Clare Rice

Far-right firebrand called for protests at politicians’ offices before masked mob turned up at Naomi Long’s home A far-right agitator called for protests to be moved to politicians’ offices within hours of being released by a judge — and shortly before a mob showed up at the east Belfast home of Justice Minister...

A far-right agitator called for protests to be moved to politicians’ offices within hours of being released by a judge — and shortly before a mob showed up at the east Belfast home of Justice Minister Naomi Long.

WRDA is carrying out research on VAWG offences, especially domestic abuse, exacerbated by the use of firearms. The survey is completely anonymous. Read more about the research and find the link to the survey on the WRDA Website.
www.wrda.net/blog/wrda-is...

Christmas light on a lamp post

Have I missed something..? Christmas lights going up already?! ❄️

Interesting question - I guess it'd depend on who is conducting the poll and what specific info they are wanting to assess 🗳

Enjoying that news of Jim Gavin's withdrawal from the Irish presidential race has brought so many people back into action on this site - have missed the lively vibe it had in the early days!

Breaking: Jim Gavin withdraws from Presidential Election.

Looking for a really simple explainer?

The #ECHR and #HRA on post-it notes.

Joint Statement from today's EU-UK Specialised Committee on the Implementation of the Windsor Framework.

Work still to be done on 'full, timely and faithful' implementation.

More detail than in past statements

Value of stakeholder engagement flagged

commission.europa.eu/document/dow...

Now available on catch-up 📺

www.itv.com/watch/news/v...

Back on the airwaves tonight, joining @vickihawthorne.bsky.social and Jon Tonge on View from Stormont to discuss the Labour Party conference

10.45pm on UTV 📺

Police in Northern Ireland used journalists' phone data to detect staff leaks - report There were 21 unlawful uses of covert powers to try to uncover reporters' sources between 2011 and 2024.

A 200-page report and still serious questions remain - a step in an on-going process of unveiling the full picture rather than the end

Full report available here: www.psni.police.uk/about-us/our...

And a summary of developments available here: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Man who announced result of defining vote in NI’s history dies after short illness The man who announced the result of the Good Friday Agreement referendum to the world in 1998 has passed away.

The man who announced the result of the Good Friday Agreement referendum to the world in 1998 has passed away.

Patrick Bradley organised key elections in Northern Ireland throughout the Troubles, and later worked as an electoral adviser for the UN and EU around the world.

Academia dot edu licensing agreement says it can use your likeness and voice and publications in any manner they want, world wide.

A new Explainer out from @aoifemod.bsky.social and me detailing the UK's ECHR commitments under the 1998 Agreement in response to recent speculation. It is short, because there is very little to say - the UK's obligations are evident on the B/GFA's plain text:

caj.org.uk/wp-content/u...

When people here in NI say the healthcare system is broken, it's no exaggeration. This is just a partial snapshot of how bad things are...⬇️

European Conference on Politics and Gender, Newcastle University, 15-17 June 2026 European Consortium for Political Research

The call for papers and panels for #ECPG26 is now open! There's a very exciting academic program in place for conference which you can find here: ecpr.eu/Events/343

Come join us at @nclpolitics.bsky.social 😀 Deadline for proposals is 7 November!

The sign here says "strike for fair pay" but this strike is really over the plan to cut upwards of 1,800 jobs from the University, despite not being in deficit. The entire "plan" has no justification or, well, discernible plan. We've already had 350 people leave on vol severance. What of workloads??

The ECHR has been under threat from some in the UK for years; for more light than heat in this debate, these three links are excellent: explainer from @ukandeu.bsky.social; the Good Friday Agreement and the ECHR from @anuragdeb.bsky.social ; the Brexit deal and the ECHR by @stevepeers.bsky.social

Hey Duggee - Series 3: 26. The Election Badge When Eugene unexpectedly drops out of running the summer fair, Duggee and the Squirrels hold an election to choose the best candidate for the job.

First time seeing 'The Election Badge' episode of Hey Duggee today 📺

If you're also a nerd for elections, or just need a chuckle at the end of a long week, this is a great watch 🗳

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

I ... splutter ... cry ...

As leaving the #ECHR is back (again) on the agenda here is myself @colinmurray.bsky.social & Ben Warwick on why for #NorthernIreland this is nigh on impossible & why renegotiating the 1998 Good Friday Agreement is not to be done lightly

papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....

1/2

Climate Assemblies - New Civic Institutions for a Climate-Changed World Edited by Oliver Escobar and Stephen Elstub Published by Fe Gruyter Book cover depicts the globe, with people gathering around it Colours: yellow, black an d blue

📚 new open access book: "Climate Assemblies - New Civic Institutions for a Climate-Changed World" 🌍

✅ 25 co-authors examine the state of the field and the reasons behind the growing hope and hype about climate assemblies

✅Free PDF available here 👉🏼 www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi...

Shelves in a shop filled with Christmas confectionary

Usually love seeing Christmas stuff starting to appear in the shops, in autumn/winter. Was in no way prepared for this sight earlier today! 🎅

Again - the reason the Irish government/nationalists in Northern Ireland wanted a reference to the ECHR in the Good Friday Agreement is that the European Court of Human Rights had held the UK accountable for human rights abuses in NI - whereas "domestic UK and common law principles" had not

Interesting work here confirming what all Politics ECRs have been experiencing in recent years with the academic job market - something that will only continue to get worse as unis move through crisis after crisis...

A screencap of Academia.edu's Account Settings under the header "AI Settings" showing their AI-enhanced Outputs feature is automatically turned on with a green switch unless you turn it off and do your part to de-enshittify the internet.

If you're getting notifications from Academia(.)edu about AI versions of your papers now being podcasts, that's because the (predatory) platform has opted you into AI-enhanced outputs, which you can turn off in your Account Settings here.

Great to join 'View From Stormont' last night for a wide-ranging discussion on welfare reform, VAWG in NI, Labour's first year, and standards in the NI Assembly

Available here on catch-up 📺: www.itv.com/watch/news/v...

25 June 2025 - Strengthening Northern Ireland’s Voice in the context of the Windsor Framework - Oral evidence - Committees - UK Parliament 10:00 - Room 2, Palace of Westminster

Tomorrow at 10.15 we will be hearing from Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP and Rt Hon Nick Thomas-Symonds MP for the final session of our inquiry into 'Strengthening Northern Ireland's Voice in the Context of the Windsor Framework' committees.parliament.uk/event/24410/...

What Executive should do to fix government by status quo It’s over 500 days since the Assembly and Executive were restored in February 2024. This marked the end of a second long-term government collapse within the past decade.

A useful summary article of @pivotalpolicy.bsky.social's recent report on 'Policy Delivery in Northern Ireland' in today's BelTel: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/news...

Full report available to read here: www.pivotalpolicy.org/assets/files...