The Battle for Fermanagh and South Tyrone

[saffron sam2]

Have SF been confirmed as the largest party by popular vote?

Yeah they topped the popular vote on 25.5% with the DUP half a point back on 20%

If you had been involved as a teller in the F & ST counts, the unionists would have a strong case for an appeal.

[omagh_gael]

Does 5.5% not equate to half a point?

Apologies SF 25.5% DUP 25% that's a bit better

[Lecale2]

Have SF been confirmed as the largest party by popular vote?

DUP didn't stand in Fermanagh & S Tyrone or North Down. A meaningless statistic.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Have SF been confirmed as the largest party by popular vote?

DUP didn't stand in Fermanagh & S Tyrone or North Down. A meaningless statistic.

There's no such thing as a 'meaningless' statistic in north of Ireland politics don't you know! 

[The Worker]

A Unionist merger is a good thing, the less unionist parties there are on this island the better IMO

[haranguerer]

What did the SDLP hope to achieve by putting McKinney up for election? They were never going to win it, and were likely to allow a unionist in which certainly wouldn't have helped their own voters.

I refer you to this post.

As for Margaret Richie, you said you wanted the people of F/ST to speak. Well I hope you're listening, they spoke with a very loud voice yesterday.

Yes they did and I'm sure Ritchie will take this on board. Ritchie offered the people of FST a choice, there's nothing wrong with that. Unionists ruled this province for the guts of 60 years because the ideals of democracy were not upheld or provided to the nationalist people, I won't hold anything against Margaret for giving them a choice.

There was/is alot of finger-pointing and gloating being directed at the SDLP and some people would do well to consider one thing. There are people in FST who will never vote SF. They have various reasons which are completely unarguable and sound. These people in a fair, just and democratic society should have the option of voting for the SDLP and the SDLP have an obligation to offer these people an alternative nationalist mandate. Whether the SDLP get the seat or not is irrelevant but these non-SF nationalists have a right to vote and as long as there exists people within FST who want to vote for the SDLP then they should be provided the opportunity to do so.

As for your opinion that a unionist would not have served the SDLP voters at all then I'm afraid the people who voted SDLP must have thought otherwise. It's perfectly legitimate that they would consider a sitting MP (protestant or not) would do better to retain jobs/funding and healthcare in the area than an absent MP.

The SDLP ran a candidate in FST to give the people of that area their democratic right to vote for a party if they wanted to. 3,700 people did and despite your protests you cannot deny them that. Vashundra Kamble or John Stevenson did not have a chance of winning either but they ran because they wanted to represent a certain aspect of the population of FST. You cannot deny a person the right to representation. SDLP provided representation to the people of FST and unless you have problems with the fundamental principles of democracy then you cannot deny them that.
[/quote]

Refer all you want, its still bollocks. Why doesnt everyone just run for election sure, to hell with any parties? No party can represent anyone totally, politics is a game of compromise. The SDLP gave people 'a democratic right to vote for a party if they wanted to...' for a day, in doing so they could well have lessened the voice of their own supporters for 4 years. Say what you like, Rodney Connors wouldnt have been seen in many nationalist areas. I only ever saw Ken Maginnis on TV (thank god) whenever he was my elected representative.

[Minder]

Haranguerer - If you had an issue you needed resolved or needed representation he would have to play ball and it would look bad for him for not helping out someone from the other side of the house. Someone alluded earlier, on this thread I think, that Michelle Gildernew was accused in parts of F & ST of helping Protestant farmers more than Catholic farmers, I would imagine so that she couldn't be accused of bias.

I know in my old constituency of North Antrim we had the devil himself, Big Ian, for 30 odd years and I know farmers at home, many staunch Republicans, had nothing but good things to say about the oul **** and reckoned he went above and beyond the call of duty at times for them

[Pangurban]

In an interview on U.T.V. today, Margaret Ritchie again cast a slur on the Nationalist people of the 6 Counties, when she explained her refusal to enter into a pact by saying she would not indulge in sectarian headcounts. Could some of her apologists on here please explain what is sectarian about Nationalism, or wishing to maximise the nationalist vote. I never heard her call unionism sectarian, when they enter into pacts, and she is right not to do so.

[Tony Baloney]

In an interview on U.T.V. today, Margaret Ritchie again cast a slur on the Nationalist people of the 6 Counties, when she explained her refusal to enter into a pact by saying she would not indulge in sectarian headcounts. Could some of her apologists on here please explain what is sectarian about Nationalism, or wishing to maximise the nationalist vote. I never heard her call unionism sectarian, when they enter into pacts, and she is right not to do so.

Surely there is an element of sectarianism if you deny the people the right to vote on policies (imagine that!) and instead you can only vote along tribal lines. Jesus do away with any pretence of parties at all and just go in and tick orange, green or yellow.

[Milltown Row2]

its always been a sectarian vote in N.Ireland, or tactical voting if you live in an area where no Catholic/prod can get in. anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling him/herself. Long got her vote down to Peter's fook up really. as with her being the first Allinace MP

[armaghniac]

If you had an issue you needed resolved or needed representation he would have to play ball and it would look bad for him for not helping out someone from the other side of the house.

I don't know much about Connor, but if he was running the council then he would be well used to dealing with allsorts and all parts of Fermanagh. He might have been a better representative, apart from actually sitting in the parliament he was not double jobbing in Stormont like most of the MPs, including Gildernew.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

A lot of being in denial in this thread: whilst Britain maintains a presence in Ireland there will always be a sectarian edge to any election: it's the unavoidable consequence of a (continued) presence that was established and predicated on a sectarian headcount. It's that simple, get over it.

[Zapatista]

This would be a stupid "dog in the manger" attitude. In a PR election you should vote for all candidates in order of preference, SF, SDLP, Alliance, UU, DUP etc. Leaving the TUV type people last. Even if you believe that that the SDLP contributed to handing a seat to a unionist (albeit a pretty moderate one) and you object to this, your handing a seat to a unionist is hardly an appropriate response.

I disagree. In certain areas I would vote Unionism before i would vote the SDLP.  If I thought the SDLP were not going to get elected I would put them last behind Unionists I thought weren't going to be elected. The SDLP have done nothing to empower Irish people in Ireland yet bluff their way through Nationalist politics. Their Nationalism is as genuine as FF's Republicanism.

[Zapatista]

its always been a sectarian vote in N.Ireland, or tactical voting if you live in an area where no Catholic/prod can get in. anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling him/herself. Long got her vote down to Peter's fook up really. as with her being the first Allinace MP

So it's always been like that except.....

We are playing the brits game for them.

[Pangurban]

Disillusioned was making a good case until he started referring to politicians in terms of Catholic and Protesant, thus displaying that he has been influenced by a sectarian mindset. As for Tony Baloney, would he care to define what difference in social or economic policies the voters were being given an option to choose between