Monthly Archives: January 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met with members of the Northern Ireland Executive at Stormont this afternoon, Monday 13 January. The Conservative leader was accompanied by Secretary of State Julian Smith to mark the restoration of devolution to the region. They met the first and deputy first ministers to discuss the government’s new priorities as well as each of the region’s new ministers, who were appointed on Saturday. The DUP and Sinn Fein remain in the top jobs at Stormont, with Arlene Foster reappointed as First Minister and Michelle O’Neill as Deputy. All five of the region’s main parties united to form the executive under the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ deal last week after three years of political stalemate. Sinn Fein’s Alex Maskey has said he was “honoured” to take up the role of Speaker after he was nominated during the first order of business. Three deputy speakers were also … Continue reading →

Northern Ireland’s 90 assembly members are back in Stormont this week after the devolved government was restored at the weekend. The assembly sat for the first time in three years on Saturday after an agreement was reached between the DUP and Sinn Fein to restore Stormont’s political institutions.DUP leader Arlene Foster was appointed as Northern Ireland’s first minister, while Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill is deputy first minister on Saturday. The first minister comes from the largest party in the assembly and the deputy first minister is from the second-largest party.Their first item of business at Stormont on Saturday was the election of Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey as the assembly’s new speaker. Ballinderry SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone is one of three deputy speakers along with the DUP’s Christopher Stalford and the UUP’s Roy Beggs. Gordon Lyons (DUP) and Declan Kearney (Sinn Féin) will serve as junior ministers.Alliance leader Naomi Long accepted … Continue reading →

Image source: Julian Smith Twitter The Northern Ireland Assembly is back in power after a three-year absence, following agreement from a majority of political parties to proposals put forward by the Irish and UK governments. The talks succeeded over the weekend on Saturday, January 11, with backing from Sinn Féin, the DUP, the SDLP and the Alliance Party, following marathon talks led by the UK government’s Northern Ireland Secretary of State Julian Smith and the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney. Following the return of the assembly at Stormont, it was confirmed that Northern Ireland’s first and deputy first ministers will be DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Féin’s leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill respectively. Alex Maskey of Sinn Féin was elected as the assembly’s new speaker after a vote, with three deputies including: Christopher Stalford of the DUP; UUP MLA Roy Beggs and SDLP’s Patsy McGlone. The … Continue reading →

Speaker Alex Maskey Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey accused SDLP MLA Colin McGrath of “insulting him” during a debate at Stormont. MLAs gathered in the chamber to appoint chairs and deputy chairs to the Assembly’s standing and statutory committees on Tuesday. Mr Maskey said he was taking the “unusual step” of intervening because he could not allow Mr McGrath’s behaviour to continue. Read More SDLP’s Eastwood accuses Sinn Fein of breaking Stormont Speaker agreement The West Belfast MLA told the chamber that the SDLP chairperson had come up behind him at the Speaker’s podium and insulted him. He said it was the second time it had happened. “I won’t tolerate Colin McGrath insulting the Speaker in the middle of a plenary debate,” Mr Maskey said. “In future I will take action, I want people to take note of that.” SDLP MLA Colin McGrath Parties also expressed concern over the position of … Continue reading →

Colum Eastwood SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has claimed Sinn Fein backtracked on an agreement for Patsy McGlone to be the new Assembly Speaker. Sinn Fein, however, said there was no agreement of any kind. The party’s West Belfast MLA Alex Maskey was elected to the position on Saturday with the endorsement of the DUP. Mr Eastwood said originally it had been intended the position would go to his party for the first time with Mr McGlone in the chair, but Sinn Fein changed its mind an hour before the election. Alliance leader Naomi Long said that she understood Mr McGlone would be the new Speaker, but no agreement was made in the latest round of Stormont talks. SDLP leader Mr Eastwood told BBC Radio Foyle: “The way that the Speaker role was divvied up wasn’t the best start. We had never had the Speaker’s position, we felt that it was … Continue reading →