Former DUP SpAd. One third of @stormontsources - I frequently block people. Any views I express are my own and no one else’s
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Joined January 2009
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I’ve been told a number of people are annoyed I’ve blocked them. A few years ago I blocked no one. I criticised people who blocked. But it’s been the best thing for me to start blocking. I see very little abuse and has made this app more tolerable. Rules for blocking are simple:
1. If you are an anonymous account and you make even the most mild rude comment - blocked
2. If you are a real person and you are rude on more than one occasion and I don’t know you irl - blocked
3. People I know or have met will get a lot of chances, but eventually I will block. I just don’t need it
I’m more than happy for people to block me for even the smallest of reasons. Who cares!
Tim Cairns retweeted
EXCLUSIVE: DUP MP Carla Lockhart quits as a party officer in a move which could lead to her leaving the party. She's been on a collision course with Gavin Robinson over Drumcree as she wants him to collapse the Executive now.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/…
Tim Cairns retweeted
I thought you were on Nolan last night! *rubs eyes*
Tim Cairns retweeted
"Unionism seems to be in a place were everybody is shouting at each other."
Former DUP special adviser @timcairns tells @MarkCarruthers7
Tim Cairns retweeted
🆕 EPISODE of Stormont Sources STREAMING NOW on podcast apps and YouTube.
"Sinn Féin’s Big Election Gamble & DUP Divisions Explained"
Watch here: youtube.com/watch?v=2rvGSFnp…
Listen on Podcast Apps: stormontsources.com/listen
@dmcbfs | @timcairns
Tim Cairns retweeted
“He honestly didn’t understand”
Steve Goff’s daughters, Madeleine and Freya, described on @GMB how their father was unaware of the dangers of gambling, which ultimately caused his death
We need independent, public health warnings about the risks of gambling, including suicide
Tim Cairns retweeted
Down the corridor at the same time as this shabby spectacle, the perm sec told the Finance Committee that it is now too late to get a pay deal for 20k plus civil servants in time for Christmas wages.
The two big parties would rather distract from that failure.
Tim Cairns retweeted
A statement on yesterday…..
Everything I said in that interview was true. However, rest assured I’m doing my best to turn things round.
I have been in a mental health clinic for the last 10 weeks, finally discharging so I could attempt to play in Belfast
I owed that to my family, in particular my daughter to see me play for what could be the last time….. I also owed it to the fans who have supported me throughout my 21 years on tour
I also owed that to World Snooker who have been amazing from day on in all this, in particular Simon Brownell and Neil Tomkins who have remained in touch regularly, even Simon paying me a visit in the clinic itself
I’m not ok, but I’m ok in that itself. I’ve been much worse in the last few months than you saw yesterday. I literally didn’t see a future in anything…..
My daughter kept me going, the therapists, staff and all the other patients were amazing and helped me through some really dark days
I see the light now that I couldn’t see before but I do now. I also know it won’t happen overnight. I’m a work in progress!!! My fight and determination on the table has always been there for ones to see. I need to show those same fighting qualities off it now for a while
Please don’t detract anything from Jordan yesterday, he’s been aware of my struggles and that can’t have been easy to play in but he handled it with grace and skill as I knew he would. Im proud to call him a friend
I hope the rest of the event is a success and I will continue my treatments going forward and then see what’s ahead
Thank you to every single message I have received on here, instagram, Facebook, text messages and WhatsApp’s, I’ve seen them all but a bit overwhelmed to reply right now. Just know that they have helped me a lot but I’m not going anywhere just yet!!!! I have so much to live for and this is only the beginning of my new journey
Also, I was not made to do any interviews, I was simply given a choice and felt I owed it to everyone to speak. The media team at WST have been incredible through all this too
Thank you all x
Tim Cairns retweeted
"There is currently no dedicated offence for operating or moderating websites that enable prostitution or sexual exploitation."
N Ireland all-party committee publishes report on pimping websites. The committee wants an amendment of the [Westminister-originated] Online Safety Act 2023 to ban Escort Ireland and wants Ofcom to enforce it.
care.org.uk/uploads/pages/Hi…
So, over to Westminster! But there are some other local recommendations in the report, which may make life more difficult for Escort Ireland in the meantime.
Believe it or not but the operator of Escort Ireland, Beige Bear Limited, which is part of the McCormick family OCG made a submission to the committee, but it doesn't appear to have been given much weight.
Your days are marked, Escort Ireland but until then, you'll be coining in €200,000 a week.
It's a fierce sad day for pimps! While we haven't yet seen the full report, the all-party (Nationalist, Unionist, Unaligned) committee at Stormont wants the Escort Ireland pimping and prostitution website banned in N Ireland (it is already illegal in the Republic).
Run by the McCormick family, featuring convicted pimps, Escort Ireland coins in €10m+ a year from advertising alone. It's like the Daft.ie of trafficking & misery. It could be banned in the Republic, where it is already illegal, by tea-time if Gardai or the Department of Justice (or even Media) decide to act.
We'll have more later when the "Hidden in Plain Sight: How Websites Advertising Prostitution Facilitate Sexual Exploitation in Northern Ireland" is published.
Thoughts & prayers pimps.
Tim Cairns retweeted
Are exclusion motions becoming more about political theatre than accountability at Stormont?
The Alliance Party’s approach to the latest exclusion motion comes under scrutiny following its decision not to support the exclusion of Sinn Féin ministers, despite having previously supported similar motions against unionist ministers.
The debate also raises questions about whether repeated exclusion motions are an effective way to hold ministers accountable, with alternative approaches suggested to ensure ministers remain in the Assembly and answer for their actions.
#Stormont #AllianceParty #SinnFein
@dmcbfs | @timcairns
Tim Cairns retweeted
Human trafficking is a "catastrophic" problem that is being "hidden in plain sight online", a Stormont inquiry has found.
bbc.in/3VUOBqY
Tim Cairns retweeted
“Unionism is much more split in this than what you think.”
This week the panel discusses divisions within unionism over how the DUP should respond to the ongoing situation at Stormont. Tim argues that some figures who would usually take a more moderate position are now pushing for a harder line, while others within the party are taking a softer approach.
#NorthernIrelandPolitics #Unionism
@dmcbfs | @timcairns
Tim Cairns retweeted
Is Gavin Robinson caught between competing views within unionism?
Tim Kearns argues that unionism is far from united on how to respond, with pressure coming from different sides of the DUP. David McCann asks whether Gavin is also weighing the long-term implications for the Union and whether bringing down the Executive could strengthen the case for constitutional change.
#DUP #Unionism #NorthernIrelandPolitics
@dmcbfs | @timcairns
Tim Cairns retweeted
This is significant 👇
@timcairns & I have argued over many dinners about Stormont. He’s certainly not in my camp of wanting to tear it down. Nor can he be dismissed as “anti agreement” or a “hardliner”. Id say Tim would self describe as being more moderate.
And yet, even a moderate and extremely reasonable unionist such as Tim thinks the DUP needs to eject Michelle O’Neill from office.
The notion being pushed by those clinging for salary & perks to office that this is some hardline anti-agreement conspiracy is for the birds. All sensible unionists see there is option but to resign the DFM & turf O’Neill out of office.
Tim Cairns retweeted
It is grotesque that Donaldson is likely to be released in seven years. The application of 50 per cent remission to such sentences is anathema to justice.
Jeffrey Donaldson sentencing: Entitlement to 50 per cent remission under fire trib.al/lECXdFS
This is a good piece by Jamie worth a read and I agree with him. I am not sure what propping up the First Minister achieves
🚨 ✍️ There are some in the DUP who have (in an effort to cling to the trappings of office) actively misrepresented the consequences of ejecting Michelle O’Neill from office. This dispels the fairytales ⬇️
unionistvoice.co.uk/news/dis…
Tim Cairns retweeted
🚨 ✍️ There are some in the DUP who have (in an effort to cling to the trappings of office) actively misrepresented the consequences of ejecting Michelle O’Neill from office. This dispels the fairytales ⬇️
unionistvoice.co.uk/news/dis…
Tim Cairns retweeted
The DUP should have resigned @little_pengelly weeks ago. It is the only honest & credible thing to do.
If it further transpires that PIRA not only exist, but were involved in the Garvaghy Mob rule, then one wonders if even the sheer desperation to cling to Ministerial office could manage to brazen that out.
We were told “profound consequences” and that it would not be “business as usual”. The only profound consequences is the DUP demonstrating how there is no principle they wouldn’t sacrifice to keep SF in office, and we literally had a galling lecture on the View about why it is business as usual.
The principled people in the DUP- of which there are many- need to stand up and be counted.