Peter Robinson loses seat

paky

lol great news to hear.

Mr. Incognito

Actually it's not.

Potentially destabilising to the north.

sink

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Actually it's not.

Potentially destabilising to the north.

Hated him personally, but what happens now? It's very ambiguous he can't possibly stay as First Minister.

The Volt

I'm delighted for Naomi Long hahahahaha awhhh this is better than Declan Ganley failing in Connaught-Ulster!

RayM

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Actually it's not.

Potentially destabilising to the north.

Destabilising, yes, but it's also really nice to see a "normal" political party winning a seat in the North.

dreamer_ire

RayM wrote: »

Destabilising, yes, but it's also really nice to see a "normal" political party winning a seat in the North.

First time ever for Alliance, and it's great news to see people voting for a candidate who is simply great on the ground rather than following traditional party lines.

He can still stay as First Minister and leader of the DUP but he is certainly exposed and open to challenge. Jeffery Donaldson while saying Robinson has the support of the party and they will make no snap decisions that they will take time to consider the effect on the party. Whether it's destabilising will depend on whether he is ousted and whether the DUP go for a conservative leader like Dodds or Campbell or someone more moderate like Arlene Foster. Logic says it's most likely to be Nigel Dodds if Robinson does go.

Madd Finn

How's it destabilising? It's got nowt to do with the Assembly anyway.

If it shows that people are getting fed up with the "coalition of the unwilling" between DUP and Sinn Fein that is governing by paralysis, then it could be the best thing that has happened to the North since the GFA.

Now as long as Durkan can see off that Bikini Girl with a Machine Gun in Derry, this could be a good night!

dreamer_ire

Madd Finn wrote: »

How's it destabilising? It's got nowt to do with the Assembly anyway.

If it shows that people are getting fed up with the "coalition of the unwilling" between DUP and Sinn Fein that is governing by paralysis, then it could be the best thing that has happened to the North since the GFA.

DUP haven't lost votes, just Robinson so it's a personal issue not a party one imo. It could be destablising if DUP have a say in giving the Conservatives a majority and decide to change leader to a more conservative one than Robinson.

hotmail.com

Robinson's own doing.

Scofflaw

Original Thread Title wrote:

Peter Robinson looses seat

Who did he loose it at, one wonders? Thread title edited to correct spelling.

moderately,
Scofflaw

JohnMearsheimer

Swish Family Robinson.....I thought it was funny. The Robinson's were caught badly during the expenses scandal, couldn't have helped his cause. I wonder if this will effect his leadership of the DUP.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

bmaxi

JohnMearsheimer wrote: »

Swish Family Robinson.....I thought it was funny. The Robinson's were caught badly during the expenses scandal, couldn't have helped his cause.

He should run for the Dáil, with his track record in this area he'd be a shoe in for FF.
I do think it's an anti Robinson vote rather than a move away from polarised politics though.

danman

bmaxi wrote: »

He should run for the Dáil, with his track record in this area he'd be a shoe in for FF.
I do think it's an anti Robinson vote rather than a move away from polarised politics though.

This time last year, between council, assembly and Westminister seats, the Robinsons were earning inexcess of £500,000/year.

I wonder will they need to claim income support now?

steelcityblues

Actually, Paisley Jr might be the least scary option for their next leader!

Seth Brundle

I just hope the stress of it all won't be too much for poor Iris in her condition

bmaxi

steelcityblues wrote: »

Actually, Paisley Jr might be the least scary option for their next leader!

Definitely a better prospect than the Foster chick. I always had a grudging respect for Paisley Snr., you might not always like what he had to say but he was consistent and, in my book anyway, honest. It was amazing how he and Mc Guinness hit it off.

Exile 1798

On the upside for Pete this means he'll have more time to spend with the wife.

steelcityblues

Exile 1798 wrote: »

On the upside for Pete this means he'll have more time to spend with the wife.

From a distance though!

FTA69

steelcityblues wrote: »

Actually, Paisley Jr might be the least scary option for their next leader!

He's popular with the Free Presbyterian headbanger wing of the DUP, but it's doubtful he'd have the political savvy of Dodds, my money is on Dodds to assume leadership eventually.

guinnessdrinker

FTA69 wrote: »

He's popular with the Free Presbyterian headbanger wing of the DUP, but it's doubtful he'd have the political savvy of Dodds, my money is on Dodds to assume leadership eventually.

I seen him after his election on tv last night and just before he made the speech he sang a hymn from the podium!

Exile 1798

guinnessdrinker wrote: »

I seen him after his election on tv last night and just before he made the speech he sang a hymn from the podium!

Hail Glorious St Patrick?

DoireNod

guinnessdrinker wrote: »

I seen him after his election on tv last night and just before he made the speech he sang a hymn from the podium!

Aye his father was a note out on that too. Maybe his hearing's going.

moonpurple

he said he knows that jesus has forgiven his nymphomaniac wife...but clearly the voters of east belfast have yet to...:cool:

Bottle_of_Smoke

I don't think he needs to resign. The party candidates all appear to like him. Look at the UCU everyone's saying Empey's finished even within the party. DUP did well in other constituencies overall

If he was to go I think it would prob be Dodds or Paisley Jnr. Foster is just vile. Did you see her petty delight and smarminess at the F/ST first count result? The idea she could be so triumphant at a 6 vote win with a unionist pact was just embarrrassing. Even more so when the result went the other way:pac:

irishh_bob

in my mind thier is something worrying about the fact that while peter robinson undoubtabley lost his seat due to the scandal surrounding his and his wifes private affairs ( no pun intended ) , gerry adams vote actually went up despite the fact that he knowingly allowed a paedophile be involved in grass roots party organisation , it seems to me that sinn fein voters can overlook almost anything when it comes to thier representitives

djpbarry

bmaxi wrote: »

I do think it's an anti Robinson vote rather than a move away from polarised politics though.

Any move away from the traditional tribal parties is to be welcomed, whatever the reason. So here's hoping that the spouse of every SF, DUP and UUP representative develops an 'interest' in younger men in the not-too-distant future.

rightwingdub

irishh_bob wrote: »

in my mind thier is something worrying about the fact that while peter robinson undoubtabley lost his seat due to the scandal surrounding his and his wifes private affairs ( no pun intended ) , gerry adams vote actually went up despite the fact that he knowingly allowed a paedophile be involved in grass roots party organisation , it seems to me that sinn fein voters can overlook almost anything when it comes to thier representitives

I'm sympathetic to Sinn Fein in some way but I agree with you if voters in West Belfast couldn't stomach voting for the SDLP they should have abstained from voting en masse, what did he get a 17,000 majority, as for Peter the Punt I'm delighted he lost his seat:D, fair play to Naomi Long.

steelcityblues

irishh_bob wrote: »

in my mind thier is something worrying about the fact that while peter robinson undoubtabley lost his seat due to the scandal surrounding his and his wifes private affairs ( no pun intended ) , gerry adams vote actually went up despite the fact that he knowingly allowed a paedophile be involved in grass roots party organisation , it seems to me that sinn fein voters can overlook almost anything when it comes to thier representitives

There is a huge 'rosary bead' voting bloc in Sinn Fein, who look in green/orange blinkers. Gerry knows this well!

owenc

maybe this is the start of people voting for who they want and not for religion!

Spiritoftheseventies

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

Actually it's not.

Potentially destabilising to the north.

Agreed. If Robinson was seem to be the more moderate face of DUP, there may be troubled times ahead for the power sharing executive.

murphaph

This has really got me thinking...
If this was in the south, he'd probably have kept his seat with a landslide because he'd gotten a swimming pool/hospital/dept of agriculture office for the local parish. In the north, where you'd think tribal voting was even worse than in the south, this guy's just lost his seat because of an expenses scandal.

Any bets on John O'Donoghue losing his seat next time round? The south can learn things from the Northern Ireland electorate...how depressing!

bmaxi

murphaph wrote: »

This has really got me thinking...
If this was in the south, he'd probably have kept his seat with a landslide because he'd gotten a swimming pool/hospital/dept of agriculture office for the local parish. In the north, where you'd think tribal voting was even worse than in the south, this guy's just lost his seat because of an expenses scandal.

Any bets on John O'Donoghue losing his seat next time round? The south can learn things from the Northern Ireland electorate...how depressing!

I've always considered Protestants to be stricter in terms of ethics. It could be to do with the scriptural basis of their beliefs as opposed to the more ritualised Catholicism.
I don't mean this to be offensive, just an observation over the years.

Fuhrer

murphaph wrote: »

Any bets on John O'Donoghue losing his seat next time round?

If he does lose his seat, he'll probably just claim it back as an expense.