Tag Archives: Martin Smyth

Ron Aitken

Opinion: Lessons learned the hard way will have to be re-learned following the riots in Tottenham

By Ron Aitken | Wed 10th August 2011 - 10:36 am

As a young research assistant I was in Northern Ireland on the day of the June 1987 General Election, campaigning for the re-election of my boss the Rev Martin Smyth, Ulster Unionist MP for South Belfast and head of the Orange Order.

Elections in Northern Ireland were always conducted in a way mindful of possible violence or terrorist attack, and an RUC patrol intercepted a car in the vicinity of a school being used as a polling station. The IRA occupants of the car were found to be armed and an explosive device was also found. Mr Smyth was in the …

Continue reading »
Posted in Op-eds | Also tagged , , and | 5 Comments
Advert

Recent Comments

  • Pawel Urbanski
    This subject needs far more attention and more noise from Liberal Democrats, particularly in London. Rob’s direction is right, and the report is useful. But w...
  • Peter Davies
    London is a special case. There wasn't enough undeveloped land without planning permission sold to get an accurate figure. What matters is what developers think...
  • Tim
    @peter - Land prices have not been rising, at least in London, for ages. The idea that developers string out negotiations is hard to sustain in the context of t...
  • Jim Webber
    I spent 17 years in London. Nothing speaks louder about the problems affecting this country than the closure of key bridges in our country's capital. The closur...
  • PM
    "{Building more council houses} is an admirable ambition, but very unlikely to happen when our government is short of money." We managed to build ...