Members of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) have held a demonstration at Stormont in Northern Ireland to protest against cuts to the country's health service. The cuts may include reducing the number of nursing student places in the country to 1,025. RCN Northern Ireland director Rita Devlin said there were almost 3,000 unfilled nursing posts in the health service and a similar number in the independent sector, and that the current state of the health service was the worst she had seen in her career. She added that further strikes by nurses could not be ruled out.
New figures reveal that the funeral and lying-in-state of the late Queen Elizabeth II cost UK taxpayers an estimated £161.7m. More than 250,000 people passed through Westminster Hall to pay their respects before the Queen’s coffin was buried in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in Windsor. The Home Office spent £73.7m and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport £57m. The Scottish Government spent £18.8m while the Northern Ireland Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Welsh Government, the Department for Transport, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office each spent up to £3m.
Why are some British Conservatives behaving like the next election is already lost?
CNN
23-05-18 15:19
A three-day National Conservatism conference, promoting the ideology of a strong nation state and traditional family values, among other things, took place in London this week. The conference was hosted by the Edmund Burke Foundation and was seen as a direct challenge to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's authority. UK National Conservatism is the right-wing political movement that puts strong nation states and traditional values of home, law and order, and sovereignty. While this movement has been gaining popularity overseas, in the UK, evidence suggests that it is not popular with the public. The Conservatives have experienced their worst polling numbers for a year, however, supporters of Sunak believe his slow-and-steady approach is what the public want rather than ideas and culture wars. The general theme of the conference was that British Conservatism is having an identity crisis and the National Conservatism ideas could be the solution. The UK’s tax burden is at its highest since World War II. Tax and Brexit are major issues for people on this side of the party.
Rishi Sunak has ruled out a coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) after the next general election, closing off one option for the Conservative government to retain power. Political analysts have suggested there is a high likelihood of a hung parliament after the vote, due by early 2025. Despite the Labour Party’s double-digit lead in current opinion polls, an absence of an overall majority makes a pact between political parties at least possibly important. Sunak’s refusal of a coalition with the DUP means he would have few potential allies except the Liberal Democrats.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics have suggested that the Conservative levelling up agenda has failed after data revealed that almost the whole of Britain outside of London suffered a downturn following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. The findings showed that economic output in six out of nine English regions fell in the three months to September last year, with Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales also all suffering a contraction or stagnation.
Vote counting has begun in Northern Ireland's council elections, where 807 candidates are competing for 462 seats across 11 councils. Sinn Féin has fielded the most candidates with 162, followed by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) with 152, the Alliance Party with 110, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) with 101 and the SDLP with 86. The final results will not be confirmed until Saturday. Some predict Sinn Féin may make gains as republican voters want to see Michelle O'Neill becoming the first republican first minister following last May's assembly elections, but she has been blocked from taking up this position due to the DUP's boycott.
Rory McIlroy made a strong start in the first round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York, finishing with one-over 71. The two-time PGA Championship winner is an Oak Hill member as his wife, Erica, is from Rochester. On the back nine, McIlroy holed a par-putt after being behind the green, which launched a birdie barrage. Despite missing the cut at Augusta last month and being in poor health, McIlroy stated he "was just hoping to get down in two and make bogey", calling the putt a turning point of the tournament.
London flats are so undesirable following the Grenfell Tower cladding crisis and leaden leasehold policies that they have gone down in value since 2017 while house prices have risen 17%, according to an FT analysis. It found around 95% of flat owners in England and Wales don't wholly own their homes and can struggle with arbitrary, rapidly rising service charges which can take years to dispute. Owners of flats in Scotland and condos in the US and Canada have similar rights to anyone owning a house. The UK is also the only developed country using the leasehold system. Meanwhile, the use of flammable cladding on high-rise developments is rife in England and Wales, while none were found in the Republic of Ireland. Opposition leader Keir Stamer pledged to abolish the leasehold system for new homes last week.
A new BBC/PBS documentary miniseries about the Northern Ireland Troubles, called “Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland,” opens with the question: “For what?” The five-part series recounts the war from the 1960s to the peacekeeping Good Friday Agreement in 1998 using personal testimonies and archive footage. With a lack of commentary from an authoritative narrator, director James Bluemel aims to emphasise introspection in a balance of accounts from civilians of both sides and IRA recruits, a UDA bomber, and a British soldier to provide a more complete and emotive picture of a troubled region.
The post-Brexit trade deal agreed between the UK and EU, known as the Windsor Framework, is heavily flawed and leaves the EU and its courts wielding power over a part of the UK, according to an op-ed in The Washington Examiner. The piece also says that the US played a key role in pressuring the UK into signing the deal, with President Joe Biden unwilling to contemplate a US/UK trade deal unless the British government negotiated an agreement with the EU that was sanctioned by the White House.
US President Joe Biden's decision to prioritize Ireland and skip the coronation of King Charles III is no surprise, according to Tim Montgomerie in The Telegraph. He argues that Biden's attitude toward the UK has been sneering, arrogant and disrespectful, with deep roots in Ireland. Biden's animosity toward Brexit and adoration of the European Union also influence his treatment of Britain. Montgomerie concludes by saying that Biden is putting two fingers up to the monarchy, Great Britain, and its illustrious history and is no friend of the British people.
Local elections are set to take place in Northern Ireland, which could see power-sharing return after the trade barriers that separate the province from the rest of the UK were removed under the new Northern Ireland protocol. However, in order for this to happen, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) must end their boycott of Stormont and Northern Ireland’s republican lawmakers Sinn Fein must be reconciled with the unionist. Polls suggest that hardline unionists will desert the DUP for the Traditional Ulster Vote (TUV), which is virulently anti-Protocol and anti-Windsor Framework. The DUP is expected to delay any decision to return to Stormont until after the local elections, and support for the party will be influential in determining whether or not they drop their boycott over the Irish Sea border.
Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating the attempted murder of senior detective John Caldwell in Northern Ireland. Police believe dissident republican group, the New IRA, was behind the attack. Caldwell, who is one of the best-known detectives in the PSNI, suffered life-changing injuries when he was shot while putting footballs into his car following a coaching session with a youth team. The shooting, which happened in front of schoolchildren, has been widely condemned by political representatives across Northern Ireland.
Journalists working for BBC Northern Ireland staged a one-day strike as votes were counted during local government elections. Over 200 journalists took part in the action, with several key programmes failing to air as a result. No local news bulletins were broadcast on Radio Ulster until 9am Friday, and coverage across television and online services was similarly affected. A team of reporters had been due at the 11 count centres with on-air coverage scheduled from 4pm on Friday. The strike was called in response to cutbacks to Radio Foyle’s morning show and restructuring efforts in the region.
Two men have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder of a senior police officer in Northern Ireland. The officer was shot several times while putting footballs in his car outside a sports centre in Omagh. He sustained life-changing injuries from the attack which happened in February this year. The suspects, aged 28 and 70, were arrested in separate searches.
The G7 summit, held in Hiroshima, Japan, is focusing on both heightened global economic uncertainty and a new common approach to China. Alongside climate change and artificial intelligence, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has labelled the G7 as the “steering committee of the free world”, underlining the meeting's potential for a generational struggle in a new era of superpower rivalry. The seven countries involved in the summit include the US, UK, Japan, Canada, Germany, France and Italy. During the meeting, members have announced sanctions, including proposals to hit Russia’s diamond business, which has not yet been affected by western restrictions. They confirmed they will provide continued support for Ukraine for “as long as it takes”. Meanwhile, Russia has admitted to “problems” with oil and gas revenues, which have fallen to their lowest level in years, undermining the country’s ability to fund its war in Ukraine.
As the world waits for Ukraine’s spring offensive against Russia, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been on a diplomatic tour, visiting Germany, France, Italy, the Vatican, and Britain. Recently, Zelenskyy travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet Arab leaders and secure their support. Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, is facing significant international isolation amidst the International Criminal Court arrest warrant that hangs over his head, with his travel prospects dwindling including to Moscow alliances. Putin's invasion of Ukraine made him an international pariah, and many now speculate Ukraine may take its turn in the spotlight. Although conflicting information arose as to whether Zelenskyy would attend the G7 summit in Japan, it would be of significant geopolitical and symbolic significance for Ukraine. European leaders promised Ukraine missiles, tanks, and drones while the conversation of getting fighter jets continues. Zelenskyy's appearance at the Arab League summit in Jeddah highlighted Ukraine's struggle for support, even in countries whose alliances are with Moscow. It is the beginning of a larger shift in perception that could translate into potential support for Ukraine.
The US is set to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine to boost the country's defence against Russia, according to The Telegraph's daily podcast Ukraine: The Latest. The news comes as the Battle for Bakhmut continues and G7 leaders meet in Hiroshima. The leaders revealed they have reaffirmed their commitment to stand together against what they call “Russia's illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine”. The US has previously been reticent about sending warplanes to Ukraine.
Sinn Fein is set to become the largest party in Northern Ireland's local government as a result of the elections, which took place on 2 May. Counting is still under way, but as of 3pm on Friday, Sinn Fein had secured 29 councillors, ahead of the DUP with 18. Sinn Fein became the majority party in Stormont after last year's assembly elections. A single transferable vote system is in place for this election, meaning that several seats in each of the 11 council areas are too close to call. According to opinion polls, Sinn Fein were expected to do well, with Northern Ireland's powersharing institutions not operational due to a DUP protest against post-Brexit trade arrangements.
Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Fein’s first minister designate, has urged UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak to get the DUP back to Stormont following the party’s likely victory in Northern Ireland’s local government elections. With the traditionally unionist Protestant population now outnumbered by nationalist Catholics, Sinn Fein is set to become the largest party in local councils. Some early results, however, suggest the DUP has retained its base. Sinn Fein’s strong performance could boost calls for reunification. O’Neill called for action from both the UK and Irish governments to reunite Stormont’s power-sharing government.
