Gerry Adams to stand down as MP

It's more than likely that there will be a by-election in West Belfast within the next couple of years. Gerry Adams has decided that the time is right for him to try to make a contribution to the politics of the Dail. Brian "Biffo" Cowan is having a hard time leading the country. Adams reckons the current Fianna Fail/Green coalition government is "probably the most unpopular in the history of the state". He says new ideas are needed. Maybe so, but are his the right ones?

Gerry Adams will try to be elected as a TD in Louth. If he is, he will resign as an MP and an MLA. He took part in the Assembly proceedings, but was never an active MP as he never swore the Oath of Allegiance. Latterly he functioned as an MP from an office point of view, but in a fairly voiceless capacity. A by-election in West Belfast is unlikely to change this.

Ireland is in severe difficulties. I can't see much of Gerry Adams' political philosophy attracting the great and the good of Dublin society. This might be a wake-up call for them. Get your act together or face a revitalised Sinn Fein stomping around the Dail.

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Labour had to act over Woolas

Shadow cabinet minister Caroline Flint, appearing on BBC Question Time, said Labour "had to act" in response to a court verdict banning Phil Woolas from politics for three years. She said she had known Mr Woolas for more than 20 years and believed he had been a great MP and minister, but she added, "statements were made about the Lib Dem candidate that were not only wrong but the Oldham campaign knew them to be wrong. That was the judgement and therefore Harriet Harman, representing the Labour Party, confirmed that and that is why Phil Woolas was administratively suspended." Interesting the term "administratively suspended". It now seems that many in the Labour Party, including would-be leader David Miliband, are of the opinion that Woolas is not really guilty but just unlucky. The fact that a collection plate is doing the rounds in order to get funds for him to appeal the verdict suggests that politics has some way to go before it is clean enough for voters.

Most voters are of the opinion that yah-boo politics is not very attractive. At most PMQs the Speaker has to appeal for rowdiness to cease. He keeps telling them it puts off the voters. Whilst Harriet Harman says telling lies has no place in Labour Party campaigns it has yet to settle in the minds of many Labour MPs that liars have no place in the Labour Party. Unrepentant ones, that is!

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Phil Woolas at centre of Labour Party row

Extraordinary scenes are happening in the Labour Party. At the centre of it all is the supposedly disgraced ex-minister Phil Woolas. Having been found guilty of spreading lies about his Liberal Democrat opponent in election leaflets, Woolas is now seeking to show himself as the wronged one. Is he a victim? Has he been unfairly treated? I would hardly think so.

However, on Monday night, Labour backbenchers let rip at Harriet Harman and said some quite nasty things to her face. All because she said racism, telling lies and smearing opponents had no place in the Labour Party. It should have no place in any party.

Is Phil Woolas loved by so many? Or is there some kind of feeling that the courts should not get involved? I can't understand it. Politicians make the laws that govern elections. If they are so beefed up about it, get the law changed. Make it perfectly legal to insinuate that someone is gay, doesn't live in a constituency, is a racist, has dealings with terrorists, fans extremism and is an all-round bad egg, even if none of it is true. That's the way to progress.

As it is, Woolas was found guilty of corrupt election practices. Fine for him to appeal, but let's not suggest that what he did was OK because it wasn't.

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