DUP councillor Julie Middleton has officially signed the Roll of Members to sit as an MLA for Foyle in the Northern Ireland Assembly. She replaces her husband Gary Middleton after he resigned last week.
“I am journeying through a difficult experience and have been for some time,” the Foyle MLA said in a statement on Thursday. He will step down from the Assembly on Friday, giving the DUP one week to select a replacement.
Sinn Fein MLA for West Tyrone, Maolisa McHugh, has announced that he will not be standing for re-election in 2027. He has been in Stormont since 2019 when he was co-opted by Sinn Fein.
The Executive have criticised a £17m funding package to support households in Northern Ireland with the price of home heating oil, saying it “falls far short of what is required”. The Prime Minister announced the allocation on Monday.
Stormont MLAs will receive a £14,000 pay rise from April 1, the Independent Remuneration Board has confirmed. Their salaries will now be £67,200 – a 26.8% increase.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill has been criticised for not attending security briefings held by the UK Government on the situation in the Middle East. Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly has been attending with other ministers from devolved governments.
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.
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.
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.