Finance Minister John O’Dowd has confirmed that the Northern Ireland Executive has agreed on allocations of over £118 million as part of the June monitoring round. Health and Education will receive the majority of the funding.
Reform UK are considering setting up branches and contesting elections in Northern Ireland, according to reports from the Belfast Telegraph. Nigel Farage’s party have ended their electoral pact with the TUV.
Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MLA for North Antrim, Colin Crawford, has announced he is to resign from his position at Stormont, saying “the time has come for me to step away from politics.” The MLA was at the centre of a row in the UUP after he was chosen to replace Robin Swann.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill has called for Communities Minister Gordon Lyons to resign after he posted on social media about Larne Leisure Centre housing those that have fled their homes due to riots in Ballymena. DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said that Lyons will not be resigning.
The UK Government will provide £50m towards the redevelopment of Casement Park, the Chancellor announced on Wednesday as part of the 2025 spending review. However, there is still a funding shortfall of around £90m.
The deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Robbie Butler MLA, has said the decision taken by Sinn Fein councillors on Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to silence an Ulster Unionist councillor was “an obvious attempt to silence, intimidate and bully.”
New mayors and deputy mayors have been appointed throughout Northern Ireland, as the eleven councils go through the process of announcing their leadership teams for the 2025/26 term. We go through each council in NI.
Dr Bronagh Magee has been selected by Alliance as their new councillor for Castlereagh South. She will replace Nancy Eaton, who resigned earlier this week to pursue a master’s degree abroad.
Sinn Féin has appointed a new external HR manager after their review into governance procedures within the party, following the Michael McMonagle scandal, who was jailed for child sex offences last year.
