Stephen Donnan-Dalzell

Alliance Surge – Is Lagan Valley an exception or an indication of the future?

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on July 9, 2024, 4:40 pm

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The dust has barely settled on the much anticipated general election which saw the Labour Party returned to power, after fourteen years, with a whopping Parliamentary majority of one hundred and seventy-two seats. As much as it pleases me to see the Conservatives hammered and consigned to the opposition benches for hopefully a long time, I’d like to look a bit closer to home. Namely what happens now for the local parties given the shock win of both Sorcha Eastwood …

After The Dust Settles on #LE23…

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on May 25, 2023, 11:00 am

| Readers 3944

With the dust almost settled after a tumultuous election that turned many red areas a deep green, it’s time to look at the impact of some key points. This local election was fraught with disinterest, a lack of media coverage, and a general apathy amongst the public for electoral drama. It’s hard to blame them, with a second Assembly collapse in the space of six years, and the damage done by Brexit, the electorate can hardly be held responsible for …

Why Jeffrey Donaldson Doesn’t Want A By-Election Now…

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on May 11, 2022, 10:23 am

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The dust hasn’t even begun to settle in the aftermath of what became an historic Assembly election. With the DUP barely making it to second place, squeezed between Sinn Fein as the largest party, and the Alliance Party more than doubling their seats. One thing that has been slightly overlooked in the wake of the election, and the DUP leader’s insistence that they won’t nominate Executive Ministers until the NI Protocol has been addressed, is the fact that Sir Jeffrey …

Givan Resigns: What Next?

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on February 3, 2022, 2:46 pm

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This is obviously a fast moving situation but as of now we understand, as broken by Stephen Nolan on his morning show, that First Minister Paul Givan will resign his post today at 4:30pm, effective immediately. This follows quickly on the heels of Minister for Agriculture, former DUP leader Edwin Poots, ordering an end to agri-food checks at ports as of midnight last night (or is it this morning? I never understood that). A spokesperson from DAERA stated told the …

Ashers: A Long Running Saga Is About To End…

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on January 5, 2022, 11:37 am

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I don’t need to rehash the entire timeline of the Lee v Ashers Baking Company suffice to say that the issue has plagued both the human rights, and the LGBT sector since 2014. I was somewhat involved in the originating event that sparked the entire mishegas, a simple celebratory event held in Bangor Town Hall, hosted by then Mayor Andrew Muir (now MLA for North Down) for Queerspace – a long-running LGBT organisation based in Belfast that has been at …

If Arlene Foster Goes, Who Steers The DUP Ship?

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on April 27, 2021, 4:39 pm

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Rumours circulating on social media today, as well as reporting by The News Letter’s Sam McBride, indicate that Arlene Foster’s time at the helm of the DUP, and as First Minister, is coming to a close. If rumours are to be believed (and we all need a big dash of salt these days) then this is something outside of the First Minister’s immediate control. With plummeting polling numbers showing the DUP to drop below Sinn Fein in next year’s Assembly …

The UUP have no idea what their message is…

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on February 8, 2021, 5:17 pm

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It’s almost bizarre to think that at one point the Ulster Unionist Party ruled the roost in Northern Ireland, indeed up until relatively recently they were the largest Unionist party on the island. But the days of an Ulster Unionist First Minister, with MPs in Westminster and domination over local Government are long gone. With a succession of party leaders, splits, defections and bloody noses at the polls I have often wondered what the future is for the UUP in …

Unionism’s Approach To The NI Protocol Is Disappointing But Not Surprising…

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on February 6, 2021, 12:05 pm

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I’m not going to pretend to understand the legal minutiae of the Northern Ireland Protocol, Article 16, or the ins and outs of the Brexit agreement struck between the UK and the EU, but what I do understand is the reaction from mainstream Unionism, and that’s what I’m going to talk about. Before I get into it I just want to put out there that I voted Remain, my husband voted Leave. I live in a working class, predominantly Protestant …

Where did it all go wrong for the DUP?

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on December 18, 2019, 10:01 am

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Last Thursday’s general election was certainly a shock to the system for the DUP, and Unionists in general, with not a single Unionist party gaining any seats. The DUP lost the formerly safe seat of North Belfast to Sinn Fein’s John Finucane and Emma Little-Pengelly lost South Belfast to the SDLP’s Claire Hanna. It’s not hard to paint a picture that Unionism had a terrible night, even if the Ulster Unionists benefitted from a modest boost of nearly ten thousand …

Change Is Coming, And The DUP Can’t Do Anything About It…

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on October 18, 2019, 7:31 am

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It still doesn’t feel real, the prospect that marriage equality and abortion reform will become legal realities on Monday the 21st October, but here we are. I’m not counting my chickens before they hatch but as someone who has been at the forefront of the marriage equality campaign for the guts of a decade, it’s strange to see the culmination of the work you’ve been doing with fellow travellers for the last eight years come to fruition. I remember that …

Any New Ireland Would Need to Accommodate Unionists…

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on October 7, 2019, 12:26 pm

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Over twenty years since the Good Friday Agreement and we haven’t had an Assembly for over two years, and Brexit threatens to fundamentally reshape the tone of the entire political landscape on this island for at least a generation. Talk of a border poll is once again in the news as Boris Johnson makes a spectacle of the UK, and his Government, during the ongoing Brexit saga. The idea that somehow the NI Assembly will be responsible for agreeing to …

Is the LGBT community about to be thrown under the bus again?

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on June 17, 2019, 7:56 pm

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If any of you are like me and are a massive political nerd, then the current round of talks aimed at restoring the Northern Ireland Executive have probably been as exciting and enthralling as washing the dishes. I’m not for a moment insinuating that the talks process isn’t important. But much like washing the dishes, it’s now become routine, benign and banal. Karen Bradley continues to underwhelm and underperform at the most basic level, as both the Alliance Party and …

Sinn Féin are the Greatest Advocates for a United Ireland but are they the Biggest Barrier to it?

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on May 29, 2019, 3:29 pm

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In the wake of the local and European elections, North & South of Ireland, a number of things have become clear for both Unionism and Nationalism in Northern Ireland, and significantly, questions will be asked of Sinn Féin after a hammering at the ballot box. Sinn Féin have been the most vocal and vociferous advocates for a United Ireland, since their inception. It is their raison d’être and has dictated everything for them from policy to electoral strategy to fundraising …