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The true culture-war divide in the UK is public exasperation with the trivia that obsesses the political class
There was no chance of a tub-thumping republican speech at the Alliance Party conference
Shared Island initiative avoids gauche claims of literal nation-building but it was impossible to ignore the subtext: a road in a unionist area to balance a road in a nationalist area
When Sinn Féin ducks difficult decisions in the north, southern rivals accuse it of populism. Meanwhile, business at Stormont suffers
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is fortunate nationalism is not laughing openly at the party’s deal with the British government
Walking out of Stormont now would be a different proposition - any party quitting would be leaving everyone else to govern for six months
Time has run out for indirect rule. There is no longer any defensible reason to keep Northern Ireland in limbo if devolution is not promptly restored
The trade union movement is avoiding direct criticism of the DUP. And Donaldson can’t be seen to give in on the sea border to avoid embarrassment over public sector pay
The Sinn Féin Assembly member often boasts of his crimes, yet feels wronged enough to turn to the law when others mention them
The Government could have warned London privately of its intentions to take an inter-state case against the Troubles Legacy Act - which raises the question of whether the subsequent argument was staged, or played up for certain audiences
Time is surprisingly short. Speculation is turning to a May election in the UK, after which Ireland will have to decide if it helps Labour government bring the UK into closer alignment with the EU
Situation is so dire Greens have asked Belfast City Council to compulsorily purchase an entire 12 acres of the city
Ireland has the fiscal space; Northern Ireland has a fiscal floor – the minimum spending per head. A bidding war has broken out over what that figure should be
If potential future coalition partners baulk at the prospect of handing Sinn Féin the Justice portfolio, they should look to Northern Ireland
In response to human rights concerns, PSNI required operators to set water pressure to a minimum and fitted water tanks with heaters to spare the sprinkled from hypothermia