Newton Emerson: Can the DUP sell its Brexit backstop climbdown?The DUP's Brexit hardball has gone flatThu Feb 14 2019 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Irish and EU must stop ridiculing Border technologyAvoiding a painful Brexit now depends on implementing technological solutionsThu Feb 07 2019 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Can Irish America throw a spanner in the works of Brexit?Irish-American political clout may be a factor in any proposed US-UK trade dealsThu Jan 31 2019 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: There is a backstop deal to be doneDUP and Dublin have powerful shared interest in getting withdrawal agreement throughThu Jan 24 2019 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: The backstop has completely backfired for IrelandProvision has poisoned relations and muddied understanding of Belfast AgreementThu Jan 17 2019 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Former Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín seems to be finding a nicheAn implausible bolt from the blue, former Sinn Féin TD seems to be finding own nicheThu Jan 10 2019 - 10:18
Newton Emerson: If you thought ‘cash for ash’ was bad, wait for ‘bung for dung’Looming over efforts to reboot Stormont is a scandal uncannily similar to RHI, but worseThu Jan 03 2019 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Stakeknife case will cut into comforting narrativesHigh-profile trials may expose British security’s management of paramilitariesThu Dec 20 2018 - 05:00
Sinn Féin’s Border poll behaviour does not add upMary Lou McDonald’s party is not acting as if historic goal of Irish unification is in sightThu Dec 13 2018 - 05:00
Time for Dublin to consider a tactical retreat on BrexitVaradkar and Coveney have sought credit for success but they are equally exposed to failureThu Dec 06 2018 - 05:00
Brexit’s ending of free movement has real implications for IrelandA Common Travel Area treaty may have to be negotiated. And that’s not the worst of itThu Nov 29 2018 - 05:00
Falling out between DUP and business has been a wonderElectoral hit unlikely given North’s polarised politicsThu Nov 22 2018 - 05:00
Unionists failing to grasp precious Brexit opportunityBusiness community must make a case for the withdrawal agreement and backstopThu Nov 15 2018 - 05:00
Theresa May’s fate depends on selling England a TurkeyThe appeal of a UK-wide customs union with EU may only became apparent after BrexitThu Nov 08 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Fianna Fáil moves in the North are a farceSorcha McAnespy episode was an attempt to set the tone of party’s northward expansionThu Nov 01 2018 - 06:21
Newton Emerson: Leo Varadkar continues to show a tin ear to the NorthTaoiseach’s use of the threat of Border violence post-Brexit is not beyond reproachThu Oct 25 2018 - 05:00
Does the DUP really believe it can obstruct Brexit, Stormont and Westminster indefinitely?Restarting Stormont without them would put squeeze on DUPThu Oct 18 2018 - 05:00
Rights of Irish citizens in North a thorny post-Brexit problemNationalists and possibly unionists will have to find a niche somewhere between resident and emigrantThu Oct 11 2018 - 05:00
Foster is rattling around inside a logical trap set by MayThe DUP knows the limits of its influence are about to be exposed as deadline nearsThu Oct 04 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Sea border is different to Brexit backstopUnionists see even mildest version of sea border as constitutional slippery slopeThu Sept 27 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Next stop, an electronic solution to language issueApproach taken by Belfast’s new cross-city bus system could be sign of things to comeThu Sept 20 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Big business finally finds its its voice in the NorthCall for extension of same-sex marriage law from multinationals is unprecedentedThu Sept 13 2018 - 05:00
We may need to hold a Border poll just to clear the airNewton Emerson: Inaccurate commercial opinion polls pose threat to stabilityThu Sept 06 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Unionists don't understand the resentment over Border checkpointsIn the Troubles, Unionists found checkpoints as reassuring as nationalists found them intimidatingThu Aug 30 2018 - 05:00
Foster has blown an important opportunity by not meeting the popeDUP leader’s weak position has robbed her of a chance to reach out to nationalistsThu Aug 23 2018 - 05:00
Vigilance needed in North as tensions festering in political vacuumNewton Emerson: Outside observers believe Northern Ireland is on the brinkThu Aug 16 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: I can imagine being in a united Ireland but not of itWith an end to the union, every unionist would have to redefine what their identity meansThu Aug 09 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Stormont waiting for the DUP to changeThe party has had six months to lay the groundwork for a second attempt to revive the assembly yet nothing is evidentThu Aug 02 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Soldiers of a squandered northern destinyFianna Fáil appears to have missed boat for any merger with SDLP in the NorthThu Jul 26 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Sinn Féin’s presidential bid risks leaving it exposedThe symbolic all-Ireland posturing of SF’s 2011 campaign will heighten tensions in 2018Thu Jul 19 2018 - 05:00
Brexit and rights a route for republicans to closer unity with EUPreserving EU democratic rights will be toughest nut to crack in Brexit talksThu Jul 12 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Dublin, London are circling each other in confusion and mistrustUnderused intergovernmental forum can help address Stormont’s deadlocked issuesThu Jul 05 2018 - 06:43
Newton Emerson: Neglecting the British-Irish Council is a terrible mistakeEU interests are part of the Council’s remit and it is an ideal forum to discuss themThu Jun 28 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Growing paranoia over British passivity on NorthSinn Féin transforms from cynical wrecker of Stormont to genuine advocate of its returnThu Jun 21 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: No GP should be allowed opt out of abortionsConscientious objection amounts to saying ‘We don’t serve your sort around here, love’Thu Jun 14 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Abortion referendum puts DUP conservatism in the spotlightThe social policy border down the Irish Sea is understood to work in both directionsThu Jun 07 2018 - 10:41
Newton Emerson: Nationalists perform sharp U-turn on abortionOpposition to terminations was considered rare point of cross-community agreement in NorthThu May 31 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Post-Brexit Irish Sea border exists alreadyBorder Force has gradually been building a security check between Ireland and UKThu May 24 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: DUP seeks bogey man as ‘sea border’ solution loomsSammy Wilson’s attack on Coveney is a diversion from common travel area for goodsThu May 17 2018 - 05:00
DUP faces heavy responsibility for Brexit position taken lightlyParty publicly panicking as UK plan for EU customs partnership falls apartThu May 10 2018 - 05:00
Judging Bertie Ahern: ‘We all partied, but he served the drinks’The former taoiseach resigned 10 years ago this weekend. We assess his legacySat May 05 2018 - 06:00
Newton Emerson: What exactly is the DUP fighting for?Is Arlene Foster seeking to keep NI as exclusively British for as long as she can?Thu May 03 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: If Sinn Féin is good enough for us, it’s good enough for youUnionists looking at Dublin do not just want republicans kept out of powerThu Apr 26 2018 - 05:00
Rearranging chairs can’t save North’s sinking bureaucracyA sustainable administration must look to east-west and north-south partnershipsThu Apr 19 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Too little hand-holding of North’s politicians brings problemsBelfast Agreement anniversary celebration a useful reminder of bigger pictureThu Apr 12 2018 - 01:00
Newton Emerson: McDonald changing Sinn Féin’s tone but not its tunePlea to ‘think the unthinkable’ but no original thoughts so farThu Apr 05 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Something big written in ‘backstop’ small printText contains provision to add six areas of North-South co-operation to 12 in Belfast AgreementThu Mar 29 2018 - 05:00
Coveney blunders in on the British-Irish ConferenceTánaiste overstated role it gives Dublin in affairs of the North, with predictable consequencesThu Mar 22 2018 - 05:00
The Belfast Agreement is fading, not with a bang but with a whimperBradley’s Commons statement unilaterally puts the agreement up for casual renegotiationThu Mar 15 2018 - 05:00
Newton Emerson: Arlene Foster’s authority is ebbing awayDUP leader’s strangulated denials of the deal that never was have descended into farceThu Mar 08 2018 - 05:00
