Elizabeth Windsor visit

It has really been instructive to watch the royal grovelling on display in the Republic, especially the remarks welcoming the visit from social commentator Fintan O'Toole. He tries to portray it as significant, whilst totally ignoring the true purpose of the visit which was to cement partition in Ireland. As she departs our shores, we're still left with the reality of a £4bn cuts offensive in the North of Ireland and a Republic suffering under the iron grip of the IMF/EU. The only question on the agenda is the need for workers, north and south, to unite in opposition. Our best gift to Lizzie would be another rebellion - but this time a socialist one!

CARVE UP

The circus resumes soon at the Assembly with much media speculation on which parties will take the education and health ministries. The Irish News today speculated in its front page story that the DUP is set to take over education - a prospect that should chill the blood of anyone hoping for the creation of a comprehensive education system. One name being touted as the new minister for education is the DUP's Mervyn Storey - an avowed believer in the theory of creation - the farce at the big house on the hill is set to get worse, much worse.

Fight goes on

Despite a small vote in the Assembly elections in West Belfast, I have no regrets at all about standing. The fight to build a United Left Alliance movement throughout Ireland remains my priority. We entered the campaign as a way of building opposition to all the Govt parties in the Assembly and their support for £4bn in cuts. That fight goes on

loyalist sectarian attack

A team of canvassers for the People Before Profit Alliance have been attacked in the Nelson Drive area of Derry.

Assembly candidate Eamonn McCann , and local council hopekfuls Diane Greer and Davy McAuley were among those attacked.

Police say one man was assaulted after a group of males aged approx 25-30 years old threw stones and approached him as he canvassed in the area. He was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

The incident happened around 3:30pm on Monday.

My sympathy goes out to the People Befor Profit canvassers who were attacked by loyalists in Derry.


Davy McAuley, the Waterside Council candidate, says the canvassing team were badly shaken by the attack.

“The attackers in no way represent the people of Nelson Drive, many of whom came out to make sure we were okay.

“We stand neither for Orange or Green, we do not want to see another generation blighted by sectarian bigotry and ghettoised the way previous generations have been.”

He says he will happily “meet with those who hurled bricks and shouted sectarian abuse at us today, they may be surprised at how much we have in common.”

What exactly do People Before Profit have 'in common' with these loyalist thugs though? Socialists have nothing in common with loyalists. We reject their sectarianism and we should oppose it totally.

unity of reaction

Just finished watching an appalling BBC Northern Ireland political 'leaders' debate. Apart from phony wrangling, what is quite clear is that they are unified on their economic vision, especially the need to reduce corporation tax, despite the economic disaster which that particular policy had on the Republic.


 It was also amusing to hear Martin McGuinness applaud Finland's education system and as something that Northern Ireland should emulate. He is obviously unware that In Finland taxation of an individual's income is progressive. In other words, the higher the income, the higher the rate of tax payable. And that the standard rate of Finland's corporate tax in 2011 is 26%. 

Bluster and more bluster

Interesting recent exchange between SF's Gerry Kelly and the BBC's Martina Purdy.

BBC political correspondent Martina Purdy had been speaking to Sinn Fein’s Gerry Kelly.

He said dissident republicans should stop their violence as they are only hurting their own people.

She asked him if he thought his party was sending out mixed messages on violence by commemorating the IRA dead.

GK: Have you ever in your life, with respect to you, said to the Orange Order the same thing?

MP: Well, I’m asking you.

GK: Have you, no, well I’m asking you.

MP: I’m asking you.

GK: Because you’re, no, with respect, with respect.

MP: Well I’m talking to you.

GK: Have you ever, I’m asking you a question, have you ever asked that question of the Orange Order? Have you ever asked it of a unionist? Have you ever went to the British Army and asked them why they have a homecoming group? So what you’re doing is, with respect to you, you’re taking something which is a small group, these small groups who are putting out these statements and you’re trying to throw it back on Sinn Fein.

MP: Well now your party has often accused the Orange Order...

GK: It is a completely disingenuous question.

MP: ...of living in the past, so I’m putting it to you as a republican politician.

GK: It is a completely... we’re not living in the past, we’re not living in the past.

MP: There is no need to turn on me.

GK: I know what you’re going to do.

MP: ...but do you think it’s wise to continue with these kind of commemorations?

GK: I am not turning on you, it is fair of me to say to you that you are asking a completely unfair question, right. You’re asking a question which you would not, so I am attacking the fact that you are not being...

MP: Well you don’t know that.

GK: Well I do, well you tell me have you ever asked that question, have you ever asked that question of the...

MP: We should really get the Orange Order in front of the microphone, but I’m asking you.

GK: Have you ever asked the question of the British Army? It’s a simple question, have you ever done it? Have you ever asked the question of a British politician? Now we’re very clear, I am very proud of my history, I am very proud of it, I will always be proud of it, I will die a republican. And people in this area have suffered massively and you think that I should not come here and praise...

MP: I didn’t ask you that, I asked you should you rethink it.

GK: ...and praise. And you think that I should not come here and praise the people who stood against sectarianism? And the people whose families, now there’s 148 names there, you think that I’m doing something wrong in doing that?

MP: No, I’m asking you are you sending out mixed messages to young people?

GK: I am not sending out mixed messages. What are you going to do? You’re going to go through all this. I’ve been talking to you now for 10 minutes and you’re going to go through it all and do what? Pick out whatever suits you?

MP: Can I ask you whether you think that it’s time for Sinn Fein to take the justice job, and someone like yourself with a background in the republican movement, it’s time for you to face down the dissidents?

GK: I have faced the dissidents.

MP: Through the justice job.

GK: I face down the dissidents.

MP: ...through the justice job would...

GK: I would face, I would face down the dissidents whatever job I am in.

MP: Do you think that your party will seek it in the next term?

GK: I would face down the dissidents in whatever job I am in, and the party will make up its own mind, collectively, what ministries it

One thing is quite clear, Gerrry Kelly didn't answer her questions, especially in relation to the 'justice job'

Usual suspects

A picture from last week's trade union debate in Belfast with Sinn Fein, SDLP and the Socialist Party. Enjoyed the debate. Was tempted to use Photoshop but have resisted it. Looking forward to the day when SF and the SDLP merge and the Socialist Party agree to hold a debate on setting up the United Left Alliance in the North.

on the May Day march in Belfast

Took time out from campaigning to attend May Day march

hypocrisy on the march

Once again Sinn Fein and the SDLP turned up at the May Day march in Belfast. These two parties are in government, which has just approved £4bn in cuts. Where on earth do they get the gall to turn up at a workers march after kicking them in the stomach?

Not a new Dawn

Just read one of the softest interview I've seen in a long while in the Irish Times about Dawn Purvis and the PUP who are laughingly referred to as a left-wing grouping. http://www.dawnpurvis.com/?p=337

No where in the article is Dawn asked about her attitude to the Orange Order or sectarianism in general. She says she broke away from the PUP over the killing of Bobby Moffat, but does not outline her attitude to sectarian loyalist paramilitaries in general. She also applauds the memory of David Ervine who never once rejected loyalism. People may applaud the 'bread and butter' politics of Dawn, but she has a hard journey ahead of her if she is ever to be described as as a socialist, ie a person who rejects sectarianism in all its forms and the causes behind it.

reply to Eamonn McCann

In his column in the Belfast Telegraph Eamonn McCann takes us back to the killing of two soldiers at Masserine barracks and reminds us that, shortly before, the SSR, a special reconnaissance regiment closely associated with the shoot to kill policy and the death squads, was deployed in the North, breaking the deal A step too far

My thanks to Eamonn McCann for his thoughts on the revival of physical force republicanism. In my view he goes too far to accommodate the moral panic and, in the process, clarifies the issues.

on policing and provoking Provo outrage.

Eamonn argues that a political movement against this deployment were sabotaged by the militarists and forced the Provos to move quickly to unconditional support for the state forces.

That's nonsense. As Eamonn himself has argued in the past, armed actions speed up things that are already in the pipeline. The Provos capitulated on the issue of the SRR just as they capitulated on all the other shifts needed to placate the British and the unionists.

By carrying the argument too far, Eamonn contradicts himself and gives the physical force tradition the power to trump politics - a power he denies that it has.

He does one other useful thing. He reminds us of the mailed fist, the shadowy forces of the British military in the background.

They haven't gone away y'know.

Did Sinn Fein councillor support the closure of the Andersonstown Library?

The Northern Ireland Library Authority approved the closure of a number of libraries in Northern Ireland at Lisburn City Library, 23 Linenhall Street, Lisburn, on Tuesday, 18 May 2010. including Andersonstown library.
Cllr Anne Brolly of Sinn Fein was at that meeting. Did she approve the closure of Andersonstown Library?. This particular library was very dear to me as it introduced me to a love of literature, along with countless many other working class families. No where in the minutes does it record her voting against the closure.

I took part in subsequent protests in a bid to save the library, which failed. These protests were primarily organised by Sinn Fein.

It sounds like Sinn Fein's budget strategy, They voted for the cuts and then took part in trade union marches against the cuts.

No alternative

No alternative

I hesitated before deciding to stand in the Assembly election. The corrupt and reactionary nature of the institution is self-evident. As time goes on I see that there really is no alternative.

One factor influencing me was the ‘IRA’ statement at Easter announcing a return to war.

I don't agree for a moment with the hypocrisy of Sinn Fein's condemnations, but the completely negative elements of a physical force strategy are self-evident.

Republicans seem determined to support Sinn Fein and the current corrupt settlement by agreeing with them that the only alternative is another 30 years of bloodshed.

Hidden in the ‘IRA’ statement are some core republican beliefs.

One belief is that the British really want to leave Ireland and that an extension of the military campaign will exhaust their will. Recent history indicates the opposite. It was the republican resistance that became exhausted, while the British dedicated substantial military, economic and political resources to imposing a settlement in their interest.

Another belief is that a military struggle will unite the nation against the British. What actually happened was that Irish capital united with the British to reject any democratic solution, shore up partition and reinforce a new 26 county nationalism.

In fact all the recent history of republicanism has been permeated with a narrow legalism. By claiming to be the IRA the new group is claiming to be the legitimate army of Ireland, entitled to wage war. This claim is in turn based on the democratic mandate of the first Dial, a vote negated by the British decision to partition the island.

In the minds of republican militarists the votes of the dead trump those of the living. That's not the case. Politics is about relations between people, not about empty legal formulae. You don't win votes once. You have to win them over and over again.

Many workers believe that the current settlement will eventually lead to a peaceful and just society. Others feel that there is no alternative.

I believe all the old colonial, sectarian and class mechanisms are being re-established, but I can only make this case if I organise with others and if I use the opportunities available to put forward an alternative. That's what I am doing by standing in the election and what I will continue to do when the election has come and gone.

Poster war

The last few days have been taken up with putting up posters on the Andersonstown-Falls Road, right down to Castle Street. Finding a vacant space on overcrowded lamp posts has been a real challenge. But that is nothing compared to the huge challenge facing all the groups opposed to the £4bn cuts offensive and the sectarian set-up at Stormont. Where do we go after May 5 is the question facing all of these parties and individuals? I am ready for that debate. We have to have it if we want to build an effective opposition to Stormont rule.

Corporation tax cut – a gamble working people can’t afford

One of the features of this election campaign has been the degree of unanimity across the parties on economic issues.  This was summed up by Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, who in a speech to business leaders could make the claim that the “next big battle is around the economy” and that he and the DUP leader “on the same side”.  But what are they battling for – Higher wages? No.  Better working conditions? No.  An expansion of public services? No.  What McGuinness and Robinson, and all the other political leaders, are battling for is a cut in corporation tax.  They believe that only a cut in corporation tax can provide the uplift that the economy requires.    

The most common argument used by those in favour of a cut is to point to the “success” of Ireland’s Celtic Tiger economy, which had at its heart a corporation tax rate of 12.5 per cent.  Of course they conveniently ignore the complete collapse of the Republic’s economy over the last three years and the role that a low tax rate played in creating a credit fuelled boom that turned to bust.  They also ignore the fact that while the Republic had a pursued a low corporation tax policy from the late fifties onwards the period of rapid growth had come only in the mid 90’s.  This suggests that tax was not the main factor but rather developments in the global economy such as the growth of mobile capital and the establishment of a single European market.  

However, it is not just a question of whether a lower tax rate will produce growth.  Pursuing such a policy will also have an impact on society.  The evidence is that lowering taxes on capital, while certainly benefitting the owners of capital, impoverishes broader society.  We need only look to the south during the recent period of rapid growth - class inequalities increased as the benefits of that growth were disproportionally focused on the rich, public services stagnated and infrastructure such as transport, communications and water remained underdeveloped.

The transfer of wealth from the poorest to the richest in society is even more obvious in the north as a cut in corporation tax would be accompanied by a cut in the block grant from the British Treasury.  It is estimated that a reduction in corporation tax to 12.5 percent would mean a reduction in the block grant of £300 million.  That’s the equivalent of the annual budget of NI Water.  The reality is that a cut in corporation tax would result in the introduction of charges and/or the cutting of public services.  The claims made by parties in this election campaign that they can maintain public services, avoid water charges or stop a rise in student fees while at the same time reducing corporation tax are simply not true.  

A reduction in corporation tax would be a huge gamble for working people in the north.  It is unlikely to work even in the terms set by its supporters, and even it did would create greater inequality and hardship for the majority of the population.  It is a real indictment of the parties at Stormont that they are attached to such reactionary nonsense. 

manifesto launch

OUT OF THE TRACKS

The £4bn cut in Northern Ireland's budget was back on the agenda as independent socialist Brian Pelan launched his manifesto today.

Speaking at a meeting of supporters, Brian Pelan, who is fighting for an Assembly seat in West Belfast, pledged to help build a genuine socialist opposition to the sectarian set-up at Stormont.

Mr Pelan said: "The main parties are all promising a variety of things in their manifestos, but ignoring the fact that they are in a government which has decided to penalise working people with a massive cuts offensive."

"My manifesto is the first step in a campaign to build working class opposition to the cuts. On May 5, you have an opportunity to register your opposition to this assault and work towards creating a 32-county socialist alternative."

What a whopper!

Sinn Fein/DUP at the launch of their election manifestos yesterday did not mention their decision to slash £4bn of the public budget, which will result in thousands of jobs being lost and a huge deterioration  in our health service. As omissions go, that must be the worst I've ever seen.

Monday, April 18

Received this letter this morning




Brian,

I’m a student living in South Belfast and won’t be able to vote
for you.  Last year I JOINED Sinn Fein and I am technically still a
member but I won’t be voting for them because of the cuts, because I
see myself as a socialist and because of the sectarian setup which I
feel they are happy with.
What advice have you got? Who do I vote for?


Yours
Dee



Unfortunately, I'm not standing in South Belfast, but my advice would be to vote for anti-cuts candidates

Saturday, April 16

Handed out more than 500 leaflets this afternoon in Castle Street, Belfaast, today. Got a good response from people who took them. They seem to enjoy reading about a candidate who opposes the Assembly cuts and who stands for a United Socialist Ireland

Thursday, April 14

Just read Jim Gibney's column today in the Irish News. Big inaccuracy when he claims that UUP "supported the £4bn cuts to the Executive". Their Minister actually voted against the budget. But rather more surprising in this article in his massive omission about Sinn Fein voting for the £4bn cuts package. Why the hesitancy to talk about his party's support for the budget? I intend to push my message of total opposition to this Tory offensive on the working class which could lead to the loss of thousands of jobs

Thursday, April 14

Interesting little Twitter exchange last night after I replied to a tweet from @gerardwyer.


@gerardwyer wrote "Martin Ferris knows people who were pauperised as a result of the minimum wage being cut"


I replied: "I know people who will be pauperised as a result of the SF/DUP cuts offensive in the North."


@gerardwyer replied: "Make sure that you don't put your back out whilst carrying that Agenda around with you."


I replied: "And what would the agenda be? Care to spell it out"


No reply from @gerardwyer.


After looking at his Twitter profile, I asked him about his belief in a 'fairer Ireland'


I tweeted: "Sticking with my 'agenda', what exactly does "Working for a fairer Ireland" mean?


Still waiting from a reply from @gerardwyer.

Wednesday, April 13

Looking forward to the launch meeting tonight in the Glenowen Inn, Glen Road, at 7pm, when I will have the first opportunity to publicly outline why I'm standing as an independent Socialist in West Belfast for the Assembly elections on May 5. I hope all those who have interest in building an opposition to the Stormont Government will come along.

On other matters, I must strongly disagree with the column by Brian Feeney in today's Irish News when he argues that "neither the Assembly, nor all-Ireland bodies nor sharing power is an issue in this election".

As far as I'm concerned, the issue of the undemocratic Assembly with the lack of an opposition is a central part of my campaign.

Feeney also writes that Northern Ireland is "an ethno-political problem, which means it has to be resolved with mechanisms like Belguim's or Switzerland or Lebanon's".

The inclusion of Lebanon is not exactly a place to hold up as a solution for Northern Ireland. Lebanon had a civil war from 1975 to 1990 and has been subjected to numerous attacks and occupations from Israel.

But perhaps the two states, set up respectively by the British and French, are perfect examples of how imperialism can ruin a country with its systems of divide and rule.

The two faces of Sinn Fein

The recent success of Sinn Fein in the Republic’s general election owed much to the party’s opposition to the EU/IMF bailout and the associated austerity programme.  In the immediate aftermath of the election Gerry Adams boasted that his party would put   “backbone into the Dail” and lead the opposition to the expected Fine Gael/Labour "coalition of cuts".

However, less than a week later Sinn Fein endorsed a budget for the north that reduces public spending by £1.5 billion by 2015. That represents a cumulative cut of £4bn over a four-year period.  While not on the scale of the austerity seen in the south the measures contained in the Executive’s budget will certainly mean a deterioration of public services, particularly in health and education, and potentially tens of thousands of public sector job losses.   The north will also be hit hard by proposed changes in the benefits system.   So the claim by the deputy First minister Martin McGuinness that the parties in Executive  “have done the opposite" to the programme being pursued in the south is a spurious one.

When the contradiction between Sinn Fein north and south was raised during the election campaign, the response of the party was to say that the two situations were not comparable.  Their argument was that the north’s political institutions did not have “fiscal autonomy” while in the Republic there was a “sovereign” government.   But again this is a rather spurious argument.  The sovereignty of the Irish state was always very limited, evidenced most clearly by the fact that it has never exercised control over all of Ireland’s national territory.  It is even more the case today with the functioning of the state dependent on finance from the EU and IMF.  This is not so different from the relationship that exists between the north and the British Treasury.

Sinn Fein has also sought to deflect attention by blaming cutbacks in the north on the Tories.   So during the UK general election last year they had a platform of opposing cuts, and in the post election period they said they were going to confront the UK government over cuts.  There was even speculation that Sinn Fein ministers would refuse to come forward with future spending plans.  However, this rhetoric did not amount to anything, and agreement was reached between Sinn Fein and the DUP on a draft budget that incorporated the spending cuts.  The only concession made by the UK government was to provide an extra £200m for policing and justice – a clear indication of where their priorities lie.

Sinn Fein justifies the cuts on the basis that opposing them would risk bringing down the political institutions.  That this is the overriding priority for the party shows the degree to which it has retreated from any kind of radicalism.  The self-proclaimed Irish republicans are now in a position where they won’t oppose cuts for fear of creating a crisis within the British constitution!   Rather than being a force for change in Ireland Sinn Fein are one of the key components of stability and the continuation of the status quo.  They have proven this in the north, and given the opportunity would prove it in the south. 

Reading the morning paper - more scandal in the Health Service

Today’s  ‘Irish News’ has another article exposing the poor management of Belfast’s health services with reports that the old Belvoir Park hospital, which was closed five years ago, has been abandoned without being decommissioned properly.  This has meant that patient files have been taken from it and have appeared for sale on the internet.  Despite this, management in the Belfast Trust has claimed that there was no need to inform the Information Commissioner that there was potentially a breach of data protection legislation.

This is the latest in a long line of articles in the paper taking shots at the management of the health service and the Belfast Trust.  Not all the criticism has been warranted and sometimes the big things have been mixed with minor issues.  Often however the criticism has been well deserved and I thought I would write about it today because it raises some interesting questions that will no doubt go unasked never mind answered during this election.

Like – what is the solution to all this and if the health service is such a good thing, which most people seem to agree, how come it seems to screw up so often?

Let’s take the second question first.  The health service is popular because if you’re sick you really, really need it.  This might seem obvious and so it is, but it means that a certain amount of its popularity is because for most people it’s all we have to save us from illness or much worse.  If something else existed it might be quite popular as well.  What makes it unpopular is when it fails to do what we need – waiting too long to get seen and sometimes poor services when we do get seen.  There was a report recently in Britain that the care given to elderly people is very often appalling and lack of adequate funding is only part of the problem.

Generally we all agree that it’s not the fault of staff so what is the problem?

The ‘Irish News’ columnist Patrick Murphy says at least part of the blame lies in the fact that senior managers sit on the Board of Directors along with non-Executive Directors and will therefore give each other an easy time.  This is what prevented questioning to ensure the issues at Belvoir Park were not flagged up and solved.  He proposes a Board consisting of only non-Executive Directors to bring the senior mangers to account.

The question is however – why didn’t they do it in this case?  There were plenty of these non-Execs on the Board already.  It looks to me that they failed just as much as the senior managers everyone loves to criticise.  These non-Execs are the great and the good of our society and include politicians from all the main parties.  Will we be hearing which of the candidates in the election sat on the Board of the Belfast Trust and also failed to deal with this matter?  Don’t think so. (Google it yourself if you want to find out)

The truth is that these non-Execs are political appointments and often know nothing about the services delivered by the state bodies they are supposed to supervise.  The senior mangers do know about the services but will make mistakes like anyone and there is obviously a question about making them accountable.

There is of course an obvious solution.  Who knows most about the services provided by the NHS?  Well, two groups spring to mind.  The first are the workers who work in it and the second are patients who use it.  Why isn’t the health service run by the workers with patients organised to review and inspect their work and report on any failures?  Why don’t we have a Board composed of workers elected by all the staff and subject to instant recall if they don’t perform?  This would provide real expert management.  Management could be replaced by a democratic vote whenever the majority of workers thought that it wasn’t working as well as it should.  This would provide full transparency and accountability.

So why don’t we have a democratic health service?  Well, the answer is obvious.  If workers were allowed to run the health service they might demonstrate how good it is to have a democratic workplace and encourage other workers to look for the right to do the same.  We couldn’t have that because that is what is called socialism.

The sort of socialism I’m standing for in this election.

Don't Waste This Chance!

Last Wednesday I joined students at Queens University in protest at the education cuts that they and their lecturers face.  With my supporters I gave out the following leaflet which is advertising my organising meeting.  Come and join us!

DON’T WASTE

THIS CHANCE!!

Are you opposed to the cuts in education and in health?  Are you opposed to increased fees, reduction of services and plans to do away with the EMA?  Do you want to stop the cuts?

If you have answered yes to any of these questions this time should be a golden opportunity to fight back.  On May 5 there will be an election – a great chance to register your protest and organize against the cuts.

But there is a problem.  All the parties in the Executive are in favour of cuts and with £4 billion worth of them their little squabbles over where exactly they will cut will be irrelevant.

Yet these parties still expect to get our votes!!  Why are they so arrogant?  They are arrogant because there is no opposition.  They are all in the government.  And they are arrogant because of sectarianism – they expect us to vote for “our side” without us worrying about their actual policies

ALTERNATIVE

But now you have a chance to vote for an alternative and campaign against the cuts and against sectarianism.  A socialist candidate, Brian Pelan, is standing in West Belfast and he is opening up his campaign to all those opposed to the cuts.  He is calling on potential supporters to join him in an open meeting to organize his campaign for the Assembly elections and build a movement that will continue when the elections have come and gone. 

Brian is not only opposing the cuts and putting forward an alternative.  He is not only opposing bigotry and the sectarian rules by which the Stormont Assembly works.  He is opposing the whole sectarian system that has taken 20 years to create and in few short years has united all the parties in cuts in corporation tax for big business and cuts in living standards and services for everyone else.

Brian, a supporter of the socialist group Socialist Democracy, is opposing the blackmail that we cannot afford an opposition,  that we cannot defend our livelihoods and we cannot fight for our rights and freedom because we must support this sectarian state. Join with Brian:

FIGHT THE CUTS

OPPOSE SECTARIANISM and

FIGHT FOR A SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE

Join him at the inaugural meeting to organize his campaign at the Glenowen  Inn , Glen Road Belfast, at 7pm on Wednesday, April 13.

www.socialistdemocracy.org

bpelansocialist@gmail.com

Who and Why?

So who exactly am I and why am I standing as a candidate in the West Belfast Assembly elections?

Well, I am 54 years of age, married with three sons. I was born in Andersonstown and have lived in the area for a large part of my life.

I am an active trade unionist, being a member of the Belfast Branch of the National Union of Journalists and a former deputy father of chapel of the Belfast Telegraph branch of the NUJ. I am not standing in any official union capacity in this election and only in a personal capacity but I think it is important that everyone knows that for a long time I have been active in advancing the cause of working people.

During the 1980s, I was involved in the Relatives' Action Committees supporting political status for republican prisoners and was actively involved as part of the Hunger Strike campaign. I was also a member of Peoples Democracy and as a member of it was election agent for PD member John McAnulty when he was an elected councillor in West Belfast.  Now I am a supporter of its successor Socialist Democracy.

I have campaigned on many issues, including opposition to the Iraq war and latterly against cutbacks in Northern Ireland and the Republic.  I totally oppose sectarian politics and believe in a Socialist Republic, which will serve the interests of the Irish working class and this is the reason why I am standing.

All the main parties in the Assembly Executive are united in support of £4,000,000,000 worth of cuts which cannot but have a devastating effect on many public services.  Already these parties are taking part in petty squabbles trying to deflect from their own responsibility for implementing these cuts.  So Martin McGuinness has blamed Michael McGimpsey for failure to give the go-ahead to new cancer services in Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry for sectarian reasons.  In turn McGimpsey has no difficulty batting away this accusation.  What unites them is agreement that cuts are necessary. If we vote for either of these parties that’s exactly what we will get.

I am standing to give people an opportunity to vote against the cuts and to actually organise against them.  I am opening my campaign up to all those opposing the cuts so that after the election not only will I not be going away but neither will the campaign that has supported me.

But I am not just opposing the cuts.  I am offering an analysis of why it has been so hard, so far, to fight the cuts and why opposing sectarianism is central to what I have to say.  Further, I am offering a wider socialist alternative that can give a positive message of hope that there is a real alternative to the capitalist market.  Over the next few weeks of this campaign you will be able to read on my blog just what I mean by all this.  You will also be able to read how my campaign is going and what we have been up to.

Most importantly I want this blog to be a forum where everyone with even the slightest interest in the issues I am addressing can ask me questions, offer criticism and join in the debate.  Through this blog we can demonstrate that healthy debate is not an alternative to campaigning but an essential part of it.  This blog and my campaign is open to everyone who wants to fight the cuts, fight for socialism and has energy and ideas to take us forward

Join in!!