Ritchie right and wrong

It could have been much worse for SDLP Social Development Minister, Margaret Ritchie. Her decision to remove funding from a programme linked to the UDA was ruled by a judge to have been wrong on procedural grounds but that she was within her rights to make a judgment in public interest. A technical K.O. but she will live to fight another day – and I imagine that she will still have a lot of political niggle to endure from political opponents.

Interesting to see that it is First Minister Peter Robinson (DUP) and Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd who are leading the charge against Ritchie. Being criticised by Robinson will do Ritchie no harm amongst the nationalist electorate and one would have thought that Sinn Féin would be better keeping quiet than joining in with the DUP on this issue. Still, I suppose the party are performing so poorly in office that they need to distract their voters one way or another.