Following the Education Minister’s trip to Israel, Sinn Fein have said they will support the motion of no confidence in him that was tabled by People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll. Paul Givan made the visit with a delegation of other unionist politicians.
Linzi McLaren has quit the Ulster Unionist Party, saying she has concerns about the lack of female representation in the party, and that the party has made “grave errors” with the Irish language. She is stepping down from the council to allow the UUP to co-opt a replacement.
For the first time in Northern Ireland, news outlets will be allowed to broadcast certain proceedings, including sentencing remarks in Crown Court and judgements in the Court of Appeal.
Independent candidate Catherine Connolly has won the Irish presidential election with 63% of the vote, becoming the 10th president of Ireland. Backed by multiple parties, Connolly defeated Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys.
The Alliance Party has seen their support drop to it’s lowest in five years, they’ve been overtaken by the Ulster Unionist Party and Traditional Unionist Voice remain ahead of them, leaving them in fifth place.
After the previous appointment by the Assembly Commission left after less than a week, they have now appointed Stephen Wright – a former police officer – as the new Assembly Commissioner for Standards.
Causeway Coast and Glens councillor Margaret Anne McKillop has resigned from the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) due to their position on abortion. In 2013 she joined the SDLP after quitting Sinn Féin for the same reason.
After a masked mob of around 40 people turned up outside Justice Minister Naomi Long’s house on Wednesday evening to protest, she has said it is “threatening and wholly unacceptable.” The incident has seen widespread condemnation from all parties.
Police say they received a report of a suspicious object shortly before midnight on Sunday 5th October, which was identified as a viable explosive device by Ammunition Technical Officers (ATO). The pipe bomb attack has seen widespread condemnation across political parties.
