The Reform/TUV thingy won't get a huge amount of votes but it'll be enough to tip East Belfast, possibly Lagan Valley and maybe even Strangford to Alliance. Why you'd put so much effort into helping your sworn ideological opponents seems odd to me but eh it's a free country.

🚨personal news🚨I’ll be leaving the BBC at the end of May. Newsnight in its current format will end then, so most posts will go. I decided not to apply for other BBC jobs. Working there for 35 yrs has been life defining: an eyewitness to history collaborating with such brilliant…

Tomorrow, new Taoiseach Simon Harris TD will address the 66th plenary of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Wicklow.

#BIPA 🇬🇧🤝🇮🇪

Yes, you can be a nationalist & go to Protestant church. Yes, you can be a Catholic & a unionist. It's depressing a young working class man finding friendship with like-minded people in the city he was born in raises issues that were outdated decades ago belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/column…

From today's column:
But this one was a warning to us that the passions that will be stirred by the united Ireland debate will be intense and combustible. People may be personally attacked for their views and beliefs.

This is not an argument to avoid that debate; it is an argument to proceed cautiously towards it. And if it comes, to conduct that debate in a civil and constructive fashion. To bear in mind the idea that is so often missing from politics – that people can in good faith disagree.

This is what I mean

Why most people regret Brexit - The Economist apple.news/AO3Zb29qWS4u92…

I agree in terms of ‘commentariat’ but Brendan O’Leary on the ARINS Project team has devoted much time to issue of maximising stability & ensuring a tolerant democratic UI exists, if UI occurs.

Also: “I agree that while practical issues will be important in any referendum, questions of identity & allegiance will probably dominate – but this may not be true of middle-ground swing voters in the North”. Sensible prediction too that EU unlikely to give large amt of funding

Montgomery’s balance a/c as always: “Most of the debate…assumes that the Northern economy will remain weak, & the Southern one strong. The former seems likely…As for the latter, past experience points to the need for some caution”. ⁦ARINS Project⁩ irishtimes.com/opinion/letter…

Many thanks to DCU Brexit Institute and Ian Cooper for the invitation to contribute to the blog. 🙏
It’s been an interesting few weeks! 👀

Do critics of UK membership of #ECHR look at the stats? In 2023 Ct of Human Rts made just one judgement that UK had broken Convention rights. In entire history of Court, we account for only 1.45% judgements where a breach was found. h/t UK in a Changing Europe ukandeu.ac.uk/explainers/the…).

'The Iranian regime... they understand that Israel has very significant military capability'

John O’Brennan explains why he thinks Iran won't be quick to retaliate.

#TonightVMTV

What criteria would Hilary Benn use for calling a border poll?

Labour Shadow Secretary of State Hilary Benn says 'it's not even on the horizon'.

'There is no evidence at all that there would be a majority, so that is for the future.'

More on @BBCTheView tonight

Really disappointed to miss another brilliant Maynooth event, organised by John O’Brennan .

We are delighted that Theology at Trinity College Dublin was in the top 50 globally in the QS World University Subject Rankings 2024.

tcd.ie/news_events/ar…

New blog post live on our website 👇
'Reviving Strand Two of the #GoodFridayAgreement : The North-South Ministerial Council' by Etain Tannam Trinity College Dublin #NSMC 🇮🇪🇬🇧
Read: bit.ly/3VO6Zjc

What’s the significance of the NSMC & its meeting on Tuesday? Thanks to ⁦DCU Brexit Institute⁩ ⁦Ian Cooper⁩ for inviting me to consider that in blog post below! dcubrexitinstitute.eu/blog/

Fabulous piece on EU and migration here 👇👇

How Europe is paying other countries to police its borders ft.com/content/e58c33… via @ft