to think you can't smear corbyn for supposed sympathy to the IRA and supposed willingness to do deals with the SNP and THEN do a deal yourself with the DUP?

[deeedeee]

How the hell do the tories think that they will get away with this?

so they still own the media right ?

as much as you may dislike TM, she does not condone terrorism. - erm... Except age arms Saudi in abundance.

You are absolutely right op.
She is such a hypocrite, And is desperate to stay in power she will do anything at any cost.
I think she has proved she is all about herself.
I am absolutely disgusted with her.

as much as you may dislike TM, she does not condone terrorism

There are literally photos of Peter Robinson, who until very recently was the leader of the DUP, wearing paramilitary gear and leading the Ulster Resistance.

How the hell are the DUP, then, not linked to terrorism? Do you think the Ulster Resistance were just a friendly bunch of fellas who happened to enjoy running around in army gear for the lols?

And by getting into bed with them, I'm afraid TM does indeed condone terrorism.

Oh, but when loyalists do it, it's not terrorism, is it? It's 'defending your country' or 'refusing to surrender' something.

Nobody voted for the Tory/DUP Coalition.

Nobody.

The DUP website was hacked and translated into Irish yesterday

If anything good is to come of this horrendous situation is that the spotlight can shine brightly on the struggles of the ordinary people of NI with those dinosaurs calling themselves politicians. I predict another GE in a couple of weeks.

YANBU.

YA extremely NBU

Surely we have to have another GE soon to sort out this mess.

One of their newly elected MPs was endorsed by THREE unionist paramilitary organisations FFS, of which her dad was a member of one

It's a huge mess. There's the terrorists angle, but also the implication for the power sharing negotiations- where the govt were meant to be neutral arbitrators- which are starting shortly.

I don't fully understand the implications, but I'm thinking not good?

Well quite. You cannot be neutral in those negotiations when you are dependent on one side for your very existence!

I am not at all surprised that Sinn Fein have said they are going to be watching carefully and have warned the British people to look very carefully at who it is the Tories are climbing into bed with

How can the Government be politically neutral in Northern Ireland under the Good Friday Agreement when it needs the DUP?

Oh...and YY to one person's terrorist etc

Looking forward to her being asked all these awkward questions on the Today programme.

Or Boris being asked these question.

seoul

Even in england at the times i was asked in the playground was i a catholic and then was told i loved the IRA. I am not irish

But i just wanted to say that I absolutely appreciate that both sides at the time were as bad (i have read very, very slightly around the troubles) But we were not being told that in the media as far as i can remember. It was quite one sided

All i remember from ian paisley at the time was that he shouted a lot

Sorry, I know that I am ignorant, but what happened to the UUP and the SDLP? How come the DUP and Sinn Fein have become the only choices in NI?

Owen Patterson has confirmed that as a condition of DUP support they will hold a vote on increasing the restrictions on accessing abortion in the UK. It starts. This is what getting into bed with the DUP will get you.

My only hope is that it will raise attention for the plight of women in NI: rape victims forced to give birth to their rapist's baby - women made to carry non-viable pregnancies to full term, knowing that as soon as the baby is born it will die - teenagers arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned for ordering 'abortion pills' online. It's barbaric. And while I don't believe for a moment that Westminster will vote to change any of the laws that apply to GB, the fact that it's even allowed to be questioned is horrifying, and shows that while the DUP wield such power, things for women in NI will continue to be unbearable.

Beat me to it, peach.....

Yes, peach. NI women being thrown even further under a bus is clearly a minor issue if it helps the Tories cling to power.

Beat me to it too peach - I started a thread in Chat about this. Fucking horrendous. DUP arseholes.

What is craziest is people saying that the DUP are not as bad as Sinn Fein because what the IRA were doing was worse.

I am in no way criticizing what you are saying, but from the perspective of most of the UK the IRA was worse just because they bombed London, Birmingham, Manchester etc. People are often selfish and what was happening in Belfast was only about as relevant as something happening in Beirut.

I'm not saying that is right. I know slightly more about NI politics than lots of English people, but I also know that I know very little.

How little do most English people know?

I was non a campsite once on the Isle of Man, the 'Bangor Boy's Brigade' were also on the site and were partying because it was July 12th.

They were told by several campers to "F off you Irish..." well I'll leave you to fill in the gaps.

A coworker in the 1980s was convinced the UK government got loads of money from NI in taxes otherwise they would 'not bother keeping hold of it', he had no concept that anyone on the island of Ireland could consider themselves British.

I'm pissed that TM is considering the DUP as 'friends' but I'm also worried for NI. I know from NI posters on here that the peace is fragile and that people have given up a lot for it. I can't remember the poster's name but someone on here has had a relative murdered and knows that their murderer will never be brought to trial and accepts that as the price for peace. TM could completely scupper that fragile peace and for what? Grammar schools?

@Edsheeranalbumparty They're still around, as are Alliance and the Greens. Unfortunately, just like everywhere else, things have become more polarised (because of Brexit, general uncertainty, DUP scandal etc).

I'm not an expert but my impression is that people vote AGAINST the opposing party rather than for their own party a lot of the time. So people vote DUP even though they don't agree with their policies because they're so scared of Sinn Fein getting a majority and the possibility of a united Ireland.

(Brexit is a big deal here because it raises the question of a united Ireland and that terrifies people - so they vote DUP. It's all very depressing.)

Sinn Fein is a bit different - people do vote for them because they want a united Ireland but tbh they have solid, progressive policies.

Obviously there are also hardcore loyalist / nationalist voters who will wholeheartedly vote DUP or SF but again, that's less about policies and more about history.

Disclaimer: I'm in a heavily loyalist area and vote Alliance who are the only party with a chance of ousting the DUP. Would vote Green by choice.

mypledgeherchoice.org
There's already a campaign on this issue- extending rights to NI and extending rights in the whole UK

Ah yes so the same posters who are defending right wing hard line religious views on another thread are there deriding the DUP? How does that work?

I first learnt about Ian "fire and brimstone" Paisley through the comedian Dave Allen who used to do brilliant impressions of him.

Sunny there are a lot of MNers on here who do care about NI There was a long running thread a few years back where we were discussing the discovery of the graves discovered at Tuam.

I had heard about DUP and knew Paisley was the founder so i had some idea what they would be like but am finding out all the finer details now.

I was brought up Catholic (DM is Italian) but havent practised for 25 years not since i left home. I dont agree with the misogyny.

When i was in my late teens i found out about the Magdelene laundries and was horrified.

The hypocrisy is astounding. OP i agree.