This is the speech given by Kevin Meagher in the ‘Will we vote with the heart or head in a border poll?’ debate at the Féile an Phobail festival which took place on 1st August 2024 at St Mary’s College, Belfast. Head or heart? Let me start by offering the politician’s answer: It can and […]

The Westminster elections have delivered an extraordinary result for British politics. But their impact for Northern Ireland is also going to be significant. The DUP knew that this was going to be a difficult election for several reasons but the loss of three of the eight seats they held before the election will still be […]

At a U.K. level the Conservatives own Brexit and its downsides, just as the DUP own Brexit more than any other party in Northern Ireland. They campaigned for it and signed up to a confidence and supply agreement with the Conservatives where they could influence the type of Brexit which was delivered. By voting against […]

‘The SDLP’s nationalist, no question about,’ said the party’s South Belfast MP, Claire Hanna, responding to this website’s editor at an ‘Ireland’s Future’ event in the House of Commons last night. Kevin Rooney asked if it was still accurate to include them in a tally of parties committed to Irish unity. A reasonable question, given […]

Peter Ramsay argues that the crisis of Ulster Unionism presents an opportunity for British democracy to demonstrate the world-historical power of national sovereignty. Our tragedy is that there is no political force in Britain able to seize it. Sinn Fein’s victory in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections marks a historical turning point. For the first […]

I had intended to jump straight on the voting figures from last week’s elections and tot-up what they meant, vis-à-vis Irish unity. I have to say that I am indebted to Daithí McKay for beating me to it and saving me the arduous task (and eye strain) of ploughing through yet more tables of figures. […]

The recent opinion poll by the BBC indicated that a majority of people, north and south of the Irish border, believe that a reunited Ireland is the probable outcome of future political developments. If that is accurate, then there is an onus on all to ensure that this takes place as smoothly as possible.  There […]