A Question of Justice
I've just recorded this weekend's Inside Politics. The guest is Shaun Woodward, fielding questions about the turmoil within the DUP and whether it will have any impact on the timetable for devolving justice. The NIO has just published a poll it commissioned suggesting 60% of people support the devolution of justice and 62% think the May target date is either about right or not soon enough. The Secretary of State is obviously pleased with the results, especially as they appear to indicate a majority of DUP supporters in favour, but he still faces an uphill struggle to complete devolution.
At the end of next week Jeffrey Donaldson's Assembly and Executive Review Committee completes its report on the mechanics of devolving justice. The report is due to be published the following week, then debated in the Assembly in the second week in March. It's expected it might shed some light on the practicalities of which areas might be devolved, but it won't move things on so far as the date for transfer is concerned. Vincent Kearney will have more on the Politics Show on Sunday.
There is an expectation that the new DUP Junior Minister should be confirmed at the start of next week, and the latest indications appear to point more towards Jeffrey Donaldson than MLAs like Simon Hamilton or Peter Weir. I suppose what needs to be sorted out (and what might be clarified by this appointment) is what the job really is - a bag carrier to the First Minister or a future Justice Minister?
Inside Politics, as usual, is on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Ulster tomorrow at a quarter to one.
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Mark
"The NIO has just published a poll it commissioned suggesting 60% of people support the devolution of justice and 62% think the May target date is either about right or not soon enough."
More people support the May 2008 target date than support the idea of devolving the powers?
The figure reported elsewhere is 53% in favour of May 2008.
Having now seen the actual figures from the NIO, you've got them right, Mark.
Although how more people support the 'by May' position than the 'at some time' position isn't clear.
There's also an interesting figure that is being less widely reported.
Namely that the comparison between the Sept 2007 and January 2008 NIO polls record support for devolving policing and justice powers at some point, by the DUP supporters asked, dropping by 8 percentage points - from 61% to 53%.
After watching Vincent Kearney's clip on this issue there is no way the NIO can devolve Policing and Justice for a considerable time yet. Although Shaun Woodward did say constantly he wanted this to happen. Why? Is the NIO going to be wound up or join with the rest of the UK? No offices have been set up, no appointments have been made. There has been no preparation made on the Governments part. Shaun Woodward would need to come to N. Ireland more often to get it sorted.
Mark
NIO UNBELIEVABLE !
Shaun Woodward will stop at nothing to ensure that the policing and justice box in the devolution matrix is ticked before he heads off to seek higher office. He has no scruples about how his goal is achieved. Any trick that serves his purpose is ok by him. This latest wheeze of a poll commissioned by the NIO isn’t worth a row of beans. It was not an independent survey; the full details of how the poll was conducted have not been made available (eg questions asked and political affiliations of respondents) and the headline figures are inconsistent and confusing. In any case, the NIO’s well-known capacity for deceit gives rise to the reasonable suspicion that the results have been skewed to suit Woodward’s purposes.
The hyperbole and exaggeration with which Woodward publicized the results of this phoney poll were delivered with all the panache that one expects from this Political Lizard. Unfortunately for Woodward, the DUP’s little local difficulty (sleaze + Dromore By-election result) has put the possibility of full devolution back at least until next year. So the Lizard is going to have to wait a while longer before he can slither off into the Westminster undergrowth in search of tastier ministerial morsels. The happy aspect of all this is that the Northern Ireland people will be spared for at least another year from having a shower of murderers, criminals and thieves controlling the Justice system.
PS: An unrelated afterthought; having given up his Junior Minister job, is Junior going to become a full-time Research Assistant to his Father?
Susie
Carryduff