NI POLITICS Council election results send message that Stormont must return – Sinn FeinSinn Fein lead the way with 47 councillors elected. The DUP was next on 35, the cross-community Alliance Party had 15, the Ulster Unionists 11, the SDLP six, with six others
Northern Ireland Liz Truss sets out plans to override Northern Ireland ProtocolBritish Foreign Secretary tells House of Commons that UK government will proceed with a bill ‘consistent’ with obligations under international law and Good Friday Agreement
Northern Ireland Dan O’Brien: It’s considered heresy to say this, but the Good Friday Agreement has never lived up to expectations If the outcome of the Northern Ireland elections is considered a success for reconciliation then one has to wonder what failure would look like
Brexit Britain escalates threats over Northern Ireland protocol Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, says British government ‘will not shy away’ from taking unilateral steps unless a new agreement can be reached
Northern Ireland Seismic shifts leave the big players at a crossroadsThe DUP has softened its tone about having Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin as First Minister, but as the dust settles from Thursday’s vote, there is still considerable work to be done to form a new Executive at Stormont
Sinn Féin hopeful of becoming largest party with counting underway in NI electionsThe SDLP face a tough battle amid a surge in support for Alliance candidates
Daniel Murray on the campaign trail: It’s make-or-break for unionism as Sinn Féin closes in on top prizeIf the opinion polls are accurate, and Sinn Féin qualifies for the position of First Minister after the Northern Assembly elections, can the DUP be brought back to the table to form an executive?
Deirdre Heenan: Clinging on to the North’s ‘two tribes’ system is undesirable and unsustainableIt may be time to accept that Northern Ireland’s current system of mandatory coalition is obsolete and outdated
Elaine Byrne: Change comes gradually, then suddenly to politics in IrelandA historic, once-in-a-generation political upheaval is surely on the way in Northern Ireland. But will it survive it?
John Walsh: It is in all our interests for South to pay closer attention to events in the North The current unstable backdrop in Northern Ireland could have consequences south of the border and it is crucial that differences over the protocol are resolved
Deirdre Heenan: Donaldson and the DUP persist in digging their own political graveThe party is painting the upcoming election as ‘a battle for Northern Ireland’, but its own strategy suggests a deep-seated desire for self-destruction
Michael Brennan on the campaign trail: Northern elections result to hinge on bread and butter issuesDespite unionist calls for a change to the Northern Protocol and Sinn Féin pushing for a border poll, canvassers on the ground are finding voters more exercised about the cost of living
Deirdre Heenan: Beattie turns his back on extremists, but it may be too little too late for this electionDoug Beattie promised to recast the Ulster Unionist Party as progressive before joining hardline unionists in opposing the protocol; he has now distanced himself from them in what could be the start of a rebuilding process for the UUP and unionism itself
Kevin Meagher: Why a united Ireland is closer than we thinkThe key elements necessary to justify a vote on the North’s constitutional future are likely to be in place within the next few years
John Walsh: Demand for removal of NI protocol is a battle unionists will not win The EU is strong, Brexit is a disaster and most Northern young people are no longer identity voters: unionists need to wake up to these new realities
Deirdre Heenan: DUP has been broken by Brexit and is in danger of dying from discord Festering wounds over leadership, increasing factionalism and a declining voter base suggests this is the beginning of the end for the DUP
Stormont elections loom as dispute over Northern Ireland protocol rumbles on Retail group says there is no evidence to back the DUP’s claim that protocol is costing the Northern Ireland economy £850 million per year
Deirdre Heenan: DUP’s increasingly desperate behaviour has all the signs of a party looking at the political wildernessThe DUP’s decision to dissolve the executive is an act of narrow, naked self-interest, which is unlikely to rescue it or return it to its former dominant position
John Walsh: Why we must avoid a border poll becoming Ireland’s BrexitIt is time the government started looking at what a united Ireland might entail, no matter how provocative that might be for unionists, because a vote for unity without adequate preparation could have serious consequences
Paul Givan resigns as Northern Ireland first minister Givan’s resignation a direct result of DUP’s concerns over the Northern Ireland protocol
