| Unionist majority councils | Nationalist majority councils | Councils with no clear majority | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth rate | 12.6 | 14.5 | 15.9 |
| Death rate | 8.0 | 6.6 | 6.8 |
We see that for Q3 the birth rate in Nationalist majority councils is 14.5 births per 1,000 people. This is significantly higher than the Protestant birthrate of 12.6. Furtermore, the death rate in Unionist majority councils is significantly higher than that of Catholics. The latest quaterly report does not tell us much we did not already know, it merely confirms that these trends are coninuing.
Nice to see a post. Hope they'll be more frequent in 2011.
ReplyDeleteA small suggestion: link the images below to Amazon.co.uk not Amazon.com.
Interesting piece in the Daily Telegraph about the increase in the British Muslim population.
ReplyDeleteblogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100069830/the-muslim-population-has-grown-from-1-65-million-to-2-87-million-since-2001-say-researchers-what-does-this-mean-for-liberal-britain/
A former DUP councillor has joined the ranks of the Ulster Unionist Party.
ReplyDeleteIndependent Castlereagh councillor Charlie Tosh quit the DUP three years ago over his opposition to power-sharing at Stormont after 20 years in the party.
He said images of then leader and First Minister Ian Paisley with Sinn Fein Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness laughing together made him ill.
A disagreement with another DUP member was said to have been the last straw for Mr Tosh, who has been a businessman for more than 35 years.
He also voiced support for the movement which led to the formation of Jim Allister's Traditional Unionist Voice but is not a member.
Mr Tosh said he had decided the UUP was the party which can deliver. “I have been impressed by the way Tom Elliott has conducted himself since becoming leader of the Ulster Unionist Party and have decided that it is the party which can best deliver for the people of Castlereagh East,” he added.
UUP leader Tom Elliott said: “I am delighted to welcome Charlie Tosh to the ranks of the Ulster Unionist Party. Charlie is well-known to the people of Castlereagh East and will be an asset to the UUP as we gear up for next year's Council and Assembly Elections.”
And Michael Henderson, the UUP group leader on the council, added: “Charlie is well-known to the people of the Dundonald, Ballybeen and Tullycarnet areas as a hard worker who has always had the interests of the ratepayer at heart. I am delighted he has chosen to join the Ulster Unionist Party and look forward to working with him on council.”
Ulster Unionist MLA quits the party.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.u.tv/News/Deputy-Speaker-splits-from-UUP/baed3c53-3c8e-4f1d-ae64-be5f1cbe46d7
www.thefreelibrary.com/UFF+DOUBLE+KILLER+IN+BID+TO+RUN+FOR+UUP+COUNCIL+SEAT%3B+Elliott+will...-a0244105574
ReplyDeleteHARRY Hamilton, who quit the Ulster Unionist Pary after they dropped him as a candidate for the May assembly elections, is lining up talks with Alliance to fight on their behalf in Upper Bann.
ReplyDeleteAfter polling the highest number of votes of any UUP candidate in the Westminster elections last year - a total of 10,639 - the Freddie Mercury impersonator was ditched in the assembly stakes in favour of the untested Colin McCusker, councillor Jo-AnADVERTISEMENT
ne Dobson and Lurgan veteran Sammy Gardiner.
"I was on the moderate wing of the party," said Mr Hamilton, "and the fact that there was no place for me after my Westminster performance gave me the message that the party is moving back to the past of flag-waving and drum-beating.
"They obviously have no place for me and that is why I resigned."
Mr Hamilton revealed that representatives within Alliance had asked him to make his move before the New Year, but he had three concerts lined up with his band Flash Harry and needed time to think.
"I'm meeting up with Alliance people within the next two or three weeks.
"I don't want to waste the time and effort - and the money - that the UUP invested in me to build up my profile, so I want to go for Alliance and move into real people politics."
He added that Stormont must start concentrating on turning the province around economically "and forget about the all-consuming constitutional issues".
"I feel passionately about that," he said.
"But the old guard of Ulster Unionism seems to hold sway in the party and I find I have much more in common with Alliance."
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Last Updated: 08 January 2011 11:23 AM
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A Trade Union leader has called for a Labour/Sinn Fein Coalition Government in the Republic of Ireland.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/republic-of-ireland/irish-union-calls-for-labour-sinn-fein-coalition-15050059.html
AN SNP victory at the forthcoming Holyrood election would make a bid to get extra powers for the Scottish Parliament “irresistible”, Alex Salmond insisted yesterday as he claimed his frontbench team was better than Labour leader Iain Gray’s.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking to the Sunday Herald, the First Minister did not rule out a Nationalist-Labour coalition post May 5, saying: “It depends how many seats they’ve got.”
While such a partnership might strike some as unthinkable, it was after last May’s General Election that Mr Salmond noted how in a hung parliament “people have to put to one side their mutual antipathies” as he offered the services of the SNP as part of a progressive alliance with Labour and the Liberal Democrats; one which never materialised.
In what are the first political shots of the 2011 Scottish parliamentary campaign, the FM appeared upbeat, noting how at this juncture compared with 2007 his party had a higher level of support.
With reference to how the Scotland Bill would be debated at Westminster as the Holyrood campaign progressed, Mr Salmond made clear: “If we get a mandate at this election, our position in demanding the power Scotland needs will be irresistible.
“If we have an overall majority, we’ll have a mandate for Scottish independence. If we win the election, we’ll be in the position to turn the Scotland Bill from a mouse to a lion.
“We’ll be in a position, certainly, to get the referendum [on independence] because I doubt very much if the Parliament would turn us down after being re-elected.”
As the Holyrood battle threatens to get ever more personal, the FM made clear that when his team was put up against Labour’s, there was no contest.
“Our team is better than their team and we’re not the only ones who believe that,” insisted Mr Salmond.
Last night, Mr Gray hit back, saying his SNP counterpart was “increasingly desperate as he runs out of ideas and time”.
Harry Dunlop UUP Deputy Mayor of North Down had defected to the DUP.
ReplyDeleteFormer Ulster Unionist Harry Hamilton, who attracted significant support in the general election, has defected to the Alliance Party.
ReplyDeleteThe would-be politician, previously better known as a Freddie Mercury impersonator, secured widespread media attention when he swapped the stage for the political platform.
He scored well with the electorate and won more than 10,500 votes in Upper Bann, despite failing to seize the area's Westminster seat.
Given his relatively strong polling he had been expected to be selected as an Ulster Unionist candidate for May's Assembly elections, but was overlooked by the party.
The UUP, which failed to win any seats in the Westminster poll despite its electoral alliance with the Conservative Party, has suffered a series of high-profile resignations.
Alliance leader David Ford said: "I am very pleased to welcome Harry into the Alliance Party. He is a highly regarded and very popular representative in Upper Bann.
"It speaks volumes that Harry was the person who polled highest out of all of the Ulster Unionist Party candidates in the general election, and the fact that he has decided to come to us demonstrates the current momentum of the Alliance Party."
Mr Hamilton said: "I believe that Alliance has shown it is prepared to engage with the growing section of our community who feel disillusioned and disappointed with the blinkered political parties that continue to distil political debate here into a tribal headcount."
The 45-year-old, who is married with three daughters and is from the Lurgan area of Co Armagh, is a business development manager, although he also built a successful career as an entertainer.
He added: "I believe in the need for politicians to show leadership and the need to build a united community. These are the principles I entered politics to promote and I believe they can be best achieved through the Alliance Party."