At home the DUP spurns Irishness, but when abroad it embraces it
The party’s code-switching in the US recently plays to negative stereotypes of unionism as a shallow identity. But could it be a response to a deeper shift?
Unionists are enjoying the pile-on over the Republic’s defence freeloading
Ireland is facing international criticism and it’s only natural that unionists want to join in. But incomprehension over support for neutrality is also a factor
It would be pathetic if the united Ireland cause was frustrated by bill for disability benefits
Equally, the cost would be bad reason for the union to persist, so nationalists and unionists should want this spending to fall
A British defence spending bonanza will present Sinn Féin with a dilemma
Keir Starmer has been advised to raise defence spending to 3 per cent of GDP, which could be paid for by slashing social welfare
Sinn Féin voters in the Republic and unionist voters in Northern Ireland agree on something
Both have the least positive views on immigration of any two groups of party voters on the island
Moral panic about build-to-rent apartments overlooks their obvious advantages
Extra supply at the top relieves pressure on the whole market. This is one form of trickle-down economics that works
Trump may just have put an end to peace process absurdities
Trump has transformed expectations of what can be done, even if his administration ultimately fails to deliver it
Architecture of the Belfast Agreement is dying of disinterest
There are worse fates for the agreement than fading into irrelevance, but it would be dangerous not to acknowledge this is happening
DUP’s first attempt to use the Stormont brake ends in humiliation
Compounding the unionist party’s agony, it requested the brake over a matter so apparently trivial - font sizes on labels for chemical products - that it sounds like a satirical joke
Starmer’s political image increasingly at odds with a public mood turning against liberal causes
He seems himself as less ideological than Blair, but he might benefit from adopting the New Labour master’s Machiavellian streak
Conor Murphy’s puzzling move to the Seanad crystallises sense of an unsettled Stormont
Sinn Féin says Murphy will use his new position to advance ‘Irish unity debate in the Oireachtas’, yet he has vastly more scope to do so as a Stormont Minister
Daft Brexit rules have brought havoc for the Alliance Party as well as Northern shoppers
Alliance doesn’t sit on the fence, it walks a tightrope - but it has fallen off over EU regulations
Stormont staggers on, mostly because no one can agree on an alternative
Preference for a united Ireland has risen from a quarter to a third. Support for direct rule is about 15%, while 10% want an independent Northern Ireland
Why has ramming police cars become a trend in Northern Ireland?
There were 40 ramming incidents in the 12 months up to the end of November, injuring 58 officers
Why are unionist politicians shy of challenging loyalism?
It is an absurdity that Winston Irvine missed his graduation from Maynooth with a masters in “international peacebuilding” because of a court appearance connected to the UVF bomb hoax on Simon Coveney