Political News
Independent board proposes pay rise of 26.8% for Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs)
Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) will see a pay rise of £14,000 if the draft determination by the Independent Remuneration Board goes ahead.
Sinn Féin: Foyle MLA Pádraig Delargy not standing for re-election in 2027
Pádraig Delargy will not stand for re-election next year, he announced on Friday. The Sinn Féin MLA for Foyle was first co-opted in 2021 and subsequently re-elected in 2022. He is moving away from the constituency.
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.
Your Representatives
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).