A disingenuous and ill-advised legal wrangle will only highlight the fact that Northern Ireland is a place apart

If the beleaguered party thinks Boris Johnson is going to ride to its rescue, it is mistaken

Unusually frank statements by the former chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne reveal how many senior British public figures see the North as irrelevant and reunification as inevitable

Rather than admit it made a monumental mistake which will cost the North dearly, the party shamelessly denies any culpability for the mess

The continued smearing of murdered solicitor Pat Finucane’s reputation suggests that unionist politicians feel Britain can engage in terrorism without any erosion of moral authority

The coronavirus crisis should prompt us to deal with the chronic lack of cooperation between health services on this island. Instead, it has sparked a few Zoom calls

Comment: With the North’s civil service in disarray and in need of reform, no one has been appointed to take the job in hand. But maybe the DUP and Sinn Féin like it that way

Arlene Foster survived the ‘cash for ash’ scandal, but she is facing challenges from within the DUP, partly because of perceived arrogance and her unwillingness to listen to senior party members’ advice

There is still work to be done, and we need a leader like Hume for the next phase of this island’s future

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Irish and British universities have discovered the fragility of their reliance on the huge fees paid by a seemingly limitless pool of international students, and will also have to ask themselves whether they are educational institutions focused on the public good, or primarily businesses focused on revenue raising

The idea that the deaths of elderly people are to be expected is one of the most pernicious beliefs to have taken hold during this nightmare

Instead of united action to deal with the pandemic, the dysfunctional executive has descended into playing green and orange politics

While it’s crucial that the PSNI reflects the communities it serves, the proposal to reinstate 50:50 Catholic and Protestant recruitment is a knee-jerk reaction

Refusing to discuss Irish unity no longer makes any sense for the DUP –talking about a united Ireland is not the same as supporting it

Any proposals from the DUP or Sinn Féin for the re-establishment of Stormont must be accompanied by plans for reform that will learn from past mistakes

Spiralling waiting lists and a failure to tackle high rates of mental illness are glaring symptoms of the breakdown at Stormont

The Democratic Unionist Party got a taste of power, but they overplayed their hand and were outmanoeuvred by Brexiteers whose commitment to the union ultimately came second to their desire to get Brexit done

The SDLP was floored by the loss of its then leader Mark Durkan’s seat in the 2017 general election wipeout. Two years later, it has yet to get back on its feet

In a party whose leaders are anointed, rather than contested, the challenge to O’Neill may signal a move towards more democratic principles