Connect Belfast

The Week that Was - 30.10.26 📍Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill has been blocked by the DUP from attending an economic summit involving Prime Minister Andy Burnham. On Thursday, the DUP leader Gavin Robinson confirmed that his party colleague Emma Little-Pengelly will not participate in joint engagements with O'Neill and permission will not be granted for the First Minister to operate on a solo basis. 📍The Belfast Telegraph are reporting that Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart is set to resign from the DUP in “days, if not hours”. It comes soon after her resignation as a Party Officer due to a difference of opinion with the party leader as how to respond to events at Drumcree. 📍The Secretary of State has warned that a £100 cost-of-living payment cannot be made in Northern Ireland until an executive budget is agreed. On Wednesday, the Chancellor John Healey announced the £100 payment for households in England, based on how much council tax they pay. Delivering his budget, Healey said money would be made available to Stormont to fund an equivalent scheme.

The Week that Was - 16.10.26 📍The former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for historical child sex crimes. A spokesperson from the Lady Chief Justice’s office confirmed that because the crimes were committed before the law changed in 2008, he will automatically be entitled to a 50% remission of his sentence. 📍The deputy First Minister says a "balanced and reasonable" budget cannot be reached in Northern Ireland unless the government gives Stormont more money. Emma Little-Pengelly said the executive will meet the Secretary of State today and "put across the best possible case for fair funding". 📍Votes of no confidence in First Minister Michelle O'Neill and three other Sinn Féin ministers have fallen after failing to secure enough support in Stormont. The First Minister described the move as "pointless" but deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said her power-sharing partner had "shattered" public confidence and needed to be held accountable.

NI Assembly What to Watch This Week - 12.10.26 MONDAY 📍The Assembly will have a Motion on the exclusion of Sinn Féin Executive Ministers. TUESDAY 📍Opposition Day. The Assembly will debate Motions on ‘Building Political Consensus’, ‘Twenty Years on from the St Andrews Agreement’ and ‘Racial Equality Legislation.’ 📍The Minister for Infrastructure will answer oral questions during Question Time. WEDNESDAY 📍TEO Committee will receive a departmental briefing regarding the TEO budget as well as a briefing on the Age Discrimination Bill from Claire Sugden MLA. THURSDAY 📍The Communities Committee will receive a briefing from Homeless Connect and from Housing Rights regarding the Housing Amendment Bill.

The Week that Was - 09.10.26 📍Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has ordered officials to "get on with the job" of building one of Northern Ireland's biggest road projects after a court ruling blocking the work was overturned. At the Court of Appeal in Belfast, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said a ruling by a judge in 2025 preventing the upgrade of the A5 was "problematic" and could not stand. 📍Speaking after an urgent meeting of Stormont ministers on Tuesday to discuss the latest budget offer, the Finance Minister John O’Dowd said there is "room for improvement". No budget has been agreed by the power-sharing coalition six months into the financial year, with Stormont parties pressing Westminster for more funding. 📍Sinn Féin and People Before Profit elected representatives have received letters from police probing alleged criminal offences in the ongoing parading dispute in Portadown. 📍A no-confidence Motion in Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir over a controversial cattle cull in County Tyrone has fallen after it failed to secure enough support. It received 32 votes in favour after being proposed by the DUP with the UUP and TUV also backing it.

The Week that Was - 02.10.26 📍The Secretary of State, Sir Chris Bryant, has said he has instructed officials to consider "contingency plans" around a budget for Northern Ireland, in the ongoing absence of agreement from the executive on a funding offer. 📍Talks between members of the Portadown Orange Order, the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, and Sir Chris Bryant have failed to reach an agreement. Speaking on Thursday night Bryant told reporters: "I think this is the end of these conversations. We haven't come to a settled agreement, and it's a shame, but my door remains open". 📍The Education Minister, Paul Givan, has told his officials not to attend a Stormont committee due to what he called "unacceptable behaviour" by Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan. The Committee Chair, Alliance MLA Nick Mathison, called the minister's move "unprecedented and unacceptable".

NI Assembly: What to Watch This Week TUESDAY 📍Second stage debate on the Display of Flags and Emblems Bill 📍Assembly will debate motions regarding the geo-blocking of RTÉ and the banning of adverse training tools for domestic animals WEDNESDAY 📍Infrastructure Committee will receive a briefing from the Minister 📍TEO Committee will receive an oral briefing from the Head of the NICS regarding equality impact assessments and cross departmental working THURSDAY 📍Health Committee will receive a briefing from the Minister regarding winter preparedness and domiciliary care 📍Communities Committee will will receive a briefing from the Charity Commission, NICVA and the Fundraising regulator regarding the Charities Amendment Bill

We’re at the @duponline conference at La Mon today. Closing the conference, party leader @GRobinsonDUP set out: 👉🏻 Forthcoming plans for Stormont reform, while opposing changes that weaken cross-community consent mechanisms 👉🏻 A wish for unionist electoral co-operation, including managing candidate numbers and encouraging transfers between pro-Union candidates 👉🏻 A renewed push to remove Windsor Framework barriers to GB-NI trade

The Week that Was - 18.09.26 📍On Monday the First Minister Michelle O’Neill met the first ministers of Wales and Scotland to discuss ways of “working more closely”. Ahead of the meeting, the leaders signed an agreement which said, "Westminster's time is coming to an end", and that the UK government should "prepare" for constitutional change. 📍US President Donald Trump has said he would love to see a united Ireland while at a meeting with the Taoiseach during a visit in Dublin. Trump said a united Ireland would happen eventually and that the Taoiseach was "the right man over here to get it moving". 📍The DUP conference will be held at the La Mon hotel this weekend. Items for discussion include ‘How Unionism Will Win in 2027’’ and ‘‘Keeping Our Economy Moving Forward’’. There will also be speeches from the party leader Gavin Robinson and the deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly.