Posted on July 18, 2008 by ToryWriter
Northern Ireland, England and Wales are today being hit by an ill-judged strike which is crippling local services.
The members of the Unite union say a 2.45% pay increase is impossible to accept as it falls below current inflation. While this may be the case, the decision to strike does local council workers, and the general [...]
Filed under: Business, Conservatives Northern Ireland, Local government, Northern Ireland | No Comments »
Posted on July 18, 2008 by ToryWriter
The Chancellor has today announced that the proposed 2p increase in fuel duty is to be postponed yet again.
This news comes as no surprise. With pressure increasing on the Prime Minister to do something constructive to help families and businesses in the UK, the idea that a further tax increase could be applied in the autumn [...]
Filed under: Business, Conservative Party, Conservatives Northern Ireland, Labour Party, Northern Ireland, Taxation | No Comments »
Posted on July 10, 2008 by Editor
According to BBC News several retailers have decided to open on the 12th of July. As this year the 12th falls on one what should be one of the busiest Saturdays of the year, this seems to make obvious business sense.
However, it also marks yet another instance of the normalisation of our society. Increasingly people, regardless [...]
Filed under: Conservative Party, Conservatives Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland | Tagged: 12th July, DUP, Irish Language, Irish Nationalism, Orange Order, Ulster Nationalism | 9 Comments »
Posted on July 10, 2008 by ToryWriter
A report today by the Institute for Public Policy Research says the Formula, which calculates how the devolved nations are financed, is ‘inequitable and could undermine the Union unless reformed’.
Broken down, the report shows that public spending per head in Northern Ireland each year is £5,684. This figure is 21% above the UK average and [...]
Filed under: Conservatives Northern Ireland, DUP, Devolution, Northern Ireland, Taxation, Water charges | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 7, 2008 by ToryWriter
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in the Commons has today said that the cost of historical enquiries into the past is ‘finanically unsustainable’.
Speaking at the launch of their report at Queen’s University, Committee Chair Sir Patrick Cormack MP said, ‘We are concerned that the demands of running the Historical Enquiries Team project, and the likely [...]
Filed under: Government, IRA, Northern Ireland, PSNI | Tagged: PSNI | No Comments »
Posted on June 26, 2008 by Editor
According to the BBC Northern Ireland’s web site Catholic bishops have called for greater clarity and “resolution” to the debate on plans for an end to the 11-plus. In an “end-of-term statement”, the bishops said there was confusion among parents and teachers.
Indeed there is. However, the bishops could help by making the AQE admissions test [...]
Filed under: Conservatives Northern Ireland, Education, Northern Ireland | Tagged: Education, Northern Ireland, Catholic Church, Bishops, Academic Selection. 11+ | No Comments »
Posted on June 18, 2008 by Editor
Congratulations to the Association for Quality Education for releasing details of the Common Entrance Assessment (CEA) to primary schools. The body has shown that in the absence of an articulate and common sense way forward for academic selection from the Department the 30 participating grammar schools should provide an alternative.
The CEA proposals should send a [...]
Filed under: Conservative Party, Conservatives Northern Ireland, Education, Northern Ireland | Tagged: Catriona Ruane, Conservatives, Education, Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein | 2 Comments »
Posted on May 8, 2008 by Editor
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson is confident the Northern Ireland Investment Conference will be a success for the province. He has been calling on the Government to do more to encourage investment in Northern Ireland since taking office. Currently Government intervention accounts for more than two-thirds of the Northern Ireland economy. [...]
Filed under: Conservative Party, Conservatives Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland | No Comments »
Posted on May 2, 2008 by Editor
Many congratulations to our friends and colleagues in England and Wales for comprehensively defeating Labour and the Lib Dems in the council elections yesterday. This Party’s lead over the competition is now remarkable - how depressed Gordon Brown must feel for delaying the general election! And congratulations Boris too!
Our massive national lead is hardly surprising. [...]
Filed under: Conservative Party, Conservatives Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland | 6 Comments »
Posted on March 21, 2008 by Editor
No we’re not thinking here about the Big D or little d in the deputy First Minister’s job title. The D we’re referring to is Designation. Apparently, according to the BBC web site, Seamus Mallon is all for scrapping the current Unionist/Nationalist system. So far so good (something we’ve been arguing for for years). In [...]
Filed under: Conservative Party, Democracy, Northern Ireland, Northern Ireland Assembly Elections | Tagged: Alliance, Assembly, designation, DUP, Northern Ireland, UUP | No Comments »
