Political News
Matthew O’Toole apologises after Standards Commissioners finds breach of MLA code of conduct
Stormont’s standards watchdog has found that SDLP MLA and Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole breached rule 12 of the MLA code of conduct when he revealed that he had submitted a complaint against Communities Minister Gordon Lyons last year.
Jon Burrows open to ‘constructive cooperation’ to maximise the unionist vote
In response to a letter from DUP leader Gavin Robinson, Jon Burrows has said he is open to ‘constructive cooperation that best serves the union’.
TUV: Timothy Gaston suspended from Assembly following comments in Executive Office committee
The TUV’s Timothy Gaston has been suspended from the Assembly for two days following comments he made towards Paula Bradshaw, chair of the Executive Office committee, in October 2024.
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Councils are responsible for local services such as waste collection, leisure centres, parks, planning, environmental health and community development. They cannot make laws. Councillors are elected using Single Transferable Vote (STV) every four years.
The Assembly is the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, based at Parliament Buildings, Stormont. There are 90 members that are elected from 18 constituencies. The MLAs make laws on devolved matters such as health, education, justice, infrastructure and agriculture. MLAs are elected every five years using STV.
The UK Parliament is the highest legislative authority and NI is represented by 18 Members of Parliament. MPs make decision on reserved and excepted matters, which include defence, foreign policy, immigration and taxation and welfare. MPs are elected every five years in a general election using First Past the Post (FPTP).