Election Fever
Groundbreaking Electoral Contests In Northern Ireland
by
Alan F. Parkinson
The Blackstaff Press 2017
Chapters:
One: A Volatile Cocktail – The North-Belfast By-election, 1905
Two: The “Partition” Election – Election to First Northern Ireland
Parliament, 1921
Three: The “Chapel Gate” Election – The Stormont General Election, 1949
Four: The “Crossroads” Election – The Stormont General Election, 1969
Five: Hopes of a Breakthrough – The First Assembly Election, 1973
Six: Election of a Hunger Striker – The Fermanagh & South Tyrone
By-election, 1981
Seven: Election for the Never-Never Land – The Westminster By-elections,
1986
Eight: A Drift to the Margins – The 2003 Assembly Election
Plus several appendices
“….. most
people’s electoral decisions are still framed in terms of their religious
membership and sense of ethnic identity. Northern Ireland remains, politically
at least, a place apart, where elections represent periodic opportunities to
manifest tribal loyalties shaped by history and tradition, rather than the
expression of pragmatic voter choices relating to the modern world.”
One of life’s annoying things is when you are doing a jigsaw puzzle and
everything is progressing reasonably well, the frames straight edges coming
along, pieces fitting together nicely, a picture slowly developing and then you
turn your back for a minute and someone upends the whole lot and you have to
start all over again. The unfinished jigsaw has been reduced to a pile of
fragments and you wonder why you bothered with the wretched thing in the first
place. Northern Ireland politics is a bit like that, nay, a lot like that. In
history there have been periods of progress, then somebody decides to change
something or says something controversial or makes unhelpful demands and that
upendedness catches hold in a dug-in-heels, wait-a-wee-minute,
catch-yourself-on circus of finger-pointing, insults and irritating
stubbornness. It is important to try to understand why this all too frequent
shambles of a political atmosphere has affected and continues to affect
Northern Ireland.
Alan F. Parkinson rides to the rescue here with a brilliant analysis of
some of Ulster’s elections over the years, from 1905 to the present day more or
less. It is indicative of the complexities of Northern Ireland’s take on
politics and politicians that the introduction to this book is over forty pages
long. But that’s the way of things. There is a handy reminder that the history
of the country is festooned with the three and four letter abbreviations of parties
and organisations all sticking their oar in during the past 100 years, for good
or ill. The recipe is always changing and the pot is forever stirred!
Parkinson reminds us that the Westminster elite really hadn’t much of a
clue as to what to do about Northern Ireland, and that is still pretty much the
case today. Violence, the super-egos of mouthy local politicians and
out-of-their-depth dabblers across the water have all played their part in keeping
communities divided but thank goodness there have been some courageous
politicians who have stepped up and risen above the noise and mischief of
opportunists. The most recent example of hope on a journey of ceasefires and
negotiations was the peace process that led to the Good Friday Agreement in
1998. It was a remarkable achievement by Northern Ireland political standards
and brought relief to its citizens while it lasted.
The aforementioned dug-in-heels, wait-a-wee-minute, catch-yourself-on
circus of finger-pointing, insults and irritating stubbornness have never gone
away. And neither has violence ceased completely. The quotation in italics at
the beginning of this review is a perfect summary of not only where Northern
Ireland’s politics and electorate have been but also where they are now and
where they may well be forever.
Over the years, to jog memories, the cast of characters who have helped or hindered
include (alphabetically, lest anyone get upset over position) Gerry Adams, Jack
Beattie, Basil Brooke, James Craig, William Craig, Bernadette Devlin, Joseph
Devlin, Brian Faulkner, Gerry Fitt, John Hume, Martin McGuinness, Harry
Midgeley, James Molyneaux, Terence O’Neill, Ian Paisley, Peter Robinson and
David Trimble.
The book is not only a political study. It illustrates the differences
of opinion and interpretation of local media, particularly comparing the
language used and stances taken by the Unionist-leaning Belfast Telegraph and
the nationalist-leaning Irish News. It is fascinating to read two very different views of the same event.
But this versus that is part of the tapestry and there is nothing wrong with
healthy and intelligent debate.
Alan F. Parkinson has produced a painstakingly detailed account of key
points in Northern Ireland’s political history. He has guided us through many
layers of party decisions and their consequences, given us useful appraisals
and portraits of key players in this ongoing saga, highlighted the nature and
content of election campaigns and performed an essential service by explaining
the nature of one of the most politically complicated and frustrating countries
in the world.
This is a superb study and should be read widely, not least by the voters of Northern Ireland who have a glorious opportunity to lay a foundation
for future generations, a future that does not rely on hauling huge amounts of
negative baggage from the past.
Hope should never be dismissed and maybe one day the jigsaw puzzle will cease to be a puzzle.
Hope should never be dismissed and maybe one day the jigsaw puzzle will cease to be a puzzle.
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