The current deputy lord mayor of Belfast, councillor Paul Doherty, has left the SDLP with immediate effect, following a council motion on the erection of a Bobby Sands statue in Twinbrook.
Alliance MLA for Strangford, Kellie Armstrong, will retire from politics next year after first being elected to Stormont in 2016. She is the first Alliance MLA to announce they will not be standing in 2027.
Moira Doherty, who has had the role on an interim basis since February, has been appointed Permanent Secretary of The Executive Office following an external recruitment process last year.
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.
