six county elections 05/05/2011

[Tony Baloney]

Conor Murphy SF, Danny Kennedy UUP and Dominic Bradley SDLP elected in Newry and Armagh

Jaysus, it took all day to get that - could've told you that last night, no, actually yesterday morning. I suppose it'll be Boylan and Irwin for the last two seats.

We really need to cull the amounty of MLAs, make some of them work for their votes.

Sounds like SF haven't balanced their vote well here, leaving Brady nervous for a while. Although SF looking good for a second in Upper Bann.

Sorry, forgot about Micky there.

Just seems to me, with so many seats, there will be few from SF/DUP sweating as they know they can ride in on the coat tails of some of their more high-profile candidates. I admire their vote management, but does west Belfast really need five SF MLAs?

No. Far too many MLAs for a small area but it's all part of the peace dividend. We could comfortably have one taig and one prod MLA in each area if we were serious about a sectarian carveup. Which I think we are!

I don't have any real issue with the number of MLAs. Yes, there are a lot of them, but it ensures minorities are represented. And the cost associated with MLAs is a red herring; in the grand scheme of things, it's a drop in the ocean.

Having said that, when the Westminster boundaries are redrawn and reduced, we're likely to see a reduction in the number of MLAs, probably by 12.

If you add up all the drops in the ocean you will eventually get an ocean.

But in the grand scheme of drops, I wouldn't be too worried about letting this one through.

Being a North Antrim man I like to see value for money. "Sure it's only a drop in the ocean" is what's wrong with the public sector in NI. There's a bottomless pit of money it seems.

[Maguire01]

Don't get me wrong - there's plenty of fat to cut. But I wouldn't consider this to be the priority, I just see it as an easy target - very populist.

[ziggysego]

Disaster after disaster at the F/ST count in Omagh. Their count table has now collapsed lol

[omagh_gael]

Disaster after disaster at the F/ST count in Omagh. Their count table has now collapsed lol

Feckin' dissidents at it again!

[Tony Baloney]

Apparently Ruanation is 6 short of quota. Hay and Martina Anderson look like they're in @Foyle.

[Milltown Row2]

Total recount in Derry!! Derry ones cant count!

[Fear Boirche]

Don't get me wrong - there's plenty of fat to cut. But I wouldn't consider this to be the priority, I just see it as an easy target - very populist.

I don't think it's being populist, I just think we're over represented for a population of under 2m. 108 MLAs, 18 MPs, 582 councillors is a lot when you compare it with others

Dail has 166 TDs for a pop of 5m
Scottish parliament has 129 members for pop of 5m
Welsh Assembly has 60 members for pop of 3m.

I don't think more MLAs means more minority parties get in, it just leads to more, weaker candidates from the bigger parties.

[Maguire01]

Conor Murphy SF, Danny Kennedy UUP and Dominic Bradley SDLP elected in Newry and Armagh

Jaysus, it took all day to get that - could've told you that last night, no, actually yesterday morning. I suppose it'll be Boylan and Irwin for the last two seats.

We really need to cull the amounty of MLAs, make some of them work for their votes.

Sounds like SF haven't balanced their vote well here, leaving Brady nervous for a while. Although SF looking good for a second in Upper Bann.

Cathal Boylan in - Newry & Armagh. Murphy's surplus.

[Rois]

Who were the two pricks at either side of Basil McCrea? And who was the blondie?

Oh had a good laugh at those two shiny-faced gimps.

[Maguire01]

Noel Thompson is great entertainment tonight on BBC.

[Tony Baloney]

The counting system here is a joke. It's like something you'd see in Zimbabwe. Are the counters paid by the hour?!

[Minder]

The counting system here is a joke. It's like something you'd see in Zimbabwe. Are the counters paid by the hour?!

Couple of blades in work are doing it, they could hardly clean their own arse.

[Rois]

Sinn Fein celebratory shouts in Foyle sound like "wheyhey"
UU shouts sound like "woe"

SF's post election party sounds like it'll be better craic.

[ONeill]

2023 BBC NI's Louise Cullen, says it is a comedy of errors in Fermanagh South Tyrone and Omagh count. A table has now collapsed sending papers across the floor which will need to be recounted.

[Norf Tyrone]

Sinn Fein celebratory shouts in Foyle sound like "wheyhey"
UU shouts sound like "woe"

SF's post election party sounds like it'll be better craic.

Ha Ha. Funny when I was listening to that I noted the differances in the cheers. The SF wan sounded more rustic but more rehersed!