Brexit and the North: making a bad situation worse
Exacerbating economic inequality on top of political instability jeopardises peace
Brexit is the single most significant economic and political challenge to face Northern Ireland since 1998. Photograph: Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images
In the year when we mark 20 years since the signing of the Belfast Agreement, it is important to note that Northern Ireland has changed and in some ways, changed utterly. The shadow of political violence has substantially dissipated since the dark days of the Troubles.
In other ways however, progress has been slow. Relations between the two political blocs in Northern Ireland remain unstable. The collapse of the Stormont Assembly in early 2017 is testament to the continued absence of trust in Northern Ireland.