Last week, Nigel Farage claimed that, if he became prime minister, his government would deport up to 600,000 illegal immigrants. The announcement dominated the week’s news, panicked Labour and the Tories and strengthened Reform UK’s status as the party to beat at the next general election. From that point of view, it was another resounding […]
In May, Keir Starmer claimed that his Government’s latest deal with Brussels would ‘reset’ the UK’s relationship with the EU. The Prime Minister said that, among other gains, the Irish Sea border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland would soon soften, thanks to an impending Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement on food and animal products. Unfortunately, […]
After a Dublin court awarded Gerry Adams €100,000 (£84,500) in damages, the Belfast Telegraph published a curious column by its crime correspondent, Allison Morris. She argued that a new generation viewed the former Sinn Fein president through a ‘modern lens’ rather than dwelling on the ‘horrors of the past’. Younger members of the jury were, […]
The Prime Minister hailed a ‘new era’ of friendship between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland last week, as the two governments met for a summit in Liverpool. This event was supposed to mark an official ‘reset’ of relationships. The Irish claim these broke down because of Conservative unreasonableness in the wake of […]
Since the ‘peace process’ of the 1990s, the St Patrick’s Day event at the White House has become a much-anticipated junket for politicians north and south of the Irish border. This annual celebration of paddywhackery brings traditional enemies together in pursuit of US patronage and cash, while the backdrop of shamrocks and Guinness appeals to […]
When Labour came to power, some Ulster unionists believed that their problems with the Irish Sea border might start to ease. They hoped that Keir Starmer’s plans to ‘reset’ the UK’s relationship with the EU would make trade barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland increasingly redundant. So far, the Government has done almost nothing […]
The Northern Ireland Assembly is set to vote to maintain the Windsor Framework, despite the trade barriers and political instability this post-Brexit trade deal brought to the Province. Under power-sharing rules, controversial motions require cross-community support, meaning that they must gain backing from Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) in both the unionist and Irish […]
Over the past three days, the Republic of Ireland has been counting votes from its snap general election and the results might seem like something of a paradox. The Irish electorate remains clearly disillusioned with its political ‘elite’, but the combined strength of the traditional parties, Fianna Fail (FF) and Fine Gael (FG), means that […]
By any standards, the Democratic Unionist Party has so far had a difficult year. On Saturday, at the DUP’s annual conference, its leaders tried to move on from nine months of turmoil and launch plans to reclaim its former position as Northern Ireland’s largest party. That will not be an easy task, given the continued […]
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is again searching for a new leader, after Doug Beattie shocked journalists and activists on Monday by tendering his resignation. The former Army Captain, who was awarded the Military Cross for bravery in Afghanistan, cited ‘irreconcilable differences’ with party officers and an ‘inability to shape the party going forwards’. Ironically, […]
In Northern Ireland, the regional branch of the Labour Party claims to have some 2,000 members. Yesterday, none of those activists could get involved in electing the new government, because their party again refused to stand candidates in the province. The Labour party has ‘fraternal’ links with the Social Democatic and Labour Party (SDLP) in […]
The day after Rishi Sunak called a general election during a deluge of rain outside Number 10, he travelled to Belfast to campaign in the city’s Titanic Quarter. Was it brave or foolish to ignore the potential symbolism, as headline writers asked whether the Conservative Party would be swept away or sunk after the British […]
On Monday, the High Court in Belfast ruled that the Government’s scheme to send asylum seekers to Rwanda would not apply in Northern Ireland. The judge said that Rishi Sunak’s flagship Illegal Migration Act breached human rights protections enshrined in the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework. The Government is likely to appeal this judgment, […]
The atmosphere at this week’s British Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC), which involved ministers from London and Dublin, was distinctly chilly. This wasn’t particularly surprising, given that before the meeting even took place, the Republic’s Justice Minister, Helen McEntee, blamed the UK and the Rwanda Act for an influx of asylum seekers to Ireland. The Irish […]
The Republic of Ireland entered a new political era this week, as Fine Gael’s 37 year-old leader, Simon Harris, was elected Taoiseach, replacing Leo Varadkar. The outgoing Irish Prime Minister announced recently that he would resign for unspecified ‘personal and political’ reasons. Mr Varadkar may have been coy about his decision-making, but it was surely […]
In the aftermath of Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s arrest, Northern Ireland’s political institutions and its largest unionist party face an uncertain future. Last week, the former DUP leader was charged with historical sex offences, causing genuine shock and dismay across the province. Donaldson resigned from that position immediately and was replaced on an interim basis by […]
Often, when the story of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is recounted, supporters of violent republicanism like Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness are portrayed as peacemakers. In these accounts, it was their influence that caused the IRA to abandon terror and pursue politics. The truth is that the violence really ended thanks to the British […]
The Government at Westminster and the recently restored Stormont executive are already at odds over money. Against that backdrop, the Irish Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, promised on Tuesday that his administration would spend £685m on ‘cross border projects’ in Northern Ireland. This apparent show of generosity is self-serving, and the sums are derisory in comparison to […]
The Stormont Assembly has now completed its first week back at work, amid a giddy, almost celebratory mood in the Parliament Buildings. As the editor of Northern Ireland’s unionist daily newspaper, the News Letter, pointed out in a recent column, it almost felt as if opposition to the Irish Sea border had never existed. Surrounded […]
In an atmosphere of political theatre, or perhaps high farce, the DUP’s executive decided to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland during the early hours of Tuesday morning. Its ‘secret venue’, the Larchfield Estate near Lisburn, was chosen specifically for its secure location, but, from early evening, protesters gathered outside the gates to urge delegates to […]
