Collie

Right, so Carla, you resigned from the DUP on principle, and standing on your reputation, and want to unite unionism. But to be upfront with you, Carla, your letter exposes some seriously extraordinary contradictions; you might want to sack the ghostwriter You are demanding accountability from Michelle O'Neill while appearing determined to provoke another political crisis over Drumcree. You talk about protecting democracy while advocating a course that could destabilise the very institutions your constituents depend upon. Seriously, what democracy are you wanting to protect exactly? I think we all have a fair idea, as you seem to get your morals from Jim Allister, “hardliners R US” Unfortunately for you, Carla, you cannot deliver functioning government in NI by pretending Sinn Féin, the largest party in the Assembly, doesn't exist. Power-sharing requires engagement with political opponents, not endless demands to remove them but we all know that you are peddling the kind of unionism that doesn’t include the pesky Catholics. You might also want to consider the political company you are keeping. Jamie Bryson and Jim Allister represent precisely the uncompromising, grievance-driven politics that many unionists have spent decades trying to move beyond. They, like you, have seen the gap in unionism, and all of you have chosen to make yourselves more important than the people you are supposed to represent. These are the political floaters of old-school unionism, forever circling another controversy, another confrontation and another supposed betrayal, while offering precious little that improves ordinary people's lives. And Carla, where is the same outrage about loyalist paramilitaries intimidating Protestant communities, or the continuing recovery of illegal weapons linked to loyalist organisations? Carla, you are all talk about unity, yet you have walked away from your own party because it wouldn't follow your sectarian demands. You talk about principle, yet seem remarkably comfortable with the politics of perpetual confrontation. One of the main things I’m sure we all are thinking here, Carla, is that you cannot build a modern, confident unionism by surrounding yourself with the political floaters and attitudes that helped keep NI divided for generations. I am sure no one needs to tell you, Carla, the people of Upper Bann need jobs, housing, healthcare, education and freedom from paramilitary intimidation. They don't need another journey back to the 1970s and the continuous blaming Sinn Féin for everything. certainly does not put food on the table of your constituents. Resigning from the DUP might make a dramatic headline and give your sectarian pals some great Twitter soundbites. But mistaking Bryson-style agitation and Allister-style obstruction for a political vision is hardly the fresh start unionism needs.

EVERYONE, BRACE YOURSELVES! Seriously, we all need to prepare for an absolute AVALANCHE of outrage from every corner of unionism! A huge weapons haul on the Shankill Road, reportedly linked to extreme far-right terrorism. Gavin Robinson, Jimbo Allister, Carla Lockhart and even Reverend T Gaston will be looking for- NO, demanding answers with the same urgency they've shown over Michelle O'Neill and Garvaghy Road? After all, we're talking about a reported weapons haul and a potential terrorism threat, not simply a politician's presence at a protest. So where are the emergency statements, Westminster speeches and demands for accountability? Big Gav was just at Westminster; maybe we missed that bit of outrage on his latest "rule of law" speech. Maybe he and Carla L discussed this latest round of terrorist activity from their community One story prompts calls for political punishment. Will the other provoke equally forceful condemnation? The rule of law doesn't change depending on which road in Belfast makes the headlines. I'll await the avalanche. It's coming, any minute now...

Political unionism is tearing itself apart again, and the spectacle is extraordinary Carla Lockhart is leaving the DUP because its leadership won't bring down Stormont over Drumcree. Bryson swans around Stormont as though he has an electoral mandate, in his wonderful leisure suit, while Jim Allister is back on Nolan pontificating about the IRA. WTF is going on; it’s like a reality show gone bad. Jimbo appears to have dusted off the old playbook from his Ulster Resistance rally days. Decades later, the IRA and Sinn Féin still dominate his political sermons. Yet where is the equivalent outrage about the UVF, UDA and the continuing criminality of loyalist paramilitaries? Even after the revelations this week around bombs and ammunition finds, Loyalist organisations murdered innocent people too, Jimbo, just an FYI. Today, paramilitary intimidation, organised crime and illegal weapons remain serious problems in the very Protestant communities these individuals claim to defend. Jimbo, terrorism is NOT culture simply because its perpetrators wrap themselves in a Union flag. Then there's Saint Carla, apparently imagining she can resurrect an old-style unionism that bypasses nationalism and treats Catholic voices as an inconvenience. Carla, this isn't the NI of the 1970s. Catholics and nationalists are equal citizens. Sinn Féin is the largest party in the Assembly, and no amount of political grandstanding can erase its democratic mandate. Power-sharing means sharing power, not demanding that the other community disappear whenever you dislike its politics. And the irony of Carla preaching unionist unity while walking out of her own party is remarkable. Meanwhile, Bryson continues his endless campaign of confrontation, seemingly mistaking political attention for democratic legitimacy. He has even dumped the suit and is circulating Stormont in a fecking tracksuit. What an extraordinary fecking picture: Lockhart splitting the DUP, Allister revisiting the arguments of the 1980s, and Bryson positioning himself at the centre of yet another confrontation. All while working-class unionist communities continue to suffer from paramilitary intimidation, deprivation and criminal influence. Where are the practical solutions? Where is the sustained outrage about loyalist criminality? Where are the plans for housing, healthcare, jobs and education? NI has spent decades trying to move beyond the politics of fear, division and sectarian confrontation. The question for Lockhart and Allister is whether their politics can deliver anything more constructive than another argument about who has betrayed unionism, and when will someone with a moral backbone and some principle try to oust these seriously bad actors? Jesus, surely people deserve better than this pantomime

Well, there's a sentence you don't hear every day. Jamie Bryson is congratulating Gavin Robinson for speaking the language of Carla Lockhart. Apparently, unionist politics now requires a translator, and Jamie has appointed himself head of linguistics, another job to your ever-growing list of jobs in your unelected political CV But here's a question for both gentlemen: if the rule of law is the principle, why should scrutiny of Michelle O'Neill be any different from scrutiny of the Ballybeen protest Gavin attended? Political accountability isn't a language reserved for attacking your opponents. It's a standard that applies to everyone. Perhaps Mr Chief of Unionist Linguistics could translate that bit too.