Labour and Lib Dem sources say turnout appears to be low in possible sign of Tory voters staying away
The Conservatives are braced for a nerve-shredding 24 hours after voting closed in local elections across the UK, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats expecting to make gains.
Taking place against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis, the first nationwide polls since Partygate will be widely read as a test of whether Boris Johnson has become an electoral liability.
Continue reading...Latest updates: elections take place in many areas across the UK with polling stations open from 7am to 10pm BST
Boris Johnson and the Japanese prime minister watched an RAF flypast together in Horse Guards Parade before their bilateral discussions in No 10, PA Media reports. PA says:
The pair stood on a dais as they witnessed a Voyager and two Typhoon fighter jets soar over St James’s Park and the parade ground.
Fumio Kishida was then invited in Japanese by the captain of the Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards, to inspect a guard of honour.
My forecast ... predicts that the Conservatives will lose more than 200 council seats across Great Britain on polling day (Thursday 5 May). They will suffer net losses of 63 in London, 38 across the rest of England, 83 in Scotland and 22 in Wales.
Labour, meanwhile, will make a net gain of 35 council seats in London but a net loss of 16 across the rest of England. That net loss, however, will be more than compensated for by net gains of 87 and 41 in Scotland and Wales respectively.
Continue reading...Religious orders called on to pay compensation for physical, sexual and psychological abuse carried out for more than 70 years
Victims of sexual, psychological and physical abuse of children in care in Northern Ireland have rejected a formal apology by religious orders and called on them to pay compensation.
Ministers and representatives of six institutions at the centre of the scandal on Friday issued a long-awaited statement saying sorry for what was described as “vile” and “unimaginable” abuse carried out for more than 70 years.
Continue reading...Leaders across Northern Irish political spectrum praised ‘passionate’ Stormont assembly member
Tributes from across Northern Ireland’s political divide have been paid to Christopher Stalford, a Democratic Unionist party member of the Northern Ireland assembly who has died suddenly at the age of 39.
The DUP leader, Jeffrey Donaldson, said he had talked at length on Friday night with Stalford, whom he described as a friend and as someone who had been “born to be a public representative”.
Continue reading...Official Irish data suggests boost in trade on island of Ireland, but imports from Great Britain fell €2.3bn
The impact of the first year of Brexit on Ireland has been revealed after official data showed cross-border trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland jumped by €2.8bn (£2.3bn) in 2021.
Full-year figures from Ireland’s Central Statistics Office show that imports to Ireland from Northern Ireland were up 65% to €3.9bn, a rise of €1.5bn compared with 2020.
Continue reading...Paul Givan’s move triggers parallel departure of deputy first minister and could bring forward elections
The first minister of Northern Ireland, the Democratic Unionist party’s Paul Givan, has resigned, plunging the devolved government at Stormont into turmoil two years after power-sharing with Sinn Féin was restored.
His resignation, over Brexit checks in the Irish Sea, will also bring the parallel departure of the Sinn Féin deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill, under the power-sharing arrangements.
Continue reading...PM says amendment is being pulled after Tory Northern Ireland affairs committee chair spoke out against it
The UK government has abandoned plans to introduce a law that would have allowed the leader of the Democratic Unionist party to potentially “double-job” in the Stormont assembly while remaining a Westminster MP.
Before a debate on the legislation in the Lords on Wednesday afternoon, Boris Johnson told the Commons that an amendment enabling dual mandates was being withdrawn.
Continue reading...Liz Truss and Simon Coveney meetup comes before talks on protocol with EU Brexit negotiator
The UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, and her Irish counterpart, Simon Coveney, have had a “good and friendly” first meeting over the vexed issue of the Brexit arrangements in Northern Ireland, Irish government sources have said.
They met for the first time over dinner in London on Thursday night and discussed the Northern Ireland protocol, the wider relationship with the EU, and UN security matters including the crisis in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Continue reading...The party is riding high in polls and could complete a seismic shift in Irish politics in three years’ time
Just 30 years ago the IRA was bombing Downing Street, launching three mortar bombs at No 10 while John Major presided over a cabinet meeting.
In 2021, Sinn Féin, the political party associated with the IRA for much of the Troubles, has moved into pole position to lead the Irish government in what could be the biggest shake-up of the state’s politics since its foundation 100 years ago.
Continue reading...EU law on medicines may be rewritten and UK has climbed down over ECJ. Here’s what we know
The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020 and all EU rules fell away at the start of 2021. Soon after, a row broke out over the Northern Ireland protocol, the tortuously negotiated agreement to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, by keeping Northern Ireland in the EU single market and customs union.
Continue reading...Brussels Brexit chief offers glimmer of hope, but London says threat of article 16 still on the table
A glimmer of hope of a solution to the dispute over the Northern Ireland Brexit arrangements has emerged after a fourth week of talks ended on Friday.
After a week of recriminations and the threat of a trade war, the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič said there had been a change in tone from the UK’s Brexit minister, David Frost, confirming the UK had stepped back from the brink of triggering article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol.
Continue reading...Brussels has been ‘preparing for worst’, with options ranging from tariffs on UK imports to ditching deal
David Frost, the UK’s Brexit minister, has warned there is a big gap between the EU and the UK negotiating positions as he enters talks with the European Commission over changes to the arrangements for trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The EU has offered to sweep away most customs and health checks on animal and plant products entering Northern Ireland under a revision of the current system but both sides privately recognise that fundamental differences remain between their visions for the future.
Continue reading...Four parties including DUP and Ulster Unionists issue statement warning of ‘grave damage’ under new rules
Four rival unionist parties in Northern Ireland have formed an alliance to fight the Brexit protocol, issuing a joint statement weeks after the Democratic Unionist party threatened to quit Stormont if it was not scrapped.
It is seen as a significant attempt to show that the DUP’s hardline position is not isolated before the expected publication by the EU of fresh proposals to address UK demands to substantially rewrite the protocol.
Continue reading...Referral to prosecutors comes as UK told plan to end Troubles prosecutions ‘could breach international law’
A former police officer of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) has been referred to public prosecutors in Northern Ireland in relation to a series of potential offences including the sectarian murder of three brothers.
John Martin, 24, Brian, 22, and their 17-year-old brother, Anthony Reavey, were shot by the notorious loyalist Glenanne gang at their home in County Armagh in 1976.
Continue reading...European human rights commissioner warns Northern Ireland secretary that amnesty is ‘deeply problematic’
Boris Johnson’s plan to impose a statute of limitations to end all prosecutions related to the Troubles before 1998 could be in breach of international law, a European human rights commissioner has told the government.
Dunja Mijatović of the Council of Europe has written to the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Brandon Lewis, saying the UK’s proposals appear indistinguishable from an unconditional amnesty for those not yet convicted.
Continue reading...Two-thirds of people say a border poll should be held at some point in the wake of Brexit
Two-thirds of voters in Northern Ireland believe there should be a vote over its place in the UK, but only 37% want it to take place within the next five years, according to a new poll for the Observer.
Some 31% of voters said there should be a vote at some point about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK but after 2026, the LucidTalk poll found. A further 29% said there should never be such a vote. There is currently a seven-point lead for Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK should any vote take place.
Continue reading...Proposals to end prosecutions relating to Troubles before 1998 opposed by Irish government
All criminal prosecutions relating to the Troubles and future attempts to take civil actions would be blocked under UK government plans that have united Northern Ireland’s parties in opposition.
The proposals, which are also opposed by the Irish government, were announced by Brandon Lewis, the Northern Ireland secretary, who told MPs it was a “painful truth” that criminal investigations were unlikely to deliver successful outcomes.
Continue reading...Irish foreign minister hits out at Brexit minister over provocative article on Northern Ireland protocol
The EU fears that Boris Johnson wants to “dismantle” the Northern Ireland protocol, the Irish foreign minister has said, as relations between Brussels and London deteriorated again after remarks by the Brexit minister David Frost in the past 24 hours.
Simon Coveney told RTÉ on Sunday that EU leaders feared the worst after what he felt was a provocative article written by Lord Frost and the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, in the Irish Times on Saturday.
Continue reading...Sir Jeffrey Donaldson seeks to draw line under party infighting and adopts hard line on Irish Sea border
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has demanded the removal of the Northern Ireland protocol, in his first speech as leader of the Democratic Unionist party.
The MP for Lagan Valley took a hard line over the Irish Sea border on Thursday, calling it the “greatest threat to the economic integrity of the United Kingdom in any of our lifetimes”.
Continue reading...Analysis: the leader of the DUP in Northern Ireland has quit after just 21 days in the job
Edwin Poots has resigned as leader of the Democratic Unionist party after just 21 days in the job. What has prompted the latest dramatic development in the leadership of Northern Ireland’s biggest party?
Continue reading...