NEWS

Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows MLA speaking on Tuesday in the Northern Ireland Assembly Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows MLA has called for calm across Northern Ireland following a shocking attempted murder in north Belfast that has left a man in a serious condition in hospital. Speaking after raising the incident in the Assembly on Tuesday morning, Mr Burrows condemned what he described as a “barbaric attack” and warned against escalating tensions as graphi

Jim Allister says attack reflects ‘alien culture’, while UUP Leader Jon Burrows has secured Matter if the Day for the brutal incident to be discussed in The Assembly TUV leader Jim Allister has linked brutal knife attack in north Belfast to “unchecked immigration” and Stormont Speaker Edwin Poots accepted a Matter of the Day from Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows following the declaration of a PSNI critical incident. The chilling attack has left a man with serious injuries t

Free electric vehicle charging for MLAs at Stormont has been suspended after mounting public criticism over taxpayer-funded electricity use and concerns around travel expense claims. The Assembly Commission confirmed on Monday morning that a new paid charging system will now be introduced for all EV charging points under its control at Parliament Buildings following a cross-party meeting chaired by Speaker Edwin Poots. The decision comes after days of political pressure and g

Mental Health Champion Professor Siobhan O'Neill with Philip McGuigan MLA, Chair of the Health Committee and Danny Donnelly MLA, Deputy Chair of the Health Committee. Expanding community mental health support and tackling mounting pressure on crisis services have emerged as urgent priorities after frontline organisations warned politicians about growing strain across Northern Ireland’s mental health system. More than 50 people from across the sector gathered at Parliament Bui

Northern Ireland has entered its most peaceful era in modern history — but too many people still feel left behind economically, according to Ulster Unionist Party leader Jon Burrows MLA, who is set to deliver a major speech calling for a new political and economic direction. In a keynote address in Dublin on Thursday, Mr Burrows will argue that while the Good Friday Agreement transformed Northern Ireland by ending decades of violence, peace alone is no longer enough if famili

TUV North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston A heated row over comments made during a Stormont committee session on race relations has escalated after TUV North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston used Assembly proceedings to demand that a publicly funded community representative be compelled to return before the committee “and learn some manners”. Speaking in the Assembly on Monday, June 1, Mr Gaston sharply criticised evidence given during a recent meeting of the Committee for the Executive O

Doug Beattie MLA, Upper Bann Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie has resigned from the Ulster Unionist Party with immediate effect after launching a scathing attack on party leader Jon Burrows and accusing the party leadership of fostering a “toxic atmosphere”. In a dramatic statement published on social media on Saturday evening, the Upper Bann MLA said “integrity is more important than just belonging” as he confirmed he was walking away from the party he once led. The resignat

Micro-businesses employing fewer than 10 people will be exempt from proposed new trade union workplace access rules after Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald announced a significant change to the Good Jobs Bill following pressure and engagement from businesses and trade unions. The move marks one of the first major revisions to the flagship employment rights legislation as it moves closer to Assembly scrutiny, with the Minister signalling a willingness to alter proposals in re

Emergency Department at Antrim Area Hospital Emergency departments across Northern Ireland are becoming dangerously overcrowded as a result of a new ambulance handover policy designed to speed up patient transfers, according to frontline emergency medicine leaders. A snap survey carried out by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) has revealed that more than half of Emergency Department Clinical Leads believe the policy is worsening conditions inside already stretche

Northern Ireland Justice Minister Naomi Long The Department of Justice has pulled its controversial consultation on firearms licensing fees following mounting opposition from rural and sporting communities across Northern Ireland, in a move being welcomed as a significant climbdown by critics of the proposals. The consultation had proposed changes aimed at achieving full cost recovery for firearms licensing, potentially increasing the financial burden on certificate holders a

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons pictured with Bryan O’Donnell, President, Cricket Ireland and Sarah Keane, Chief Executive Officer, Cricket Ireland at day one of the Ireland v New Zealand test match at Stormont. Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has said the future of cricket in Northern Ireland is “bright” as Belfast hosted a major international test match between Ireland and New Zealand at Stormont. The match marks only the second ever men’s test hosted at the famous east

A major new cross-border attempt to tackle bovine tuberculosis across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland has secured £4 million in public funding — but questions are already being raised over whether it will deliver real change for farming families living through repeated herd breakdowns. DAERA Minister Andrew Muir confirmed the funding allocation on Tuesday as part of a wider research programme focused on reducing bovine TB in cattle across the Derry and Strabane a

16-year-old Jaidyn Rice was tragically killed in a road traffic collision in Bangor, Co Down on the evening of Tuesday 8th July 2025. The family of 16-year-old Jaidyn Rice are backing a push to change Northern Ireland’s road traffic laws after the teenager was killed in a collision that has left loved ones campaigning for tougher drug testing powers. Proposed amendments to the Justice Bill — being described as “Jaidyn’s Law” — would bring drug testing much more to the forefro

Parents across Northern Ireland who have experienced the heartbreak of losing a baby before 24 weeks of pregnancy are set to receive formal recognition of their loss for the first time under new legislation approved at Stormont. Finance Minister John O’Dowd confirmed the Assembly has now approved the Baby Loss Certificate Regulations, paving the way for a new scheme expected to launch before the end of June. The move marks a major change for bereaved families who, until now,

L-R Fionnuala Walsh, Head of Funding UK Portfolio, The National Lottery Community Fund, Jacinta Linden, Co-Director of Together for Families, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, Paul Sweeney, Chair of the Northern Ireland Committee, The National Lottery Community Fund and Peter Toogood, Deputy Secretary, Social Care and Public Health Policy Group. Paper prescriptions are set to become a thing of the past in Northern Ireland under a major £42 million digital transformation programme

TUV party leader and North Antrim MP Jim Allister, new party candidate Kirk Wilson, and current North Antrim MLA Timothy Gaston The TUV has unveiled its two-candidate team for next year’s Assembly election in North Antrim, setting out an explicit strategy to win a fourth unionist seat in the constituency by targeting Alliance representation. Sitting MLA Timothy Gaston will once again stand for the party, joined by first-time Assembly candidate Kirk Wilson from Cloughmills as

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Hilary Benn Northern Ireland’s struggling public services are set for a major shake-up after the UK Government released a further £102.6 million to fund wide-ranging reforms across healthcare, employment support, digital services and agriculture. The funding package includes a landmark £42 million project to replace Northern Ireland’s paper prescription system with a fully digital process — ending the manual handling of more than 45 million

Communities Minister pictured with US Consul General James Applegate and Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Tracy Kelly at the launch of PRONI’s Ulster American Treasures: The Migration Story at Belfast City Hall. Northern Ireland’s deep and often overlooked role in the creation of the United States has been brought sharply back into focus with the launch of a major new publication uncovering the stories of Ulster emigrants who helped shape America from its earliest days. Comm

Paul Frew MLA with Tara Cunningham, manager Causeway Coast Dog Rescue, with Archie the dog taking centre stage, as they lead the pathway for Rubys Law in Northern Ireland. Animals used to control and terrorise victims of domestic abuse could soon receive stronger legal protection in Northern Ireland under proposed changes tabled by North Antrim MLA Paul Frew. The amendments to the Justice Bill would make it an aggravating offence to hurt — or threaten to hurt — an animal con

North Antrim DUP MLA Paul Frew, and Mid Ulster SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone. The PSNI could soon be handed stronger powers to seize illegally used e-scooters without first issuing a warning under a proposed amendment tabled at Stormont by North Antrim MLA Paul Frew and Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone. The move comes amid growing concern over the reckless use of e-scooters on roads and pavements across Northern Ireland, with politicians, police, doctors and vulnerable pedestrians all w