The road to the 2027 Assembly Election starts here! 🗳️ Our dedicated election hub is now live. We've launched the candidate tracker - names will be added as they are confirmed. Stay ahead of the news 👇 nielects.com/election/ae27/

🚨 NEW: UUP HQ may have to decide whether North Down MLA Alan Chambers is selected for election in 2027 The local association may not be able to set a date to select a candidate [@news_letter]

UUP: Doug Beattie will not be selected as Upper Bann candidate for next election nielects.com/news/uup-dou...

🚨 NEW: Doug Beattie will not be selected as the UUP’s candidate in Upper Bann for the next Assembly election. His local association will nominate Cllr Kyle Savage. Beattie is expected to stand as an independent or for another party. [@BBCNewsNI]

🚨 NEW: Mary Lou McDonald says Sinn Féin will not be 'goaded' into collapsing Stormont [@irish_news]

🚨 NEW: Taoiseach Micheál Martin will join Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly at Grand Central Station this morning to sign a €700m contract for a new fleet of Enterprise trains.

A row that has broken out between the DUP and Sinn Féin over the funding of the place-names project has resulted in Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald saying she will fund the project. nielects.com/news/economy...

🚨 NEW: Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has apologised after footage from Bloody Sunday was used in a social media clip criticising a proposed bill on Northern Ireland legacy issues. [@independent]

🚨 NEW: John O’Dowd commits to introducing Jade’s Law equivalent in NI The legislation will automatically remove the parental responsibility of anyone convicted of the murder or voluntary manslaughter of a person with whom they share parental responsibility nielects.com/news/john-od...

🚨 NEW: Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins says over 10,000 road defects have been repaired in eight weeks Full statement 👇

🚨 NEW: The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference will be held today (Thursday) at Hillsborough Castle. A number of ministers from both the UK and Irish governments will be attending. NIO press release👇

The growth deal is set to provide a new Centre for Food and Drug Discovery at Ulster University's Coleraine campus, a Foodovation and Skills Centre at NWRC in Limavady and a regeneration project in Dungiven. nielects.com/news/129m-gr...

🚨 NEW: Statement from First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly after the overnight attack on Dunmurry Police Station.

🚨 NEW: The deputy lord mayor of Belfast, Cllr Paul Doherty, has left the SDLP following 'an unacceptable level of intimidation' after a council vote on the erection of a Bobby Sands statue in Twinbrook that did not have planning permission

🚨 NEW: Kellie Armstrong (Alliance, Strangford) will not stand in next year's Assembly election. She is the third MLA to announce they will not seek re-election.

🚨 NEW: Northern Ireland Assembly Voting Intention SF: 24% (-1) DUP: 18% (-1) UUP: 13% (=) TUV: 11% (=) AP: 11% (=) SDLP: 11% (=) GRN: 5% (+1) AON: 3% (+1) PBP: 2% (+1) IND/OTH: 2% (-1) Changes with January 2026 Via @LucidTalk @BelTel

🚨 NEW: Moira Doherty has been appointed as the Permanent Secretary at The Executive Office. Permanent Secretaries are the principal advisers to Ministers for all departmental activities.

DUP councillor Julie Middleton has officially signed the Roll of Members to sit as an MLA for Foyle in the Assembly. She replaces her husband Gary Middleton after he resigned last week. nielects.com/news/dup-cll...

🚨 NEW: Gary Middleton MLA (DUP, Foyle) is stepping down from Stormont after opening up about ongoing mental health challenges. His wife, Councillor Julie Middleton, is the favourite to replace him in the Assembly. [@beltel]

🚨 NEW: Róisín Mulgrew, former Sinn Fein councillor in Newry, Mourne and Down, has joined Aontú. [@ArmaghI]

West Tyrone MLA Maolíosa McHugh will not be standing in the 2027 Assembly election He is the second Sinn Fein MLA to announce they will not be standing for re-election nielects.com/news/sinn-fe...

🚨 NEW: The Chancellor has announced a £17 million funding package for households affected by the increase in the price of home heating oil. The Executive will decide how to allocate the money to households.

🚨 NEW: AS Levels are being scrapped in favour of a new modular A Level with three units of assessment taken over two years The Education Minister says this will "reduce unnecessary exams, give back precious teaching time, and focus on what truly matters for future success"

First Minister Michelle O’Neill is facing criticism for refusing to attend security briefings held by the UK Government on the conflict in the Middle East nielects.com/news/2026/03...

🚨 NEW: Ben Habib's Advance UK has applied to become a registered party in Northern Ireland "Once registered we intend to treat Northern Ireland in exactly the same way as we treat Great Britain," Habib said

🚨 NEW: The Independent Remuneration Board has proposed an uplift in MLAs salaries from £53,000 to £67,200 per year. They have also proposed cutting salaries if a government is not formed after next year's election.

🚨 NEW: UUP leader Jon Burrows says he is open to 'constructive cooperation that best serves the Union', in response to a letter from DUP leader Gavin Robinson UUP statement 👇️

All the week’s politics news in one email! 📬 ✅ Concise summaries ✅ Direct links to full articles ✅ Sent every Sunday evening Stay informed: nielects.com/newsletter

Adam Copeland has been announced as the DUP's new councillor for the Cusher DEA on Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. buff.ly/qUwJID5

Executive Ministers attend third meeting of East-West Council alongside NI Secretary buff.ly/AGPrlMz

Gavin Robinson has invited new UUP leader Jon Burrows for talks on unionist co-operation. In a letter to DUP members, he said he “looks forward to working with Jon Burrows to see how our parties could co-operate and work together” buff.ly/Ejdm9B2

🚨 NEW: UUP confirm that Jon Burrows is the sole candidate for the leader position, having met the nomination threshold of 35 signatures from at least nine constituency associations. Full statement 👇

🚨 NEW: Jon Burrows will be the next leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, after Robbie Butler confirmed he will not be running for the position. Mr Butler is currently the deputy leader of the UUP.

Robin Swann (UUP, South Antrim) has secured a government seat on the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee. He joins Gavin Robinson, Claire Hanna and Sorcha Eastwood as NI MPs on the committee.

Jon Burrows launches Ulster Unionist Party leadership campaign, Diana Armstrong running alongside him to become next deputy leader nielects.com/news/2026/01...

Ulster Unionist Party to select new leader at end of January nielects.com/news/2026/01...

Apologies - not been very active on here lately! Our multi-platform publishing tool is now back up and running, so let us know if you would still like updates on @bsky.app!

The UUP has announced that party leader Mike Nesbitt is to step down from the position. Party officers will shortly outline the process for the new leadership selection. Nesbitt said he could not commit to being in full-time politics until the end of the next mandate in 2032, when he turns 75.

🚨 NEW: Northern Ireland Assembly Voting Intention SF: 25% (-1) DUP: 18% (+1) TUV: 13% (=) UUP: 12% (+1) AP: 11% (-1) SDLP: 11% (=) GRN: 4% (+1) PBP: 2% (=) AON: 2% (=) OTH/IND: 2% (-1) Changes with Aug 25 Via @belfasttelegraph.co.uk @lucidtalk.bsky.social

🚨 NEW: Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald is facing a legal challenge over her decision to exclude NI from trade talks between the UK and Israel. [@Independent/@DavidYoungPA]

🚨 NEW: The DUP have tabled a call-in petition on Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald's decision to instruct her officials not to engage with the UK Government's trade talks with Israel. Full statement below 👇

🚨 NEW: SDLP councillor Margaret Anne McKillop has resigned from the party, claiming they 'celebrated loss of unborn life' at their recent conference. [@irish_news]

Remember, you can sign up for the NI Elects newsletter to receive a weekly round-up of all politics news! 📰 Every Sunday at 7pm straight to your inbox 📷 Sign up: buff.ly/3ZuSIYU

First Minister Michelle O’Neill has branded the attack on Sinn Féin’s Newry constituency office, used by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins and Newry and Armagh MP Dáire Hughes, as “cowardly.” buff.ly/ChTs4S4

SDLP Councillor Garbhán McPhilips quits the party due to what he described was a ‘toxic atmosphere’ buff.ly/Wtkhmi3

🚨 NEW: Parties unite against digital ID scheme announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer buff.ly/lL6czqL

DUP: Aaron Elliot replaces Keith Elliot as Fermanagh councillor buff.ly/rDkHbZ7

SDLP: Aurla King replaces Gareth Sharvin as Downpatrick councillor nielects.com/news/2025/09...

🚨 NEW: Paul Givan has told his officials to scrap the current transgender guidance at schools in Northern Ireland. Read his statement in full ⬇️

The Assembly returns from recess today. Here is the order paper: - Appointment of Mark McEwan as Standards Commissioner. - Committee appointments. - Question Time: The Executive Office & Education. - Private member motions from @duponline & @allianceparty.