Babak Belurs

Senin, 22 Mei 2023

Labour wants NHS to tackle heart and suicide deaths - BBC

By Sean Seddon

BBC News

Sir Keir Starmer is to propose introducing new NHS targets on cutting deaths in England from heart disease, strokes and suicide.

A Labour government would aim to reduce deaths from heart disease and strokes by a quarter over 10 years and see suicide figures decline within five.

The Labour leader is giving a speech on the party's NHS policy later.

The Tories accused Labour of seeking to frustrate its own reforms by repeatedly voting against them.

Labour's new targets for the health service will be part of a wider package of reforms if it is elected, Sir Keir will say, with a focus on modernisation, hitting existing cancer targets, and cutting waiting lists.

The NHS Confederation says the health service in England is facing a £6-7bn funding gap for 2023/24.

When asked how much money Labour would need to reform the NHS, Sir Keir told the BBC his party would fund an increase in health workers by ending certain tax breaks, including the non-dom status.

In terms of the overall NHS budget, Sir Keir said Labour would set out its funding plans ahead of the next general election. "But I'm keen to emphasise, it's change and reform, not just money," Sir Keir said.

Sir Keir also said Labour would ban commercials for junk and sugary food before 21:00, as well as adverts for vaping products.

"The government has toyed with this and has backed off. I think this is the wrong thing as we have to protect the health of our young people and that requires us to put in place pretty solid bans on advertising to children and that's what we would be prepared to do," he said.

He is expected to call for three "big shifts" in approach for the NHS, promoting digital methods, community care and preventative measures.

He will say it is "not serious" to argue the health service's problems can be solved with extra funding, and call for "serious, deep, long-term changes".

More than 5,500 deaths were registered as suicides in England and Wales in 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) - around three quarters of which were men. Women under the age of 24 have seen the largest increase of any group since data started being collected in 1981, an ONS study found in 2022.

Sir Keir is expected to tell an audience in the east of England that suicide rates among young people "should haunt us", adding: "Our mission must be and will be: to get it down."

The party also wants existing NHS targets to be tackled - for example the aim for 85% of cancer patients to start treatment within 62 days of an urgent GP referral. This has not been achieved since 2015.

Sir Keir said his party would aim to meet existing targets on hospital treatment within the first term of a Labour government, but admitted the reforms "will take a bit longer".

Tackling waiting times, more care in the community and greater use of technology are proposals that have been raised by Labour, Conservatives and the Lib Dems over the last decade or so.

A Conservative Party source said cutting waiting times is one of the government's top five priorities, and that there had already been major progress on reducing very long waits.

They accused Labour of voting "against Conservative plans for more doctors" and said it was prioritising the hiring of thousands more NHS managers.

"If Labour were serious about NHS reform they would have taken action where they are in power in Wales where waiting lists are higher," they added.

Sir Keir's speech on Monday will be his third on Labour's five "missions" for government if it wins power, the areas which are likely to form the backbone of the party's manifesto at the next general election.

It came after Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, highlighted the party's aim to give people a greater choice over where they receive hospital treatment.

He told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that Labour's plan for regional waiting lists would give patients more flexibility to receive care elsewhere if queues are shorter in another area.

If you've been affected by self-harm or emotional distress, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line

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Suella Braverman did breach ministerial code says former top civil servant – UK politics live - The Guardian

From 1h ago

Good morning. Rishi Sunak is back from Japan, and this morning he is due to meet Sir Laurie Magnus, his ethics adviser, to discuss whether Magnus should launch an inquiry into claims that Suella Braverman, the home secretary, broke the ministerial code when she asked officials about arranging a private speed awareness course after she was caught speeding. These courses are meant to be group events, but Braverman did not want a bunch of strangers to know she was taking part.

Given the controversy this story has aroused, it will be surprising if Sunak does not order an inquiry. Here is Pippa Crerar’s overnight story.

On the BBC’s Westminster Hour last night Philip Rycroft, a former permanent secretary at the Brexit department, said he thought Braverman had broken the ministerial code. He told the programme:

This, on the face of it, I think, is a breach of the ministerial code. Obviously, there’s still investigations to be done and so on but the code is very clear. Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises or appears to arise between their public duties and their private interests.

Even asking a question of a civil servant as to how she might go on one of these courses puts them in an impossible position. And for somebody, you know, who wakes up in the morning and sees a future prime minister, this is a real lapse of judgment.

And this morning Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, the union that represents senior civil servants, said he thought Braverman has abused her position. He told Sky News:

Civil servants are publicly funded. They’re paid for by you and me. They’re not there to support the personal interests of a minister. They don’t do their shopping, they don’t look after their children and they don’t sort out their speeding fine.

In truth, as breaches of the ministerial code go, this seems to be at the mild end of what might count, and if this story were about a more anonymous member of the cabinet (Mel Stride, Gillian Keegan?), it would be attracting far less attention.

But Braverman is not an anonymous minister, which is why this issue is a problem for Sunak. She has already had to resign once for breaching the ministerial code, for sending an official document from her personal email to a fellow MP. She has set herself up as the de facto leader of a Tory faction pushing for a much harder stance on legal and illegal immigration, to the extent that she sometimes gives the impression that she wants to be sacked. But this has also given her a following, and her allies are briefing the media that she is the victim of a smear campaign.

This morning Keir Starmer said that if Braverman has broken the ministerial code, she should resign. Peter Walker has the story here.

“The ministerial code is pretty clear that if you break it, you’re supposed to go,” Starmer said.

In fact, Starmer is wrong about that. The code used to operate on that basis, but guidance from No 10 issued last year says that if a minister has broken the code, in some circumstances a public apology would be the appropriate sanction. It says:

As both Lord Geidt and the Committee on Standards in Public Life have recommended last year, it is disproportionate to expect that any breach, however minor, should lead automatically to resignation or dismissal. The sanction which the prime minister may decide to issue in a given case is for the prime minister to determine, but could include requiring some form of public apology, remedial action or removal of ministerial salary for a period. The ministerial code has been updated to reflect this.

Here is the agenda for the day.

10.25am: Keir Starmer gives a speech on Labour’s health mission.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

2.30pm: Suella Braverman, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 3.30pm: Rishi Sunak is expected to make a Commons statement on the G7 summit.

After 4.30pm: MPs debate Labour amendments to the strikes (minimum service levels) bill.

5pm: James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, gives a speech in Chile.

If you want to contact me, do try the “send us a message” feature. You’ll see it just below the byline – on the left of the screen, if you are reading on a PC or a laptop. (It is not available on the app yet.) This is for people who want to message me directly. I find it very useful when people message to point out errors (even typos – no mistake is too small to correct). Often I find your questions very interesting too. I can’t promise to reply to them all, but I will try to reply to as many as I can, either in the comments below the line, privately (if you leave an email address and that seems more appropriate), or in the main blog, if I think it is a topic of wide interest.

The official statistics watchdog has reprimanded the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, after he claimed public debt levels would fall in the coming years, when in fact they are simply forecast to rise less steeply than previously expected. Peter Walker has the story.

Keir Starmer will give a speech this morning giving details of Labour’s “mission” on health. Health is one of the five “missions” – overall strategic aims – he has set for a Labour government, but each mission comes with its own set of targets (sub-missions?), and, as Matthew Weaver and Pippa Crerar report, the health one will include reducing deaths from suicide.

Starmer gave more details of his thinking on health in an interview round this morning. Here are some of the points he made.

Starmer claimed the NHS was “always better funded under Labour”. The overnight briefing from Labour about his speech suggests that he is not going to promise extra money for the NHS in what he announces this morning. But when asked about funding, he told the Today programme:

Money is part of the answer and the NHS is always better funded under Labour.

So far as the money is concerned, firstly, wherever we’ve made a specific commitment we’re setting out in terms today how we’ll pay for that.

I ran our public service for five years, I do know that if you put more money in the top you do get a better outcome, so money is, of course, part of the answer, but we’ve also got to change and reform.

If we go down the path of prevention, that actually will not only be a lot better for people’s lives and their health, but also in the long run actually cost a lot less.

We don’t want to go down the road of making food more expensive in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, which is why today we’ll focus on advertising rather than increasing the cost to food, because I think for many families who are already struggling the idea that food prices would go up again is something which simply wouldn’t be tolerable from their point of view.

But he said his “very strong view” was that sugary food, and vaping, should not be advertised to children. He said:

In the speech I’m going to deal with vaping and junk food and sugary foods, which should not be advertised to children in my very strong view. It’s so bad for their health, so bad for the NHS.

Given the controversy this story has aroused, it will be surprising if Sunak does not order an inquiry. Here is Pippa Crerar’s overnight story.

On the BBC’s Westminster Hour last night Philip Rycroft, a former permanent secretary at the Brexit department, said he thought Braverman had broken the ministerial code. He told the programme:

This, on the face of it, I think, is a breach of the ministerial code. Obviously, there’s still investigations to be done and so on but the code is very clear. Ministers must ensure that no conflict arises or appears to arise between their public duties and their private interests.

Even asking a question of a civil servant as to how she might go on one of these courses puts them in an impossible position. And for somebody, you know, who wakes up in the morning and sees a future prime minister, this is a real lapse of judgment.

And this morning Dave Penman, the general secretary of the FDA, the union that represents senior civil servants, said he thought Braverman has abused her position. He told Sky News:

Civil servants are publicly funded. They’re paid for by you and me. They’re not there to support the personal interests of a minister. They don’t do their shopping, they don’t look after their children and they don’t sort out their speeding fine.

This morning Keir Starmer said that if Braverman has broken the ministerial code, she should resign. Peter Walker has the story here.

“The ministerial code is pretty clear that if you break it, you’re supposed to go,” Starmer said.

As both Lord Geidt and the Committee on Standards in Public Life have recommended last year, it is disproportionate to expect that any breach, however minor, should lead automatically to resignation or dismissal. The sanction which the prime minister may decide to issue in a given case is for the prime minister to determine, but could include requiring some form of public apology, remedial action or removal of ministerial salary for a period. The ministerial code has been updated to reflect this.

Here is the agenda for the day.

10.25am: Keir Starmer gives a speech on Labour’s health mission.

11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

2.30pm: Suella Braverman, the home secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

After 3.30pm: Rishi Sunak is expected to make a Commons statement on the G7 summit.

After 4.30pm: MPs debate Labour amendments to the strikes (minimum service levels) bill.

5pm: James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, gives a speech in Chile.

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Rachel Reeves embroiled in hypocrisy row for flying business class to New York - The Telegraph

Labour's shadow chancellor has been accused of hypocrisy for flying business class to New York.

Rachel Reeves tweeted a picture of her British Airways ticket on Sunday, before swiftly deleting it.

But eagle-eyed social media users had already noticed that her seat number was visible on the ticket, revealing she was in seat 3K, which is in BA's Club World business class suite, costing around £4,000.

It comes just weeks after Labour criticised Government ministers for living a "five-star luxury lifestyle" of international trips and hotel stays.

Tory MPs have now accused the Labour frontbencher of trying to "pull the wool over people's eyes".

'One rule for them'

Mark Jenkinson, the Conservative MP for Workington, told The Telegraph: "Imagine the uproar from the Labour party, not only if a party donor had paid to upgrade a minister’s travel to business class, but if said minister had then tried to pull the wool over people’s eyes.

"As always for Labour, it’s one rule for them and one for everybody else."

Rachel Reeves swiftly deleted her tweet after it showed her seat number

Brendan Clarke-Smith, the Tory MP for Bassetlaw, accused Labour of "hypocrisy", days after Left-wing activists attacked him on social media for suggesting that shoppers buy supermarket-branded baked beans if Heinz versions were rising in price too sharply.

He told The Telegraph: "Start spreading the news. When it comes to luxury travel, with Labour they still expect to be top of the list - it’s a case of do as I say, not as I do.

"Whilst they claim they want to make a brand new start of it, when it comes down to it, to be frank, they are still the same old hypocrites they’ve always been."

'Luxury' experience

British Airways' business class cabin is branded as a "luxury" experience, including a private lounge at the airport, a spacious seat and bed, as well as a "delicious" three-course meal.

It is understood that Ms Reeves flew on a Boeing 777-236 British Airways plane on Sunday afternoon from London to New York.

In January, Angela Rayner, Labour's deputy leader, took aim at Rishi Sunak for "jetting around the country on taxpayers' money like an A-list celeb" after he used a French-made RAF jet for a 41-minute trip from London to Blackpool.

Last month, Ms Rayner also denounced ministers for living a "five-star luxury lifestyle" while "families up and down the country are sick with anxiety about whether their pay cheque will cover the weekly shop", after Government spending revealed five-star hotel stays.

"A Labour government will get tough on waste," she said.

Labour has been contacted for comment.

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Minggu, 21 Mei 2023

Rishi Sunak to consult independent ethics adviser over Suella Braverman speeding fine - Sky News

Rishi Sunak is set for talks with Suella Braverman and his independent ethics adviser over the home secretary's speeding fine.

Ms Braverman, 43, had been caught speeding last summer - and prior to paying a fine and accepting points on her licence, reports suggest the home secretary allegedly asked civil servants to arrange a private one-to-one speed awareness course for her.

The prime minister is under mounting pressure to order an inquiry into her conduct, and the issue is at the top of his agenda after arriving back from the G7 summit in Japan this morning.

Downing Street has said Mr Sunak will consult his ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, and he is also expected to hold discussions with Ms Braverman and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has demanded that he go one step further and launch an independent investigation - as he did over Nadhim Zawahi's tax affairs - "without delay".

In a written letter to the prime minister, she said he must "show some backbone".

Ms Rayner also questioned whether the home secretary "encouraged or asked civil servants, officials or special advisers to breach the civil service code by supporting her to further her own private interests" and whether the prime minister himself "knew about the alleged attempts by the home secretary to involve her civil servants".

"Rishi Sunak was too weak to deal with Suella Braverman the last time she broke the ministerial code, and his reluctance to order an investigation right away speaks volumes on how seriously he takes his promise to bring integrity to government," she said.

A spokesman for the home secretary said Ms Braverman "accepts that she was speeding last summer and regrets doing so".

"She took the three points and paid the fine last year," they added.

But The Sunday Times reported that instead of signing up for an in-person course with other motorists, or completing one online that would show her name and face to other participants, Ms Braverman allegedly asked civil servants to arrange a private one-to-one course.

When the civil servants refused, she reportedly sought help from a political aide, who requested the private course organiser provided a private session, or allowed her to use an alias or turn her camera off.

When the provider refused, Ms Braverman opted to take the three points on her licence, the paper reported.

Earlier on Sunday, Mr Sunak refused to back the home secretary when asked about the row at the end of the G7 meeting by a reporter.

"I don't know the full details of what has happened, nor have I spoken to the home secretary," he said.

"I think you can see first-hand what I have been doing over the last day or so, but I understand that she's expressed regret for speeding, accepted the penalty and paid the fine."

However, a No 10 spokeswoman later insisted he does "of course" have full confidence in her.

Speaking on the Sky News Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, Environment Secretary Therese Coffey said it was "perfectly normal" if people are given points for speeding, but maintained that she was unaware of all the details referred to in the newspaper.

Meanwhile, the incident was called "shocking" by Ms Braverman's opposite number, the shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper.

"We've had 13 years of the Tories trying to dodge the rules for themselves and their mates. Enough is enough," said Ms Cooper.

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2023-05-22 04:30:00Z
2050483471

Ulez-style zones could pop up across Britain under Starmer - The Telegraph

Labour would support the rollout of clean air zones akin to London’s ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) if it is elected next year, new plans being considered by the party have shown.

An internal Labour document revealed that one of the key transport policies being looked at that could be part of next year’s manifesto was to support the principle of clean air zones in cities.

The plan stated that these would be supported only “if they were phased in carefully” and there was a “just transition” plan to accompany it.

The details were revealed in an 86-page draft policy handbook that was leaked to the Labour List last week and reveals a number of transport policies being considered by the party.

Clean air zones have sprung up in a number of Labour-led councils across the country, including Birmingham, Bristol and Bradford, with vehicles which do not meet emissions standards being charged to drive in certain zones.

The most well-known clean air zone is in London, where Sadiq Khan, the capital’s mayor, is set to expand the Ulez to cover all 32 London boroughs from August.

Drivers in London have to pay £12.50 if they drive a diesel vehicle more than seven years old, or 17 years if it runs on petrol.

The expansion has been met with widespread criticism by residents and politicians, with five Conservative-led councils set to try and stop the rollout in the High Court in July.

Tory MPs have criticised the inclusion of the policy in the draft document and urged Labour to drop the stance.

Greg Hands, the MP for Chelsea and Fulham, said: “Khan’s cash-grab Ulez expansion is hugely unpopular here in London. Labour need to rule out these unpopular moves on hard-working residents of our great cities.”

Craig Mackinlay, the chairman of the Fair Fuel for UK Motorists and UK Hauliers all-party parliamentary group, warned that Mr Khan’s “war on motorists” would be replicated across the country if Sir Keir Starmer entered Downing Street.

“Sadiq Khan has paved the way for new taxes on motorists, stifling business, interfering with normal people’s lives – particularly the lower-paid,” he told The Telegraph.

“This is all merely a foretaste of what would happen to towns and cities around the UK on the back of so-called clean air zones but will, in reality, be new taxes in disguise.”

Howard Cox, the founder of the FairFuelUK campaign group and Reform UK’s candidate for Mayor of London, said: “It is now clear that voting Labour means more anti-driver policies being introduced across the UK.

“Their misguided belief that the motor car is to be demonised, yet at the same time the perfect conduit to raise more and more tax revenue, is nothing short of stomach-turning and duplicitous.

“Starmer, alongside Sadiq Khan, is out of touch with voters, low-income drivers and small businesses who are hit hardest by their draconian Ulez, low-traffic neighbourhoods and 20mph zones.”

Mr Cox questioned the health data used to justify implementing the policies, which he claimed were “massively immoral”.

A Labour source stressed that the contents of the document were not agreed policy, but just ideas that would be considered at the national executive committee meetings later this year.

He also added that reducing nitrogen dioxide was part of government policy too.

Delivering HS2 and Northern Powerhouse

In January, Sir Keir told LBC Radio that he supported Mr Khan’s Ulez expansion, calling it a “difficult decision that had to be made”.

Last week, he doubled down on this, telling LBC that the expansion was needed to curb lung cancer.

Clean air zones vary across the country, with some applying to all vehicles, while others apply to just some commercial vehicles.

For example, Sheffield charges heavy goods vehicles £50 per day to travel in the centre of the city, and taxis and smaller commercial vehicles pay £10. In Birmingham, all cars must pay £8 a day.

Among the other key transport policies being considered was a pledge to deliver both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail in full, while also a plan to bring each railway service into public ownership as private rail operator contracts expire.

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Rishi Sunak says Suella Braverman has 'expressed regret' for speeding scandal as he's told to launch investigation - Sky News

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he hasn't spoken to the Home Secretary about her speeding fine but understands that she's "expressed regret" for the offence and accepted the penalty.

It comes as Labour is demanding an investigation into reports Suella Braverman asked civil servants to help her avoid a group speeding awareness course to dodge a fine.

When asked about her speeding fine at a G7 news conference this morning, Mr Sunak asked the reporter whether he had any questions about the summit before answering.

"I don't know the full details of what has happened nor have I spoken to the Home Secretary," he said.

"I think you can see first-hand what I have been doing over the last day or so but I understand that she's expressed regret for speeding, accepted the penalty and paid the fine."

He did not state whether he will launch an investigation into the Cabinet minister.

Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper called it "shocking" that Ms Braverman had reportedly tried to bend the normal process for speeding drivers.

"As home secretary, Suella Braverman is responsible for upholding the law, yet this report suggests she has tried to abuse her position to get round the normal penalties," said Ms Cooper.

"We've had 13 years of the Tories trying to dodge the rules for themselves and their mates. Enough is enough."

She called for an "urgent investigation," starting with the prime minister's independent adviser on ministers' interests, Laurie Magnus, assessing whether the home secretary's behaviour breached the ministerial code.

It's up to Mr Sunak to order an ethics investigation, as he did over Nadhim Zawahi's tax affairs.

Ms Cooper's response came after a Sunday Times report that Ms Braverman, 43, had been caught speeding last summer and opted to attend a driving awareness course rather than accept a fine and points on her licence.

A spokesman for the home secretary said she "accepts that she was speeding last summer and regrets doing so".

"She took the three points and paid the fine last year," they added.

But The Sunday Times reported that instead of signing up for an in-person course with other motorists, or completing one online that would show her name and face to other participants, Ms Braverman allegedly asked civil servants to arrange a private one-to-one course.

When the civil servants refused, she sought help from a political aide, who requested the private course organiser provided a private session, or allowed her to use an alias or turn her camera off.

When the provider refused, Ms Braverman opted to take the three points on her licence, the pape reported.

The paper's sources close to the home secretary dispute that she breached the ministerial code and say the case was settled by her taking the points.

Ms Cooper said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak should explain how much he knew when he reappointed Ms Braverman as home secretary.

Ms Braverman had resigned in the last days of Liz Truss's tenure as PM after sending an official document from her personal email to another MP.

Mr Sunak had promised "integrity, professionalism and accountability" when he became prime minister last October, in an apparent attempt to contrast himself with his predecessor Boris Johnson, who resigned after a series of scandals.

Since becoming prime minister, he has lost two ministers and close allies, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and minister without portfolio Gavin Williamson, following bullying allegations.

He was also forced to sack Nadhim Zahawi, the Tory chairman, following an investigation into his tax affairs.

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP also called for Ms Braverman to be "urgently investigated", saying her name should be added to the "nearly endless list of Ministers who have had to undergo the same".

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2023-05-21 06:33:45Z
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Sabtu, 20 Mei 2023

Northern Ireland Local Elections 2023: Results day two - 100 seats to go as Sinn Fein charge continues - Belfast Telegraph

UUP leader Doug Beattie admits election has been ‘brutal at times' for his party, while SDLP leader Colum Eastwood vows to battle on

At 2.20pm on Saturday they had 128 seats, well ahead of the DUP (109) and on track to be the biggest party.

Ms O’Neill said Sinn Fein were on course for a "momentous result" that reflects a "positive campaign" by its candidates and activists.

Speaking at the Foyle Arena, she told the BBC: "We have work to do but it's been a very positive result for the party so far.”

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says his party’s vote has held up “extremely well” throughout Northern Ireland, adding: “It’s a strong performance, in very difficult and challenging circumstances.”

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says his party’s vote has held up “extremely well” throughout Northern Ireland

Speaking in Belfast, Sir Jeffrey said unionism had to take a “long, hard look” at how it manages elections, citing the “splintering” of the unionist vote and turnout in some unionist heartlands.

“These are issues that we do need to address and I am happy to sit down with my fellow unionists and examine these issues and look at how greater cooperation can beat a pathway towards more success for unionism in general,” he said.

'It was brutal at times' - Doug Beattie reflects on the election results for the UUP

It came as UUP leader Doug Beattie admitted the election had been “brutal” for his party at times.

Mr Beattie and the SDLP’s Colum Eastwood have been reacting to a series of losses, but both said they remain optimistic that they can turn things around going forward.

Speaking to this newspaper in Bangor, Mr Beattie admitted the election has been difficult, and some “truly outstanding” councillors have lost their seats.

“You can see it within that difficult result that we’ve got - and I’ve said this is brutal at times - but within that difficult result you can see where we need to go.

“One of the key things I wanted to do in this election was to get some new faces back into the Ulster Unionist Party as councillors and we are getting it now.”

He said the UUP had to be “representative of the society that we want to vote for us” – which meant more female, younger members.

Meanwhile, Mr Eastwood conceded the SDLP is having a "difficult" election and says he takes "responsibility" – but stressed he has no plans to leave his position as leader.

Counting is entering its final stages at the various count centres as the make-up of Northern Ireland’s council chambers takes shape.

The UUP’s Alan Barr was the first to claim a seat for Braid in Mid and East Antrim on Saturday, followed by independent candidate Gary Donnelly and Sinn Féin’s Aisling Hutton in The Moor in Derry & Strabane.

Three of the 11 councils finished counting overnight. Lisburn and Castlereagh was first to finish, followed by Mid Ulster. Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon went on to 4.30am with a nail-biting finish between Sinn Fein and Alliance for the last seat in Portadown.

Voter turnout was up slightly on 2019’s local election, with 755,263 people placing their vote compared to 687,734. It appears that share is up in areas which would be regarded as predominantly nationalist/republican and down slightly in areas viewed as unionist majority.

It is the first electoral test for the parties since last year's Assembly election and takes place against the backdrop of the Stormont stalemate, with the powersharing institutions not operating as part of a DUP protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements.

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2023-05-20 12:50:00Z
2024037729

Senin, 22 Mei 2023

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