By Bernie McAdam Last August the Stormont Executive leaders, both Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), approved a temporary ban on puberty blockers for transgender youth. This recommendation emanated from the Cass Review which was commissioned by the UK government. The then Tory government had used emergency legislation to implement the ban earlier […]

The outbreak of rioting in England gave renewed impetus to a mounting wave of violence in the six counties

Northern Ireland's sectarian culture has proven fertile ground for the spread of racist bigotry towards Muslims

The DUP have returned to power sharing. Who benefits?

By Bernie McAdam OVER 150,000 public sector workers went on strike on Thursday 18 January in the biggest strike action the ‘Northern Ireland’ state has ever seen. Workers from 16 trade unions involving public transport, education, health and the civil service walked out for the day over an outstanding pay award. A near General Strike […]

The GFA promised much but delivered little—except a breathing space for British imperialism

UK-EU deal sidelines reveals decorative nature of Northern Ireland Assembly

Sinn Fein victory runs into Unionist veto

On 30 January 1972, Bloody Sunday, the British Parachute Regiment shot dead 13 unarmed civil rights protesters in Derry and wounded 15 others.

Forty years ago, the death of Bobby Sands reverberated throughout the world in a way that no other event has done in recent Irish history.

For a workers' republic of Ireland.

Deal or no deal, the working class loses.

100 year anniversary.

What happened to the "oven ready" Brexit?

Coronavirus is demonstrating the essential basis upon which our society exists: the working class and the necessity of labour. Workers and their unions must take the lead and control this lockdown.

ON 18 DECEMBER over 20,000 Northern Ireland health workers from four unions, RCN, Unison, NIPSA and Unite were involved in strike action in pursuit of pay parity and improved staffing levels. This was the first strike ever mounted by the Royal College of Nursing. In the new year this was followed up with further strikes […]

The Brexit campaign has been directly responsible for a huge spike in national chauvinism and racist violence. To deny or minimise this, as some on the left do, is to completely ignore the impact of reactionary arguments like “needing to take control of our borders”, “stopping free movement from the EU” and “restoring national sovereignty” that have dominated the Brexit agenda. There is no progressive dynamic here but a reactionary harking back to Britain’s imperial past and accepting the myth that migrants are to blame for economic woes.

At midnight on 21 October, abortions and same-sex marriage were legalised in Northern Ireland. The new law was passed in Westminster rather than Stormont as the devolved administration hasn’t sat since January 2017 amid political deadlock. The legislation, proposed as an amendment by Labour MP Stella Creasey and passed by 332 votes to 99, was the culmination of a campaign by backbench MPs and women and LGBT rights organisations to bring civil rights in NI in line with Britain.

As Brexit talks stumble on the intractable backstop to the British border in Ireland, Bernie McAdam calls on British socialists to fight for the only internationalist response, abolish the border altogether!

On 5 October 1968, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) savagely beat a peaceful civil rights march off the streets of Derry. This police riot was flashed over television screens throughout Ireland and Britain that very evening. Among the defenceless marchers was Westminster MP Gerry Fitt, with blood streaming down his face after being truncheoned. Some 96 people needed hospital treatment.

By Bernie McAdam THIS YEAR marks the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA). The ‘peace process’ that this initiated between the British state and Sinn Fein/ Irish Republican Army (IRA), with ceasefire followed by decommissioning of IRA arms and recognition of the police, was crowned with a power sharing government […]

POLITICAL EVENTS in Northern Ireland are generally given scant coverage in the popular British press or broadcast media.

The future of Stormont and of a new Northern Ireland power sharing-executive remain on hold after talks between the main parties broke down.

Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, ex deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and ex IRA leader, has died. He played a hugely influential role in the long armed struggle against the Unionist and British state and in negotiating the subsequent 1998 Good Friday Agreement that ended the war.  For the former the British media and politicians […]

The resignation of Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister has triggered a new election and brought the ‘Northern Ireland’ power sharing executive at Stormont crashing down. The terms of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) ensure that the Executive cannot function if either of the two main parties refuse to take part. The ‘Cash […]

Brexit will have enormous political and economic ramifications on both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Since the EU referendum, for example, Irish food and drink exports to the UK have fallen by €570 million, according to the Republic of Ireland’s Bord Bia. Food and drink account for 41% of Ireland’s exports to the UK, while […]

London Supporters of Tony Taylor are holding a picket of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers’ surgery on Saturday 2 July between 11am and noon. The constituency office is 163 High Street, Barnet EN5 5SU. We are demanding the release of Tony Taylor, a Republican activist from Derry. Tony was arrested on 10 March […]

In the north of Ireland the picture appears similar to past elections. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein remain the largest parties and will continue to lead the Executive in pursuing the austerity dictated from Westminster. However the DUP vote was down 0.8 per cent and Sinn Fein was down 2.9 per cent. […]

Joint Enterprise: Not Guilty by Association (JENGbA) held a demonstration outside Downing St on 16 May to demand the freedom of prisoners incarcerated by the law on joint enterprise. The grassroots campaign is currently supporting over 600 men, women and youth (the youngest of which is just 13) that have been locked up for crimes […]

On March 30, 2012, Brendan McConville and John Paul Wootton, were both convicted and sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison for the fatal shooting of constable Steven Carroll in Craigavon on 9 March 2010. The case is widely regarded as a blatant miscarriage of justice with ‘evidence’ used inconclusive, contradictory and in […]