As Nicholas said, “This is an election with few dramatic changes.” But, for the record, here are the %s of all the first preference votes from the Northern Ireland Local Government elections. [Updated 462 of 462 seats allocated] Party 1st Pref. +/-* Seats DUP 23.1% -4.1% 130 SF 24.1% -0.7% 105 UUP 16.1% +0.9% 88 SDLP 13.6% -1.4% 66 Others 16.5% +6.1% 41 Alliance 6.7% -0.7% 32 *Comparison with First Preference Share in 2011 What drama there is …
According to a BBC report, the NI21 party executive has announced a policy change on the eve of the party’s first foray into an actual election. From the BBC report NI21 has announced it will change its designation at the Northern Ireland Assembly from unionist to ‘other’. The party’s executive took the decision ahead of Thursday’s European and local government elections. NI21 was set up by MLAs Basil McCrea and John McCallister, after they quit the Ulster Unionist Party in …
Well, perhaps… A bearded Austrian man in a dress, Conchita Wurst, won the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhagen on Saturday night with “Rise Like a Phoenix” – the title quote was his line from the winner’s press conference. The 25-year-old singer also told reporters in Vienna On the theme of tolerance, Wurst told reporters in the Austrian capital: “This will remain an issue for a long time and I fear I won’t see the end of it in my lifetime. It …
When the BBC leaked the proposed route of the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia 2014 last week it was greeted by ritual wailing and gnashing of teeth by various representatives of the ‘excluded’ west Belfast. And with the whingeing out of the way, the official announcement was able to be welcomed with more decorum by the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers, as well as the Tourism Minister and the Minister for Regional Development. [And the NI Minister with responsibility …
It looks increasingly likely that confirmation of the rumoured plans to start the 2014 Giro d’Italia in Belfast, before heading to Dublin, will be made tomorrow. As Cycling Weekly reports The Giro d’Italia organiser RCS Sport has a lot on its plate this week, announcing the 2014 start from Belfast tomorrow and dealing with 19 WorldTour teams. The organiser sent an invitation on Friday for the “Official presentation of a new collaboration between RCS Sport and the Island of Ireland.” The presentation will …
It could be some time before we get an answer to that question – official confirmation that cycling’s 2013 Giro would start in Naples only came in June last year. But there’s been a flurry of activity following a L’Equipe report last night that sources were confirming that Belfast would host the start of the 2014 Giro d’Italia. As the Guardian reported There are strong indications that in 2014 the United Kingdom will host the Giro d’Italia as well as the Tour de France, which …
