Newton Emerson columns
What passes for debate on a united Ireland is endlessly derailed by absurd claims from activists, academics and politicians. At least Fianna Fáil has now begun putting flesh on the bones of its plans
The DUP gives the impression of modernising at minimum speed, while being constantly tempted by conservative culture-war positions
Robert Jenrick’s suggestion that former colonies ‘owe a debt of gratitude’ to the British empire is one of the more robust responses to reparations debate
An almost total dearth of ideology, beyond unionism or nationalism, may be the deepest North-South political divide
Drastic action is considered essential, but this is part of a wider strategy that represents a looming calamity for Stormont
Not every organisation passes its employees around like a pilfered stapler until nobody is quite sure what is going on
Brexit and the sea border have dragged all aspects of trade with Northern Ireland into the zero-sum game of traditional politics
Throughout the negotiations of the 1990s, the British government and many others encouraged loyalism to develop a political project mirroring that of Sinn Féin. This briefly appeared realistic
What remains of the Euros plan is rancour and paranoia, a sorry legacy for what was meant to be an inspiring cross-community project
Concerns are being raised by experts that north-south and east-west strands face being “hollowed out” by careless duplication
There’s one unifying factor to the party’s entirely different strategies in the North and South: both approaches ultimately aim to secure power to advance a united Ireland
The UUP could become unionism’s champion of centre-right or centrist good government, challenging the populism and incompetence of the DUP and Sinn Féin
The public sector is crumbling as essential reforms fall prey to spineless politics. Yet the private sector is booming
The temptation for Sinn Féin will be to portray opposition to immigration as a unionist prejudice, while urging everyone else, North and South, to follow its example and do better
A classic failure of unionism is fear of being called a Lundy, an insult derived from the siege of Derry, meaning a traitor or appeaser. The entire unionist political system immediately Lundied itself over the GAA flag
The scale and intensity of the protests that followed have caused a backlash against both immigration and the UK’s four million Muslim citizens. Tentative progress on understanding Islam in Britain has been thrown into reverse
Nothing in the report by the latest all-party Oireachtas committee is contentious because avoiding contention is the point
And it works both ways. Harris’s warmth towards the UK is being rewarded with a softening of Keir Starmer’s stance on a Border poll
The next UK government’s spending policy could lead to a boon for Stormont parties thanks to the oddities of devolutionary accounting
Newton Emerson: Toll roads and Northern Ireland: as so often at Stormont, everybody knows what should be done but nobody will step forward to do it.
Gas storage saga has been dragging on for years for facility that should have been operational in 2022 and which would have helped following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
The party may move economically left and socially right in the Republic - but it needs to stay the course in Northern Ireland
A BBC investigation found Moy Park breached legal limits on effluent discharge hundreds of times since 2017 within the catchment of Lough Neagh
These are not harmless notions to drop into public discourse from the top of an ivory tower. Everyone involved should take more care
Sinn Féin’s Minister of Finance is reinforcing a message the party wants to send to voters North and South — it can be trusted in office
If Brussels were to allow Rwanda-type schemes elsewhere in the EU, London could say this permitted a similar scheme across the UK, yet a court in Belfast could disagree
Rights groups who raised valid objections to the intrusiveness of identity cards need to accept that ship has sailed - the alternative is Kafkaesque bureaucracy and racial profiling
The destabilising impact on Irish politics looks like Brexit all over again, only with tides of humanity instead of shipments of bacon
After two years of dreary wrangling to restore devolution, most observers are glad of the diversion
Figures suggest a substantial share of the southern population may never have been north of the Border
The Republic’s property market is one of the most open in the world, with effectively no limits on overseas buyers
A choice of parties may be essential for unionism’s long-term health; the implosion of the Scottish National Party is a warning about putting all your eggs in one basket
Northern nationalism regards itself as left-wing, but on most issues its views are centre-right
DUP has never promised this test would block an EU law. The party has only said it will show Stormont has been given “democratic scrutiny” and “the ability to have a say”.
The true culture-war divide in the UK is public exasperation with the trivia that obsesses the political class
There was no chance of a tub-thumping republican speech at the Alliance Party conference
Shared Island initiative avoids gauche claims of literal nation-building but it was impossible to ignore the subtext: a road in a unionist area to balance a road in a nationalist area
When Sinn Féin ducks difficult decisions in the north, southern rivals accuse it of populism. Meanwhile, business at Stormont suffers
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is fortunate nationalism is not laughing openly at the party’s deal with the British government
Walking out of Stormont now would be a different proposition - any party quitting would be leaving everyone else to govern for six months
Time has run out for indirect rule. There is no longer any defensible reason to keep Northern Ireland in limbo if devolution is not promptly restored
The trade union movement is avoiding direct criticism of the DUP. And Donaldson can’t be seen to give in on the sea border to avoid embarrassment over public sector pay
The Sinn Féin Assembly member often boasts of his crimes, yet feels wronged enough to turn to the law when others mention them
The Government could have warned London privately of its intentions to take an inter-state case against the Troubles Legacy Act - which raises the question of whether the subsequent argument was staged, or played up for certain audiences
Time is surprisingly short. Speculation is turning to a May election in the UK, after which Ireland will have to decide if it helps Labour government bring the UK into closer alignment with the EU
Situation is so dire Greens have asked Belfast City Council to compulsorily purchase an entire 12 acres of the city
Ireland has the fiscal space; Northern Ireland has a fiscal floor – the minimum spending per head. A bidding war has broken out over what that figure should be
If potential future coalition partners baulk at the prospect of handing Sinn Féin the Justice portfolio, they should look to Northern Ireland
In response to human rights concerns, PSNI required operators to set water pressure to a minimum and fitted water tanks with heaters to spare the sprinkled from hypothermia
Offer to contribute to a financial package to restore Stormont went mostly unnoticed in the South, but it is causing ripples in the North
Sinn Féin-led left and green coalition and the present government would each be half a dozen seats short of a majority, polls show
Most unionists think the DUP should not restore devolution until the Windsor Framework is scrapped, something the party cannot deliver and has been careful never to promise
Britain could look to the North for a template of how to manage protests and divided communities - but it probably won’t
Crosswords & puzzles to keep you challenged and entertained
Inquests into the nightclub fire that led to the deaths of 48 people
How does a post-Brexit world shape the identity and relationship of these islands
Weddings, Births, Deaths and other family notices
