Foyle MP Colum Eastwood will not be running in the Irish presidential election later this year as it is “not the right time to stand” according to BBC News NI. The former SDLP leader was planning on running as an independent candidate with support from political parties.
The Education Minister has acknowledged that almost three in ten, or 28%, of pupils are not achieving the expected levels of literacy and numeracy by the time they leave primary school. New literacy guidance for schools will be issued, supported by a targeted programme of teacher professional learning, the Minister said.
Tributes are being paid to former Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MP Martin Smyth, who has died at the age of 94. He represented South Belfast from 1982 until 2005, and was the grand master of the Orange Lodge between 1972 and 1998, during most of the Troubles.
Councillor Lawrie Philpott has quit the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and will continue the remainder of his term on Mid and East Antrim Borough Council as an independent.
Ruaídhrí Lytlle has been co-opted to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council after the resignation of Councillor Anne Marie Fitzgerald. He had previously ran for election but dropped out after it was revealed he had told police he would kill them during a night out.
The new Commissioner for Victims and Survivors for Northern Ireland has been appointed. Joe McVey will take up post in October 2025 for four years, replacing Ian Jeffers, who stepped down in 2023.
Retired Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) superintendent Jon Burrows has been co-opted to replace Colin Crawford as the Ulster Unionist Party’s MLA in North Antrim, after he resigned less than a year after being appointed.
The Northern Ireland economy will receive a £50 million boost as part of a new ‘landmark’ trade deal that Prime Minister Starmer will sign with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Thursday morning.
The UK government has today announced it will allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote at the next general election, in what is a major change to the democratic system being introduced by the new Elections Bill.
