Johnson’s Brexit left ‘wholly negative legacy’ across Ireland, says new SDLP leader

Claire Hanna lambasts arrogance of former PM and ‘stinking status quo’ in Stormont that has stifled ambition

Boris Johnson left a “wholly negative legacy” for the island of Ireland but difficulties in Northern Ireland also stem from a “stinking status quo” that has stifled ambition and drive for change, the new leader of the Social Democratic and Labour party has said.

Weeks after taking over from Colum Eastwood, Claire Hanna, spoke about her plans to revive the SDLP, pull Northern Ireland out of past mindsets and fight for new partnerships with Dublin on health and other public services.

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Starmer rejects Badenoch’s claim Labour is ‘clueless’ and urges Tories to apologise for the ‘mess they made’ – as it happened

PM says he will not take lectures from previous government as Kemi Badenoch launches Tory leadership campaign

Kemi Badenoch is speaking now. She says she wants to talk about the future.

She was born in the UK, but “grew up under socialism”, she says (referring to her childhood in Nigeria).

Labour have no ideas. At best, they are announcing things we have already done, and at their worst, they are clueless, irresponsible and dishonest.

They are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the public about the state of Britain’s finances, placing political donors into civil service jobs, pretending that they have no plans to cut pensioner benefits before the election and then doing exactly that to cover the cost of pay rises for the unions with no promise of reform, But their model of spend, spend, spend is broken, and they don’t know what to do, and this will only lead to even more cynicism in politics.

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Rishi Sunak speaks of ‘hurt and anger’ at daughters having to hear Reform activist’s racist slur about him – UK general election live

PM responds to comments by Reform activists, who were filmed by Channel 4 reporter while canvassing in Clacton

Here’s the latest in the Guardian’s series on The broken years: Tory Britain 2010-24:

Unless the polls are wildly inaccurate, the Conservative party is heading towards a catastrophic defeat in the coming election.

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Sinn Féin hail ‘momentous’ result as party set to become largest in NI councils

The party had 134 elected councillors by 5pm on Saturday, with gains achieved across the region

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill has hailed a “momentous” result as the party remains on course to become the largest in councils in Northern Ireland.

As the count stretched into Saturday evening, the republican party had 134 elected councillors by 5pm, with gains achieved across the region.

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Northern Ireland power sharing slips to 2023 as few relish a winter election

Delay to protocol resolution likely to pause Stormont elections that were expected this year

The UK has given a six-month deadline for the Northern Ireland protocol row to be resolved, indicating Liz Truss is far more relaxed about the absence of a devolved government in Stormont than previously indicated.

An April 2023 date for the resolution of the Brexit row emerged after a meeting between the prime minister and the US president, Joe Biden, and would coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday agreement.

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Bloody Sunday families reject decision to charge only one soldier

Relatives of some of the 14 people killed to challenge ruling by Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service

The families of those who died in the 1972 Bloody Sunday killings in Derry are to challenge a legal decision not to prosecute any more former soldiers in connection with the shootings.

Relatives expressed dismay after a review by the Northern Ireland Public Prosecution Service (PPS), published on Tuesday, confirmed that only one former member of the Parachute Regiment, known as Soldier F, should face charges.

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Seamus Mallon, architect of Good Friday agreement, dies aged 83

Tributes pour in for former deputy first minister of Northern Ireland

Seamus Mallon, an architect of the Northern Ireland peace process who served as deputy first minister, has died at the age of 83.

Tributes from across the political spectrum in Ireland and the UK poured in after the SDLP announced on Friday that its former deputy leader had died.

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