalist electorate, its a Unionist institution. Let them pull it down if they want, joint authority is the next step.

[armaghniac]

Salmond has promised everything to everyone and has the real power in the Scottish Assembly to bribe and cajole those who are reticent about the benefits of independence. And fair play to him, he's only doing what generations of Labour politicians have done before him. However the same situation doesn't exist here because the current set-up here means SF & SDLP can ever have the same level of power as the SNP have in Scotland, everything has to be agreed with Unionists.

Salmond has convinced people that oil money will allow the sums add up. SF is opposing fracking, so that doesn't seem to be their strategy, one wonders what is their plan to make the sums add up.

[armaghniac]

Referring to promises of more autonomy for Scotland in the event of a No vote, MCGuinness said that he would be making "very strong arguments" if Scotland got the power to set its social welfare rates.

What changes is he going to make to welfare, lower rates reflecting the fact that wages are lower in NI? Or increased rates to pay off the SF voters? How to he going to pay for the latter?

[Maguire01]

Salmond has promised everything to everyone and has the real power in the Scottish Assembly to bribe and cajole those who are reticent about the benefits of independence. And fair play to him, he's only doing what generations of Labour politicians have done before him. However the same situation doesn't exist here because the current set-up here means SF & SDLP can ever have the same level of power as the SNP have in Scotland, everything has to be agreed with Unionists.

Salmond has convinced people that oil money will allow the sums add up. SF is opposing fracking, so that doesn't seem to be their strategy, one wonders what is their plan to make the sums add up.

They don't worry about sums adding up.

[Maguire01]

Referring to promises of more autonomy for Scotland in the event of a No vote, MCGuinness said that he would be making "very strong arguments" if Scotland got the power to set its social welfare rates.

What changes is he going to make to welfare, lower rates reflecting the fact that wages are lower in NI? Or increased rates to pay off the SF voters? How to he going to pay for the latter?

The Assembly does effectively have power to set its social welfare rates. It's just that if they want to retain current levels, or raise welfare payments, they'll have to take money from elsewhere - health, education, arts, roads etc. - to make up the difference. I can't see how that would be any different if additional powers were granted. More powers generally come with an adjustment to the block grant.

[armaghniac]

The Assembly does effectively have power to set its social welfare rates. It's just that if they want to retain current levels, or raise welfare payments, they'll have to take money from elsewhere - health, education, arts, roads etc. - to make up the difference. I can't see how that would be any different if additional powers were granted. More powers generally come with an adjustment to the block grant.

The Scots may get the ability to fiddle around with income tax and so forth, so SF can increase this to fund the handouts.

[Maguire01]

So what's going on with Ruane and this PSNI appointment? She claims the process has been compromised... but won't say how.

[Rossfan]

Others on the Board saying it's because the succesful candidate signed the arrestb warrant for Gerry.
If the process was compromised I'd expect a Legal Challenge......

[Applesisapples]

Shinners have lost the plot. This is a fit of petulance because our Jarry was pulled in. I'd be more worried about the growing acceptance by "nationalists" of NI and its place in the union if I was them.

[muppet]

Shinners have lost the plot. This is a fit of petulance because our Jarry was pulled in. I'd be more worried about the growing acceptance by "nationalists" of NI and its place in the union if I was them.

And yet, in most of the talk of the big vote tomorrow, the Union seems to mean England and occasionally Wales.

[glens abu]

Shinners have lost the plot. This is a fit of petulance because our Jarry was pulled in. I'd be more worried about the growing acceptance by "nationalists" of NI and its place in the union if I was them.

Apples you come out with some s###e,how have you discovered that more nationalists now accept the union and SF are fighting the welfare cuts in the North and fighting austerity in the South on a daily basis.

[armaghniac]

Shinners have lost the plot. This is a fit of petulance because our Jarry was pulled in. I'd be more worried about the growing acceptance by "nationalists" of NI and its place in the union if I was them.

Apples you come out with some s###e,how have you discovered that more nationalists now accept the union and SF are fighting the welfare cuts in the North and fighting austerity in the South on a daily basis.

Fighting the balancing of budgets isn't much help when the question of public finances is the main obstacle to unity.

[RealSpiritof98]

Shinners have lost the plot. This is a fit of petulance because our Jarry was pulled in. I'd be more worried about the growing acceptance by "nationalists" of NI and its place in the union if I was them.

Apples you come out with some s###e,how have you discovered that more nationalists now accept the union and SF are fighting the welfare cuts in the North and fighting austerity in the South on a daily basis.

+1 should be renamed lets bash the Shinners by poor wee stoopies thread,

I wouldnt be Sinn Fein no 1 fan at the moment but the nonsense spewed here is petty and school yard like. Anyone that take up a job is a Gravy trainer!!! How dare they want to help run this part of our island.

[Farrandeelin]

Shinners have lost the plot. This is a fit of petulance because our Jarry was pulled in. I'd be more worried about the growing acceptance by "nationalists" of NI and its place in the union if I was them.

+1. I know quite a few 'nationalists' in Fermanagh and they said they'd move to England rather than live in a UI. I was like WTF, you're either a nationalist or you're not. Most of them gave me 'oh we have it better here'.

[Applesisapples]

Shinners have lost the plot. This is a fit of petulance because our Jarry was pulled in. I'd be more worried about the growing acceptance by "nationalists" of NI and its place in the union if I was them.

Apples you come out with some s###e,how have you discovered that more nationalists now accept the union and SF are fighting the welfare cuts in the North and fighting austerity in the South on a daily basis.

Look around you, listen to people and look at opinion polls. I'm no stoop as someone else alluded. Even SF have joined the union with their stop the tory cuts. Go read an insightful peice by Newton Emerson in todays IN and you'll see where I'm coming from.