Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness

It feels like banging one's head against a brick wall.  No-one apparently cares.  I suppose in a region which returns five official abstentionist MPs, what's another unofficial abstentionist? Still, it's worth pointing out, just for the record (and for the eccentric few who actually do care about Northern Ireland's voice being heard at Westminster) that the member for North Down has now racked up her century. Drum roll please ..... the 'independently minded' Lady has participated in  0 votes out of 102 during this parliament.  Count 'em!  Even Alasdair McDonnell, a notoriously work-shy member has notched up 24 votes . An extraordinary record anyone would surely agree.  Even at the Spending Review announcement and the subsequent debate, which will surely affect even the prosperous denizens of the Gold Coast, Hermon was conspicuous by her absence. How long will this record continue before it's flagged up outside a handful of blogs?  Have the loc...

From shameful to shameless.  The MP for North Down HAS been sighted at the House of Commons this term.  She deigned to turn up to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.  And indeed she actually briefly broke her silence in the main chamber at Northern Ireland questions, bothering herself about the demise of the murderous thug Billy Wright.  Since then, according to They Work for You , nothing.  Including no votes at all , zero, nadda.

O'Neill takes up the hunt at A Pint of Unionist Lite.  The Member for North Down has hardly hit the ground running for the new session, missing two debates well attended by other members from Northern Ireland.  As yet there is no documented evidence that she has made an appearance at Westminster since the General Election.

Another fortnight has elapsed and the MP for North Down has still not been sighted at Westminster.  Theyworkforyou still records no contribution from Sylvia Hermon since March of this year, during the last parliament. The House of Commons is due to rise for its summer recess on 27 July and will not be recalled until 6 September.  If Hermon fails to make a late appearance, she will have ignored entirely the new parliament's first session. During the election campaign she promised to make 'every vote count' as an independent.  So far more than thirty votes have taken place, with a new activist government she claims to oppose getting into the swing of its first term in office.  Clearly none of these divisions has concerned Hermon or the voters of North Down. It would be interesting to know whether she intends to start representing her constituents in September or continuing to act like quasi-nobility.

A fortnight after Sylvia Hermon's inactivity at Westminster was highlighted she has yet to make a contribution, according to 'TheyWorkForYou.com' . Hermon - last spotted by this teddy bear. In fact, now that the quasi-abstentionist MP for South Belfast, Alasdair McDonnell , has finally broken his silence, the member for North Down is the only Northern Ireland MP who has neither spoken nor tabled a question.  I gather, also, that Hermon was conspicuous by her absence whenever the Columbanus Festival was launched in Bangor. The MP ran her campaign on the basis that she would turn up and, as an independent, make 'every vote count'. It appears that the electorate in North Down has been conned.  Does this woman actually intend to do any represent her constituents at the House of Commons, or did she stand at the last election simply as a gesture of spite towards UCUNF? (H/T Slug)

Interesting stats on They Work for You about Sylvia Hermon.  The MP for North Down's last contribution at the House of Commons was back in March.  In fact, since retaining her seat as an independent she has not taken part in any debate, despite business such as Saville and the budget coming before the house. I hope that Slug can substantiate the information he has posted in the comments section of this thread  about complete non-attendance.  I will post the evidence immediately if he can. In the mean time it's quite clear that North Down is receiving practically no representation at Westminster.  Still, the situation wasn't much better in the previous parliament, and the constituency voted her in regardless.   Frankly, her supporters are getting the representation they deserve. The question remains whether she stood in the 2010 election out of a genuine desire to serve her constituents, or simply out of spite.

The Belfast Telegraph might express its shock at Alan McFarland’s resignation from the Ulster Unionist party, but let’s be honest, it would have been more surprising had he remained a member. The former tank major has long been a patsy for General Sylvia in North Down. Indeed, in 2005, he stood for the party leadership as Hermon’s cipher. The writing was on the wall as soon as McFarland’s commander in chief deserted the UUP to ally herself with the DUP. The North Down MLA, who, like his boss, now styles himself an ‘Independent Unionist’, was elected on an Ulster Unionist ticket. The honourable course of action would be for McFarland to resign in order to allow the UUP to co-opt a representative for its seat. Instead he has decided to retain a seat which he won under the false pretences that he would remain an Ulster Unionist throughout the lifetime of the Assembly. It is an unprincipled action, but a lack of principle is not surprising from an acolyte of Sylvia Herman. Here we ha...

Last week, Shadow Sectretary of State, Owen Paterson, conducted an exchange with Paul Goggins, the NIO’s Minister of State, about the fate of PMS savers. The transcript can be read here . To digress briefly, apart from Paterson’s questions, you can also sample the horrendous, obsequious attitude of Sylvia Hermon to Goggins and his superior, Shaun Woodward. “Excellent ministers for Northern Ireland”! On what planet does this woman live? Thoroughly inaccurate and cringe-making, at the same time! One of the controversies these ‘excellent ministers’ have presided over is the failure to reimburse Presbyterian Mutual investors, rendering them, thus far, the only British savers who have lost out, because of the banking crisis. Paterson promises a Conservative secretary of state will “stand up for the people of Northern Ireland” as regards this issue. I hope he is right. One group which has suggested a possible solution to the PMS situation is the Cobden Centre . In today’s Belfast Tel...

An interesting piece on Ken Reid’s blog , highlighted by Pete Baker, on Slugger O’Toole . Sylvia Hermon, who, for her persistent attacks on her own party, has acquiring something of a reputation for independence, seems to be establishing an alliance with the DUP. The deselected North Down MP has yet to announce her intention to stand in the forthcoming election, but she has clearly begun electioneering anyway. Reid highlights ‘cordiality’ between Hermon and DUP MPs, at the Westminster debate about policing and justice. In fact Reid understands that no Democratic Unionist candidate will stand against Hermon in North Down and practical help ‘on the ground’ is likely to be forthcoming. Of course it is not the first time that a Hermon - DUP axis has appeared. The same protagonists banded together to force Labour’s draconian 40 day pre-trial detention legislation through the Commons. Indeed, O’Neill ably demonstrates , that Hermon, despite her liberal reputation, is even more authorit...

Is the UUP prepared to allow Sylvia Hermon, unhindered, to engage in electioneering at its expense? The North Down MP hit out at Ulster Unionists over policing and justice. taking particular umbrage at remarks levelled at the secretary of state, Shaun Woodward, which she claimed were 'bewildering'. Clearly she believes that the UUP's dalliance with Conservatives entitles her fellow champagne socialist, and Tory turncoat, to exact any punishment he sees fit. The party responded with the following statement: “The Ulster Unionist Assembly Group took its decision to oppose the devolution of policing and justice at this time with the full support of the Ulster Unionist Party Officer team and with the full support of the Party Executive Committee. This is how the UUP make democratic decisions. It is regrettable that Lady Sylvia’s position does not reflect the view of the party and it is disappointing that she failed to voice her concern at the Party Executive meeting rather...

Two Ulster Unionists have swiftly stepped forward in order to fill the breach left by Sylvia Hermon. Bill McKendry and Johnny Andrews are confirmed supporters of the Conservative link-up and strong proponents of pan-UK unionism. North Down, which has proved UCUNF’s problem seat thus far, now has a strong panel of possible candidates vying for selection. It’s just a pity it took so long. Meanwhile members of the Labour party in Northern Ireland are keen to secure Hermon’s services . The honourable thing for the North Down MP to do is to stand under the Labour banner. It would be an exciting development if the two big British parties were to go head to head in a Northern Ireland constituency. That is the type of politics which we must move towards.

The Conservatives and Unionists candidate selection procedure has finally started to deliver some results. After months of prevarication the UUP has begun to put bums on seats and, although I understand another deadline has elapsed, an end to the process is in sight. The main spanner in the works remains Sylvia Hermon. Clearly the UUP is still attempting to broker some type of fudg e in order to let her stand, without accepting the UCUNF banner. After a year of sweeping the 'Lady' under the carpet, the party doesn't appear to have a bin bag into which she will fit. It is a preposterous situation. Hermon has repeatedly attacked the Conservative arrangement. Even if she were to agree to take the Tory whip at Westminster, her inclusion as a candidate would undermine the deal. And the very fact that discussions are still ongoing already undermines Sir Reg Empey's status as party leader. The equation is very simple. The Conservatives and Unionists have vowed to field...

Jeff Peel, no supporter of the Conservative and Ulster Unionist alliance, has produced this report of Sylvia Hermon's speech to the North Down branch of the SDLP. Given that the UUP has a Westminster electoral pact with the Conservative party you can see the significance. Hermon is rabidly anti-Conservative. It is not out of principle. She is New Labour through and through. A champagne socialist whose tribal hatred of the Tories has obscured the fact that they now carry a more progressive vision for Britain. This woman has been indulged for long enough. It is high time that she is cut loose and called for what she is. If Hermon has any honesty at all she will make clear her affiliation to the discredited New Labour government. From the outset of UCUNF I've expressed some sympathy with genuine socialists like Chris McGimpsey, who are nevertheless unionists, but whose traditional Labour affiliations will not reconcile them even to the modern Conservative party. I have no s...

Jeff Peel doesn't reveal any sources, but on his (Public) Diary blog he suggests that the Alliance Party is set to 'support' Sylvia Hermon 'rather than' Ian Parsley in the North Down race for Westminster. How this support would manifest itself is not made clear. Conservatives and Unionists have not selected a candidate for North Down, but the former Alliance man, Parsley, has been nominated and it is thought that the Conservative party is unlikely to countenance an endorsement of the current Ulster Unionist MP. Is Alliance set to intervene in another party's selection process or is it prepared not to stand in North Down, should Sylvia Hermon decide to contest the seat as an independent? Perhaps, within the party, there is simply a preference for a figure considered to be left liberal, rather than a recent defector? After all, whether or not, as Jeff contends, Alliance voters are intrinsically sympathetic to the Conservatives, its leadership are a rather diff...

When four Ulster Unionists signed a letter of protest, attacking their party leader’s decision to forge an electoral pact with David Cameron’s Conservatives, I welcomed the opportunity to bring dissent out into the open. Roy Garland was one figure whose name appeared on the letter, and its contents reflected closely the preoccupations which colour his weekly column in the Irish News. In common with two of his fellow dissidents, Garland is no longer a UUP representative. He exercises influence through his articles (with which this blog frequently disagrees). After enduring months of innuendo and sniping through that medium, Sir Reg Empey finally chose to respond to Garland’s criticism in the Irish News’ letter pages, last week. Their differences have now been made explicit. I believe that this type of internal debate should have been fought, and won, earlier, in order to let UCUNF make its case to voters with unity of purpose. However the maxim ‘better late than never’ is applica...

Is the Irish News’ former SDLP functionary Tom Kelly starting to warm to the Conservatives and Unionists project? Doubtful. Although he appears to recognise some of the pact’s strengths, in his latest column . He also, however, seems rather confused as to the issue of the North Down candidature and the Ulster Unionists’ dissident MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon. “It’s difficult to see the how the unsurprising defection of Ian Parsley will positively affect the Ulster Unionist/Tory platform, especially if the plan is to run him as a Tory against Lady Hermon as an Ulster Unionist.” If Hermon were to stand in North Down, my understanding is that it would, necessarily, be as an independent (if the UCUNF arrangement remains in place). There is no prospect of the sitting MP facing Parsley, or any other Conservative candidate, as an Ulster Unionist, under the present dispensation. Nor is there any possibility that the Conservatives will endorse Hermon, should she perform an almighty u turn.

Eternally well-informed blogger, staff at bobballs’, assessment of the ‘Putting Things Right’ document was that it represented a mazy slaloming solo dribble by its author, David McNarry (the ‘a’ in that sentence is important). Certainly the Strangford MLA seemed either reluctant, or unable, to clarify a widely misinterpreted section, which pondered possible funding arrangements for devolved policing and justice. His party leader, Sir Reg Empey, has now returned from holiday and explained the disputed text’s significance in terms which this blog had insisted were perfectly obvious to anyone who cared to read the original. Less a brutal sliding tackle, propelling McNarry into the stand, than a subtle nudge of the shoulder, easing him off the ball. The Irish News reports , “Sir Reg made it clear that the UUP was not putting off the devolution of policing and justice and that their position had been misinterpreted. Instead the UUP has raised the possibility of London continuing...

It’s hardly a surprise . I suspect Lady Hermon might vote for Gordon Brown to become Prime Minister for life, if legislation to that effect were put before the House of Commons. A sizeable chunk of the Labour leader’s cabinet has deserted him, but the member for North Down is a die hard loyalist. She’s like Ed Balls without any influence. In a motion put before the House yesterday evening calling for a general election, Hermon voted against all the opposition parties (other than the SDLP) who supported the motion and with the dying, discredited government. Perhaps she thinks the electorate need not be consulted at all and that Gordon (who plainly knows best) should continue to exercise his wisdom as some manner of benevolent dictator.

A confused functionary of the Ulster Unionist Party from North Down has defected to the DUP. It isn’t clear if Mark Brooks, who chaired the party’s branch in the constituency, supports Sylvia Hermon’s stance on the Conservative and Unionist pact, or whether he feels that the leadership was not firm enough in its treatment of the errant MP. Whatever analysis he prefers, it nevertheless seems an odd choice to join a party which has little in common with either Lady Hermon or the Conservatives. Despite a lack of clarity in Brooks’ press release, his defection has the potential to further unnerve UUP members, already unsettled by Hermon’s denunciation of the Tory deal. Indeed party leader, Sir Reg Empey, himself sent out a number of ambiguous, even contradictory signals, when he fielded interviews with the BBC yesterday, on ‘Stormont Live’ and ‘Evening Extra’. Although much valuable work has been done in creating the Conservatives and Unionists shiny new force, there remains an appar...

Wednesday, as Bobballs observed , was a bad day for the UUP. Subsequently, after a decisive initial response, predictable vacillation from the party’s leaders rendered it a miserable week for Ulster Unionists and their new electoral force. To get the misery started, North Antrim MLA Reverend Coulter, seemed to imply that no Muslim candidate should have been considered for a top BBC post, Head of Religious Affairs. As if to make it harder for party colleagues to extricate themselves from the mess which he was wilfully creating, he specified that, rather than speaking as a Christian minister, his comments were issued in his role as ’an elected public representative’. In comparison to another member of his famil y, the senescent Presbyterian should normally be renowned for talking stout common sense. Faint praise, because he is vague, ancient, rambling and one of an almost entirely unnecessary breed, clergyman politicians. Whether he meant to make a point about faith leaders taking a ...