Mick looks at Claire Hanna’s direct if deliberately modest assault on the St Andrews settlement with three targeted institutional reforms — and she has done so at precisely the moment Sinn Féin can least afford the scrutiny.
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.
Jim Allister MP argues that the “Stormont Brake” and “Applicability Motions” have failed to protect Northern Ireland’s democratic integrity. He calls for full re-enfranchisement, rejecting these “demeaning mechanisms” in favour of a solution that restores true citizenship and parliamentary accountability.
Northern Ireland house prices have surged 45% since the pandemic, with regional districts like Derry and Ards outperforming Belfast. Mick explores how infrastructure bottlenecks and a “catch-up” effect are driving this record growth.
Does demographic change make Irish unity inevitable? Responding to claims that unionism is fading into irrelevance, Lorna Smyth argues that constitutional change requires more than slogans and census data—it requires practical answers on healthcare, the economy, and identity that have yet to be provided.
While Northern Republicanism remains preoccupied with the “semiotics” of defiance and historical score-settling, the dream of a 32-county state is stalling and the divergences between North and South are widening. If the Good Friday Agreement was meant to be a bridge, why has it been turned into a trench? Mick argues it’s time to trade 19th-century tactics for 21st-century statecraft.
As calls for Unionist unity and electoral pacts resurface ahead of the 2026 elections, Terry argues that political unionism is trapped in a “mental bloc.” The movement is failing to engage a new generation of pro-union voters who value cultural hybridity over old denominational structures. Is unionist re-alignment a path to renewal, or merely the final throes of a tired ritual?
In the high-stakes world of geopolitics, the belief that “chai and chat” can disarm a dictator is a dangerous delusion. From the “bad actor” tactics of Putin to the military vulnerabilities of neutral Ireland, Gary Kent argues Europe must transition from reliance on American to becoming a military superpower in its own right.
The row over the Ulster Banner at the 2026 Commonwealth Games must be one the shortest crisis in recent NI history, but it proves that while it doesn’t take much to NI’s successful sporting arena into a political minefield, only time, work and unending commitment can bring the generative change needed to make Northern Ireland a warm house for all.
Northern Ireland is no longer a simple two-way divide. As a growing “middle ground” of voters begins to prioritize economic stability, healthcare, and public services over traditional ideology, Independent Unionist MP Alex Easton argues that Unionism must stop the infighting and start selling the tangible benefits of the UK. From the £25 billion fiscal gap to the strengths of the NHS, Easton explores why the Union remains the most viable path forward—if Unionists can finally get their act together.
Historian Hiram Morgan explores a Mediterranean capital untouched by mass tourism, where the gritty realism of the Battle of Algiers meets the unexpected jungle of Tarzan. Discover a city of revolutionary monuments, ancient Casbahs, and vibrant Berber revival.
My previous post has helped spark an interesting debate elsewhere. What seems to have piqued that interest was my view that since 2016 (the last time there was an actual three year budget) there’s been a loss of seriousness within the two senior parties about doing government particularly in comparison to administrations led by those same parties prior to 2016. The fiscal black hole both now face didn’t come from nowhere. Although there is a case to argue that austerity …
When is a budget not a budget? Answer when it’s a ghost budget. That’s the term the SDLP opposition leader Matthew O’Toole used yesterday to describe a few pages of rushed homework the Finance Minister John O’Dowd is choosing to call a budget. This downright weird exercise in PR comes before any of his Executive colleagues had a chance to look at how he proposes to deal with their collective bids. So, in effect O’Dowd is breaking collective responsibility in …
Is a United Ireland inevitable, or is the status quo strengthening? This final installment of our University of Liverpool survey series tackles the Border Poll head-on. While support for unity has risen since 2017, recent data reveals a slight decline and a sobering demographic shift: a shrinking youth electorate. With 59.4% of decided voters favoring the UK, we explore why the “50+1” threshold remains a significant, and perhaps growing, challenge for pro-unity campaigners. We have been testing the border polls …
In the final episode of the first series of the Slugger Cato Project, we sat down with DUP MLA and former Minister Diane Dodds. For those new to the series, this project is a shared inquiry into the mechanics of government—specifically those corners of the Northern Ireland Assembly that often remain hidden from public view. Before diving into Diane’s insights, it is worth reflecting on the feedback from last week’s conversation with Sinn Féin’s Pat Sheehan. The response from our …
Part two of Professor Peter Shirlow‘s survey analysis dives into the stark challenges facing Northern Ireland’s political blocs. Our data reveals zero growth in the pro-unity vote share since 1998, despite demographic shifts, and significant internal flux within pro-unionism. Both major constitutional camps show an over-reliance on traditional voters and a lack of strategy to attract younger, policy-focused, and non-aligned electors. We explore the ‘problematic’ findings—from voter leakage to the constitutional commitment gap—shaping the path to 2027. In this second …
In part one of this detailed analysis from Professor Peter Shirlow, Director of the Institute of Irish Studies at the University of Liverpool, captures critical in-time attitudes, revealing a halting decline in the pro-union vote and a stalled pro-unity share. Critically, he examines the rise of non-constitutional parties and voter resistance to collapsing the Assembly. The data suggests Northern Ireland’s electorate is far from predictable. Methodology The current survey is based on a sample of 1534 Northern Ireland electors aged …
The Slugger Cato Project is an inquiry hosted by Mick Fealty, and is dedicated to exploring the less-visible aspects of governance and political action in Northern Ireland. It aims to investigate the inner workings of the Stormont government, analysing how politicians navigate bureaucratic systems and fulfil their representative roles. This series is an active investigation, shedding light on the mechanics of modern governance that often remain obscured. Our readers’ contributions have already given us much food for thought. “Finaghy” introduced the …
In the Slugger Cato Project, our mission is clear, and even a little bit ambitious. It’s not simply to spotlight voices you might not typically hear from – though we often will. Our true purpose is to delve into the often frustrating interface between the public and the democratic institutions that were established under the Belfast, or Good Friday, Agreement. It’s a system designed for peace, which often struggles with the practicalities of good government (see Brian’s Panto analogy below). …
What if the latest flag controversy – the decision by nationalists to fly the Palestinian flag over Belfast city hall – is not actually about Northern Ireland? What if it’s not even about Palestine? It is difficult to find any pro-Israel voices within Irish nationalism – North and South – but what if the flag incident in Belfast or the attempted removal of Chaim Herzog’s name from a park in Dublin are taken at face-value? I suggest that viewing Irish …
