The agenda for Starmer and Martin in Cork
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The long drawn out saga of new British legacy legislation falls between two stools. Too much law for anti “lawfare” campaigners. Not enough legal enforcement for some victims groups and “transitional justice” experts. Facing this dreary deadlock we need …
No Through Road / Ní Trébhóthar É Seo: Belfast’s Dual-Language Street Sign Impasse…
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When Declan Kearney, Sinn Féin MLA and former party chairman, accused Gordon Lyons, the DUP Communities Minister responsible for the Irish language strategy, of presiding over a ministry hostile to the language, Lyons responded with an inversion. It was …
Will V-Level Qualifications help young people to build secure, future-proof careers?
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While announcing the introduction of the new post-16 V-Levels (Vocational Levels – available in England from 2027), Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the “bold reforms” will end the snobbery in post-16 education, and support young people to build secure, future-proof …
State Schools, Church Governors: Time for a Separation? Part 2
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Avoniel In December 2025, Paul Givan opened a new £16.5 million controlled primary school on Avoniel Road in East Belfast. The building — a Grade A listed structure designed in 1933 by Reginald S. Wilshere, the architect responsible for a …
SDLP Motion on ‘Equalising’ First Minister titles
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On Monday the SDLP laid a motion before the assembly calling for the the titles of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to be ‘equalised’ (presumably as Joint First Minister). Party leader Claire Hanna is quoted in the Irish …
The Long Game: Why the Border Poll Debate Needs a Reality Check
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After thirty years of post-Agreement politics, support for a united Ireland hasn’t moved. The border poll debate needs a reality check — and only one party has worked out what a credible long-term strategy actually looks like.
John Taylor and the Inevitability of Irish Unity?
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John Taylor’s interview with Alex Kane in the Irish News last week is still causing ripples, particularly his claim that Irish unity is probably inevitable, and that unionists should prepare for it. On Twitter last week I posted a message …
Why Are We Still Giving a 70% Business Rates Discount to One of Northern Ireland’s Best-Performing Sectors?
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Walk down most high streets in Northern Ireland — Lisburn, Ballymena, Newry, Newtownards, and the secondary streets of Belfast — and you will see town and city centres in distress. Empty shop units sit alongside an over-proliferation of charity shops, …
Celebrating 25 Years of the Living Wage Campaign: With 1 in 6 jobs paid below the Living Wage in Northern Ireland Fair Pay Matters More Than Ever
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Mary McManus is the Regional Manager for Living Wage NI In 2001, in the City of London, faith leaders, union members and teachers staged a bold action in a major bank to demand a real Living Wage. That spark ignited …
As the End Beckons, Starmer faces his Final Humiliations
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Keir Starmer may not want to admit it, but the general belief at this moment in time is that he is entering the twilight of his premiership. His political capital has been depleted by his many missteps with each one …