Comments
Bad times in Belfast, great day for Burnley, odd statement from Ed Balls
2009-06-18 10:04:47
A changed, more peaceful Northern Ireland is one of Labour's proudest achievements. It has been wonderful, in recent times, to visit the place and find yourself talking to people about the weather, football, books, house prices, not the bombings and hatreds that defined Northern Ireland for so long.
So there is something really depressing about the spate of attacks on Romanians in Belfast which has caused them to flee their homes and seek emergency accomodation. There were pictures yesterday of children looking hurt, confused, scared, a bit like Northern Ireland children used to look when the bombs were going off.
I remember Tony Blair once saying we would know we had made real progress in Northern Ireland when the police were more occupied with 'ordinary crime' than terrorism. I don't know whether racially motivated crime falls into 'ordinary crime' - I think he had burglaries and car crime in mind - but such crimes have doubled in the last five years, from 453 to over 1,000. This is relatively high given Northern Ireland has a smaller immigrant population than most parts of the UK. Poles and Slovaks have also been subject to racist attacks, but it is the Romanians who are getting hit hardest.
It could be that these attacks are just another signal that economic problems have an impact beyond the obvious, which is why the authorities are right to be so concerned, particularly in the light of more bad news on the employment front. But I was struck by a remark from Neil Jarman, from the Institute for Conflict Research in Belfast, who has made several studies of racism in Northern Ireland. He said that one of the legacies of years of sectarianism was a 'sub-culture', in which anyone who seemed different was liable to be intimidated.
As the Romanian consul general meeets NI ministers today, this is now a test for political leadership. Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness and Democratic Unionist minister Jeffrey Donaldson stood side by side in condemnation of what McGuinness called 'racist criminals.' I have been privy to some pretty explosive differences between those two in the past, so it was good to see them coming together over this.
... to Rupert Murdoch's summer party last night. Lots of politicians, business people and media having lots of short conversations. It was really good to see former Spanish PM Jose Maria Aznar, with his wife and daughter. Even she was aware of, and excited about, Burnley's heroics. It is extraordinary how the Burnley success story, and our promotion to the Premiership, has touched people. Even people who knew next to nothing about football - I think Peter Mandelson won't be offended if I put him in this category - are aware something quite special has happened.
Just how special became apparent when the fixtures came out yesterday, and we were paired with four of the top five in the first five games of the season. Now we know why Ronaldo fled Britain - he must have known United's first away game was at Burnley. Deportiva La Coruna probably seems easier for him.
I had a brief chat with Ed Balls, unaware that he had said on TV yesterday morning that his 'personal' view was that the Iraq inquiry should have been more open than the one announced by Gordon Brown. As I said here the other day, the question of whether the inquiry is private or public is not as simple and straightforward as GB's critics are making out. But what is strange is that a member of the Cabinet, and one so close to the PM, should not be supporting him, totally, one hundred per cent, at this time, on a contentious issue. He must have heard GB's arguments in the Commons.
Ed Balls has been at the front of the queue in calling for unity around GB, and was always quick to get on the phone in the days when I was in Number 10, if anyone said anything on the economy that veered from the GB view, so this seemed a very odd intervention. If it was a deliberate move related to positioning or garnering support, it is worse than that.
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It's Mind week - Get it off your Chest with me and Stephen FryPublish date: 2009-05-11 06:29:15
Hate the Mail, love ObamaPublish date: 2009-05-10 10:04:00
Burnley 1 Reading 0 - a biased reportPublish date: 2009-05-09 21:26:32
MPs expenses - time for party leaders to meet againPublish date: 2009-05-09 09:50:19
Should happiness replace prosperity as national goal?Publish date: 2009-05-08 08:43:23
Musings from a sleepless nightPublish date: 2009-05-07 07:33:49
Darren Fletcher - an injustice that has to be rightedPublish date: 2009-05-06 09:52:29
Maggie's legacy not as great as she thinksPublish date: 2009-05-05 08:33:02
Here's hoping Cardiff is metaphor for CameronPublish date: 2009-05-04 09:38:30
More Mr Benn and Co pleasePublish date: 2009-05-03 10:03:00
Going Fourth with JPPublish date: 2009-05-02 18:25:41
Journalism - print first, think laterPublish date: 2009-05-02 09:10:01
In praise of two poetsPublish date: 2009-05-01 10:26:36
JP hits the road againPublish date: 2009-04-29 18:52:11
My night with Eddie IzzardPublish date: 2009-04-29 10:53:25
Explaining the 50p top tax ratePublish date: 2009-04-28 09:22:53
George Best and Martin McGuinnessPublish date: 2009-04-27 09:02:35
Cameron confused over indepdendence and impartialityPublish date: 2009-04-26 12:20:56
Guide ro Marathon running part 2Publish date: 2009-04-25 11:01:34
Good signals on coal and the OlympicsPublish date: 2009-04-24 10:45:28
Tips for the London MarathonPublish date: 2009-04-23 17:29:27
Missed the Budget, saw why it matteredPublish date: 2009-04-22 23:09:31
Football good, politics bad. AllegedlyPublish date: 2009-04-22 00:00:24
The Great Wall gets greaterPublish date: 2009-04-21 09:55:22
Two sides to police storyPublish date: 2009-04-20 11:39:54
Budgets, Balls, billionaires and Susan BoylePublish date: 2009-04-19 12:31:45
Do muscles have memories?Publish date: 2009-04-18 09:44:44
Bring back standing at footballPublish date: 2009-04-17 14:50:22
When Facebook friends fall outPublish date: 2009-04-16 12:29:16
Guardian sightings and the email and bath plug agendaPublish date: 2009-04-15 11:32:16
The spin is all in the prismPublish date: 2009-04-14 09:22:41
A setback, not a crisisPublish date: 2009-04-13 12:55:19
The real lessons from Damian McBridePublish date: 2009-04-12 10:49:47
Will English always be the dominant language?Publish date: 2009-04-11 10:02:02
On the pipes and what makes a ScotPublish date: 2009-04-10 11:06:20
John Prescott lazy? NO WAYPublish date: 2009-04-09 09:11:31
David Frost is seventyPublish date: 2009-04-08 08:48:38
The Speaker, BBC2, tonight and tomorrow 8pmPublish date: 2009-04-07 14:25:31
Obama, colds and being woken by Korean missilesPublish date: 2009-04-06 11:59:24
When a call matters more than protocolPublish date: 2009-04-05 11:33:42
Green Cities Champions LeaguePublish date: 2009-04-04 10:19:53
Could Cameron have delivered the G20 deal?Publish date: 2009-04-03 10:11:59
Of Benn and BonoPublish date: 2009-04-02 08:21:16
Memo to Sarko - allez vite a LondresPublish date: 2009-04-01 08:46:17
Happy April Fool's DayPublish date: 2009-04-01 01:44:05
Eurostar, Le Monde and a thought for the G20 sherpasPublish date: 2009-03-31 09:17:22
Why Kevin Rudd made an impactPublish date: 2009-03-30 10:24:41
Pre-G20 hype matters less than post-G20 processPublish date: 2009-03-29 13:17:28
The Damned UnitedPublish date: 2009-03-28 10:37:04
A hobby horse, a plug and a bit of sportPublish date: 2009-03-27 10:22:23
Cloughie - he had a lot to be big-headed aboutPublish date: 2009-03-26 09:38:36
A sad sight of the old fearing the youngPublish date: 2009-03-25 17:03:07
Post-modern, post-structural, or bullshit?Publish date: 2009-03-25 08:18:02
Learning the right lessons from ObamaPublish date: 2009-03-24 08:53:15
Lazy Dave needs to keep an eye on lazy KenPublish date: 2009-03-23 11:16:14
Farewell favourite restaurant, hello hometownPublish date: 2009-03-22 08:18:09
Dave, Danny and have the Tories really changed?Publish date: 2009-03-21 08:55:13
Life beyond Dover ...Publish date: 2009-03-20 10:11:21
My friends in The New Statesman - Fergie, Fiona, Tony, Sarah, Kevin, 'Dacre,' and a great GB idea for the G20Publish date: 2009-03-18 10:38:22
Iraq, Iran, GB, Obama and diplomatic chessPublish date: 2009-03-17 10:07:13
The Age of StupidPublish date: 2009-03-16 08:27:13
Is all change good?Publish date: 2009-03-15 10:00:06
The pressure of being a post-modern sex godPublish date: 2009-03-14 10:00:55
Cameron still hasn't sealed the deal with businessPublish date: 2009-03-13 09:21:49
Stand up for social workersPublish date: 2009-03-12 08:31:17
Surely Malcolm Tucker could have told Armando Ianucci ... You can't spin a spinnerPublish date: 2009-03-11 10:58:25
Start of a new approach from Labour?Publish date: 2009-03-10 09:54:12
A peace process still strongPublish date: 2009-03-09 08:21:05
Day of destiny for the real footballer of the yearPublish date: 2009-03-08 09:21:06
Private advice to Peggy Mitchell - the leaked note in fullPublish date: 2009-03-07 08:17:21
Boris, the Tories and the tummy-tickling poodle pressPublish date: 2009-03-06 09:49:37
A day in the life of the self-obsessed TV reporterPublish date: 2009-03-05 07:55:47
GB - good speech, well deliveredPublish date: 2009-03-04 19:31:05
Notes on the environment, a role in EastEndersPublish date: 2009-03-04 10:58:56
She may be my 'wife' but it is time to rebut!Publish date: 2009-03-03 10:52:59
Some speeches matter more than othersPublish date: 2009-03-02 12:04:45
Mental health and the Carling Cup FinalPublish date: 2009-03-01 09:08:17
Inside the chocolate factoryPublish date: 2009-02-28 10:23:59
GB on the G20, JP on Jeremy KylePublish date: 2009-02-27 09:14:36
Charity and the credit crunch, please give generously!Publish date: 2009-02-26 08:55:12
Why oh why are the Tories not home and dry?Publish date: 2009-02-24 09:44:59
Me, Dermot and ten top songsPublish date: 2009-02-23 10:02:19
Names round-upPublish date: 2009-02-22 08:43:39
What's in a name?Publish date: 2009-02-21 09:58:14
Editing the New StatesmanPublish date: 2009-02-20 11:42:36
Salute Peter M’s proper use of the F wordPublish date: 2009-02-19 09:58:58
Labour's communications challenge for the NHSPublish date: 2009-02-18 10:34:39
In praise of KeighleyPublish date: 2009-02-17 14:33:57
A night at the EmiratesPublish date: 2009-02-17 00:06:51
When marriage is testedPublish date: 2009-02-16 13:36:35
Spare me the myths and the whiningPublish date: 2009-02-15 13:29:50
Dave Cameron - is that all there is?Publish date: 2009-02-14 11:11:55
Boris Johnson: F is for ...Publish date: 2009-02-13 07:55:10
The Cameron vacuumPublish date: 2009-02-12 14:48:33
Lincoln, Obama, Blair and the 24 hour media culturePublish date: 2009-02-11 10:28:47
Eighteen interviews later ...Publish date: 2009-02-10 19:24:45
Time to talk about Time to Change on NewsnightPublish date: 2009-02-09 22:47:49
So that’s what they mean by online community?Publish date: 2009-02-08 12:12:51
First blogPublish date: 2009-02-05 15:23:57
Mark
2009-07-07 22:48:16Interesting link to Spain. Thierry Henry would be interested in challenging Facism. What chance of a kick Racism friendly between Barca and Burnley?
sara
2009-06-22 12:27:46Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants HAVE been subject to racism and violence in Northern Ireland. Cast your minds back to reports in 2003 that Chinese (and Ugandan) families were driven from their homes in the Village area of Belfast, following a wave of violent racist attacks.
Alan Quinn
2009-06-19 10:18:05Ed Balls, managed to give a speech as education minister at the party conference without mentioning school governors ( of which I'm one) once. Clueless idiot, another one of the romper room who has ideas beyond his ability.
Alina Palimaru
2009-06-18 16:56:53As a Romanian citizen living abroad, it's always sad to hear about this type of abuse. I am not too familiar with the situation of those Belfast families, but I wonder what sort of coverage local immigrant communities had received before the attacks. I don't know about other minority groups, but let's face it, there are Romanian immigrants (working hard, going to school, doing research in scientific laboratories) and then there are Romanian immigrants (engaged in human trafficking, having an obscene number of children, selling their kids for money, begging, spitting in the streets and destroying public places, stealing etc).
Unfortunately, the latter part receive a disproportionate amount of coverage, so this may keep all Romanians in an unwanted spotlight. I have had my own share of suffering because of the crimes that my co-nationals have been perpetrating abroad... and I will certainly continue to suffer from this because I know the flow of Romanian criminals out of that sad little country will not stop anytime soon.
Does this justify the type of violence we have seen in Northern Ireland, Italy or Spain? Of course not! I only hope that host countries quickly separate the bad apples from the good ones, deport the jerks back to Romania and allow the rest of us to continue with our productive lives, respectful of the hospitality of foreign countries. Finally, I hope that the media would do justice to the distinctions among immigrants that I drew above. This would help a great deal.
Keith P
2009-06-18 16:53:16I love the way you weave from one unrelated issue to another and make it look like they are not unrelated at all. To get so quickly from Belfast to Balls ia Burnley - hats off. And hope you are happy about Owen Coyle's new contract. Amazing how happy football makes people. Wish politics could do the same. I suppose it did in 97, and again with Obama but otherwise -- what a bloody mess
Patrick Marshall
2009-06-18 16:51:28Re Ed Balls, I cast my mind back to Kim Howells letter which Alastair mentioned the other day, about the younger ones talking too much about themselves and not enough about politics and policy. Balls is a member of the Cabinet. What on earth is he doing giving his 'personal' view of something like this? Just as I asked why Miliband talked about how he had thought about quitting and didn't. The one thing Blair and Alastair always seemed to do was defend things when the going was tough. This is all too bloody flaky
Sirhornet
2009-06-18 16:11:41I cast my mind back three years to when the fixtures were announced for Watford's season in the sun. Everton away- denied a stonewall penalty and concede a penalty when the ball hit one of our players smack in the head-West Ham at home blatant handball gives them an equaliser-Man Utd at home-poor backpass gifts Giggs a winner. and so the season went on. Enjoy it while you can, I hope you can do better than us but expect nothing from refs whilst many of your opponents will play players whose value exceeds your club. Make sure your board do not waste the money. All we have to show for a premiership season is a dilapidated stand. Sorry to be so gloomy but reality will bite
simon
2009-06-18 14:27:46Does Ed Balls really think he has a chance of becoming the next leader of the Labour Party? What world does he live in?
David Leaver
2009-06-18 14:11:10Great day for Burnley indeed : Owen 'God'Coyle staying, Kitty 'Artex' Ussher going.
Birmingham City fan
2009-06-18 13:48:23Ronaldo will also miss the mighty Blues on day one ... I can see why Barcelona and Valencia might seem better dates for his talents than us and you, but we should both take hope from the fact he has gone, and your old mate Fergie seems to think some bloke from Wigan is a replacement.
Pat Kelly
2009-06-18 13:46:30Andy ... I saw Alastair speaking in Northern Ireland a few months ago, and he actually did pay tribute to the work of other politicians including John Major. I was quite surprised at the time because I knew from things he had said politically that he was not his biggest fan, but he was quite fulsome in his tribute to Major, and of course Clinton and Bertie Ahern. I think today's blog is less about the peace process than the horrible attacks on immigrants
Political Football
2009-06-18 13:42:42There are some parallels with Iraq and northern Ireland in relation to sectarianism. As a result of the occupation in Iraq sectarian tension exist between Shia and Sunni. The question is who will win that political game? Still Bloody Sunday does not come close to a Bloody Occupation. How many Iraqis died in that onslaught, do you have the exact figures Mr Campbell? Cheers
Tubby Hubby
2009-06-18 12:01:18Is anyone watching the powerful drama on BBC1, The Occupation? It is on tonight. David Dimbleby is also hosting a new version of crimewatch tonight. AC what do you think about Butler recommending the Iraq enquiry should be held in public?
uberpikey1889
2009-06-18 11:43:10It's interesting to see that Neil Jarman says that racism is a legacy of sectarianism. I think the attacks on the Poles at the recent European qualifier and the recent spate of attacks against the Romanians is blatant sectarianism. It's not a coincidence that the violence was carried out by protestants on Catholic immigrants. It is interesting to note that the Chinese and Vietnamese populations of Northern Ireland have never been targeted in the same way.
However no-one will call them sectarian as it could potentially drag us back to the tit-for-tat days of religious bloodshed.
Michael Taylor
2009-06-18 11:42:05The first fixture most of you lot looked for was against Blackburn Rovers. With five games to go, the game at the Turf could have a special significance.
Andy
2009-06-18 11:36:55Hi Alastair
As a Wolves supporter I can understand your pride and excitement!
One tiny matter with which I'd like to take issue, and that is the seeming airbrushing-out of John Major's in the developing history of the NI peace process. I do not begrudge Tony Blair the credit for his tenacity and courage to see it all through: definitely not! It's probably the thing I respect him most for. But never is their any mention of Major's part: yet it was on his watch that the IRA announced 2 ceasefires, the latter of which was never broken; the Downing Street declaration was made; the Framework documents issued and the Mitchell report on decommissioning issued. It toook great personal courage from Major to so clearly reverse the Government's attitude to the IRA and Sinn Fein. Please don't get me wrong - TB should feel immensely proud of what he achieved. I just begrudge labour commentators writing as though nothing had been achieved in NI until TB came into power.
Butler
2009-06-18 11:23:03Is anyone watching the drama on BBC1 called The Occupation? Final Part tonight. Is Mr Campbell watching it?
dr_whom
2009-06-18 10:12:15I see you neatly side-stepped the issue of Burnley's opening day game against the mighty Potters. I was pleased we got your lot, you should bring a decent following (in good voice I hope), it'll be a chance to re-live the CCC days of yore and, let's face it, it's an easy three points for us. COME ON STOKE!
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