Monday 11 May 2009

Unseated

Of course Sinn Féin MPs should not be claiming parliamentary allowances when they don’t take their seats. The principled Irish Republican position is either not to contest Westminster (or Dáil) elections, or, if elected, to accept that one’s point has been made but that the seat will then be filled by the second-placed candidate, since there will be people who voted for representation, and they will always or almost always outnumber those who voted for non-representation.

3 comments:

  1. I am not sure that they ever "accepted" the second place scenario. Clearly SF non-involvement in the electoral process has helped SFs "enemies" more than it ever helped SF or its "predecessors".
    Electoral involvement has clearly helped their case.
    The position of course is that they are complying with the will of the Irish electorate (the referendum north and south.......excluding England, Scotland, Wales) on the same day in 1998 which endorsed the Belfast Agreement.
    Their position is that this expressed will of the Irish electorate updates the 1919 First Dáil position. This of course gets them off the 80 year old hook of their own making.
    Thus they can claim a consistency and within the terms of their own logic, its impossible to deny.
    Westminster expenses? Well its Dane gelt, a payment to ensure "peace".
    While Daily Mail readers will get worked up about it and Cameron will pay lip service to the idea of withdrawing it.....it wont happen.
    Rest assured that however much Westminster MPs salaries are downgraded, SF will be as rich as ever....THANKS TO THE BRITISH TAXPAYER.Likewise nobody will deal with "double jobbing" by DUP and SDLP.....Durkan, MacDonnell, Wilson, MR AND MRS ROBINSON, Simpson, Dodds, Campbell.
    Mr Dodds wife......Diane might soon be a Euro MP.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "I am not sure that they ever "accepted" the second place scenario"

    But they should. Or rather, they should accept that, once their point was made, the rest was really nothing to do with them.

    "Thus they can claim a consistency and within the terms of their own logic, its impossible to deny.
    Westminster expenses"

    These should be strictly conditional on taking one's seat. How else is it possibl;e to incur the expenses of having done so?

    "Likewise nobody will deal with "double jobbing" by DUP and SDLP"

    Why doesn't the electorate? Why don't their local parties?

    ReplyDelete
  3. If they were to meekly accept "making their point" and hand over "their" mandate, then they become anonymous and effectively hand over control of the agenda to their enemies.
    Like them or loathe them, SF represent their constituents rather effectively. The Party has "growed and growed" from one Westminster seat to FIVE.
    Can Ms Ruane make it six next year now that McGrady is retired.
    Can convicted bomb conspirator Martina Anderson make an impact in Foyle.
    The upwardly mobile graph indicates their voters are satisfied.
    Can they represent constituents without taking the Westminster oath? Seemingly so.
    Whether they "should" be allowed to do so is a different question. But the SF logic is that whether they "should be allowed to do so" is not in the gift of the British Government.
    And now that this point has already been conceded.....then thats one genie which wont go back in the bottle.
    Double jobbing?
    Hasnt it already been dealt with in LEGALLY in relation to Europe? The logic of DUP and SDLP is that they need senior figures like Durkan and Mac Donnell to head the poll and not let the the second eleven take on the task of confronting SF.
    Likewise under PR the big hitters Robinson, Wilson, Campbell, Jeffrey Donaldson etc to get those crucial extra percentage points which decide the last seat in multi seat constituencies.

    ReplyDelete