David Ford

Not necessarily.
"People who cast a vote in Wales" does not mean "Welsh people".
I've seen claims (based on polling) that a Welsh majority voted Remain, but incomers swayed the "votes cast in Wales" total.

Image of pipe pumping sewage into NI waterway. Text reads: We're increasing fines for water pollution.

No polluter should be let off the hook for polluting our rivers, lakes and loughs. 

Alliance Minister @andrewmuirni.bsky.social is taking action:
💧 Ending NI Water's by-ball to pump raw sewage into our waterways
💧 Increasing water pollution fines
💧 Introducing fixed penalty notices

Apparently Trump thinks that he is not dealing with Winston Churchill.
Is that a surprise?
I have a feeling that most of the world thinks they are not dealing with Franklin Roosevelt.

My 6th and last Assembly election, with @allianceparty.bsky.social holding all 8 seats easily (relative term 🙄) - despite reduction in total seats - and coming close in 2 others. The seeds of growth in 2022 were sown in 2017.

The real lesson to take from Gorton and Denton is for the future of UK democracy | Institute for Government Westminster is dangerously underprepared for a multi-party future.

"If casting a vote starts to feel more like participating in a lottery than making a positive and principled decision, then voters are going to become ever more frustrated." First Past the Post needs to go - ask your MP to include it in the new Bill.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gort...

Every patriot missile fired against Iranian missiles in the Gulf is one that could have been used to defend Kyiv or Kharkiv.

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus!

To my friends in and from Wales and my namesakes wherever they are, whatever language they speak:

Happy St David's Day!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

19 Feb showed this: 3 Council by-elections, Lab lost all 3.
Reform managed 1 2nd place.
Plaid gained 1.
Green gained 1.
Lib Dem gained 1.
Looks like a lot of tactical voting amongst centre left voters.

See Dublin. 11 constituencies with 'Dublin' in name.

Even I knew that!

Which is worse, Rob: the Greens quoting you out of context or Labour publishing such a dodgy bar chart?

Over 50 Academics Warn That Voting System Is Not Fit For Multi-Party Politics Dozens of academics have written to the government to warn that the current voting system risks producing distorted results on an 'unprecedented' s...

Over the weekend, more than 50 academics urged the government to shift away from first-past-the-post, warning that it is not designed to handle multi-party politics

The letter, shared with PolHome, said it risks electoral "distortions" on an "unprecedented" scale at the next general election

Just wondering ....

Is it now BBC policy to report claims by every arrested person that they "do not believe they have done anything wrong"?

Perhaps it only applies to the "great and good" (sic).

Reform would create ICE-style agency and end leave to remain, Zia Yusuf to say Nigel Farage’s party plans to deport up to 288,000 people a year on five flights a day and expand stop and search

If you want concentration camps in the UK, people being grabbed off the streets, or murdered on them, five year olds being separated from their parents and locked up #VoteReform

1998
U: 54%
N: 39%
Oth: 7%

Poster for the Human Library event with date and time (Friday 20 Feb, 11.30-1) and location (Manor House, Rathlin Island), a qr code which leads to the event information on the NISF website and an image of an open book.

We have a unique @niscifest.bsky.social event coming up on Fri 20 Feb - come along to our Human Library and hear someones story - with human books from Rathlin Island and @ulsteruni.bsky.social

nisciencefestival.com/event/ulster...

Experts say: Get this momentous legislation right. — UK Anti-Corruption Coalition *For immediate release* Thursday 12 February 2026 – Today, following the introduction of the Representation of the People Bill, the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition is urging the Government to go furt...

The govt has one legislative chance to fix our politics. The Representation of the People Bill published yesterday contains promising first steps but it needs to go a LOT further if it is going to stop rich, bad actors interfering in our politics.
www.ukanticorruptioncoalition.org/work/experts...

The entire UK could follow Scottish Councils, NI Assembly and councils, and everything in RoI and adopt STV.
Keeps manageable constituencies, later preferences count if voters can't have first choice, and is generally proportional.

This week marks the national Mind Your Head campaign, shining a light on mental health and suicide prevention in farming. I’m proud to support this vital message.
More: buff.ly/NTx6HmP

Northern Ireland already has the (limited) benefits of being in the single market for goods.

Eóin Tennyson calls for new UK-EU Customs Union Mr Tennyson said Brexit had created new barriers for businesses and contributed to rising costs for households.

The current UK Government is taking baby steps closer to the EU.
It's time to recognise that it needs to be much bolder, starting with a renewed Customs Union.
www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/norther...

2024 showed that FPTP can deliver massive majority in Commons from 30% of the vote. Thar could happen for Reform Ltd in 2029.
STV in multi-member constituencies would allow a Lab-LD-G majority to stop that.

I appreciate the relentless pressure the BBC is placing on Starmer over what he knew about Mandelson. It would be refreshing to see them place Farage under similarly relentless scrutiny over what he knew about Nathan Gill who has been convicted. Instead, Farage's denials are taken at face value.

A lovely tribute to Jim Wallace from @amcarmichaelmp.bsky.social. Alistair mentions his experience in government benefitting his colleagues in the 2010 coalition.
Jim was also generous in his time talking to the first incoming devolved Justice Minister in NI.

The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“Who needs enemies when you’ve got friends like Donald Trump?” #bbcqt

@LaylaMoran.bsky.social

The difference between Carney and Starmer is that Carney has nothing to lose while Starmer is still trying to delay the inevitable. But Carney’s freedom to tell the truth and the respect it demands is striking compared to the sycophancy to which Starmer has condemned himself.

Lucid Talk poll shows that 15% of UUP voters are opposed to any co-operation with DUP & TUV.
Presumably they are the UUP voters who transfer to Alliance - a group which proponents of Unionist unity fail to recognise.

Why restoring nature can work so much more effectively when led by local people Restoring the ability of local communities to act as guardians of nature is a promising approach to both ecological and social recovery.

Nature restoration is so much more effective when led by local communities.
share.google/cxOUQhiLrt92...