The determination is correct. The law was applied; it hitherto was misapplied. Our consistent message was ‘apply the law’: the outcome was always inevitable if the correct tests were applied. It is not a victory for anyone; it is the proper application of the law & I have no doubt Portadown District will continue to behave with the dignity they have shown for the last 28 years. Once Sunday is over, everyone must come to the table and find a lasting solution. This restricted parade is not a final resolution. Unionism/loyalism must continue with the strategy: remain peaceful, and trust the law.

There is absolutely zero appetite to “reignite the troubles” from within unionism and loyalism. Question is, what sort of conversations is Brendan O’Leary having and with whom to prompt such a remark?

🇬🇧 @carlalockhart speaks for us all ⬇️

Drumcree is exposing the hypocrisy of Sinn Féin. Principles for everyone apparently except unionists. The minute we ask for the same respect they demand for themselves and others the mask slips and the threats begin.

The Irish Government should be utterly ashamed when they listen to this.

RT @1stBaronetDSO: Unionism and Loyalism have been unequivocal in stating there will be no protests, no matter what decision. Nationalism…

Frank McCoubrey's selection as the DUP's West Belfast Assembly candidate came as no surprise, but what was more interesting was his appeal, reported by Suzanne Breen, for TUV deputy leader Ron McDowell not to stand against him, which raises the fairly obvious question of why he is so concerned about having another unionist in the race. West Belfast isn't unique in this respect. The DUP already holds the sole unionist representation in Foyle, West Tyrone, Mid Ulster and Newry & Armagh, yet we don't hear the same demands for other unionists to clear the field in those constituencies. Nor does the West Belfast arithmetic justify the nervousness. The combined DUP, TUV and UUP vote at the 2024 Westminster election was around 17%, which, if repeated at an Assembly election, would be more than a quota. With good transfers between unionist candidates, there is every prospect of electing a unionist with votes to spare. Indeed, I would argue that Julie Middleton faces a tougher battle to retain the DUP's position in Foyle than Frank McCoubrey, or another unionist candidate, faces in West Belfast, yet there doesn't appear to be the same clamour for everybody else to clear the field for her. So why should West Belfast be treated differently, and why is Frank particularly concerned about Ron McDowell? I suspect ego has something to do with it, because politics attracts strong personalities and few people who have spent years establishing themselves in their own patch particularly relish somebody else coming close. Another unionist candidate doesn't necessarily prevent unionist representation, but what it does prevent is Frank having virtually the entire unionist electorate to himself. Instead of sailing towards a quota, he might have to compete for first preferences and then depend upon transfers later in the count. That gets to what I think is the weakness in Frank's approach. He doesn't appear confident enough simply to sell himself as the best candidate on ability, record and ideas, but instead appears to be selling himself as the dominant candidate, the established figure around whom everybody else should fall into line. That is also where I think the argument becomes manipulative, because rather than simply persuading voters that he is a better candidate than Ron McDowell, it risks changing the question in their minds from, "Which candidate do I prefer?" to, "Will I damage unionism if I don't vote for Frank?" Instead of asking voters to judge him entirely on his merits, it introduces the fear that choosing somebody else could have consequences for unionist representation. That is quite a powerful seed to plant in the minds of voters, particularly when STV allows them to rank Frank, Ron and any other unionist candidates in whatever order they choose. A first preference for another unionist doesn't prevent somebody transferring to Frank afterwards, just as a Frank voter can transfer to another unionist if Frank is eliminated or has a surplus. It also leaves another question unanswered. If unionist competition is genuinely the problem, why single out the TUV and Ron McDowell rather than make precisely the same appeal to every other unionist party that might contest West Belfast? In some respects, Frank's argument feels like a diet version of Danny Kennedy's remarks, in which the great electoral offence appears to be that another political party has the audacity to stand, compete and perhaps even win. Elections don't exist to protect established politicians from competition, and unionism does not own a seat simply by virtue of being unionism. Frank should have enough confidence in his own abilities and record to make the case for himself without making voters fearful of the consequences of choosing somebody else. Let Frank make his case, let other unionists make theirs, let unionist voters choose whichever candidate they actually prefer and then transfer accordingly, because ultimately it should be the electorate that decides.

TUV reports young party member chased and beaten by gang in Kilkeel trib.al/zQ6VyHK

Almost half of loyalists believe the concerns of residents should be accommodated and reasonable restrictions applied to allow the long-disputed Drumcree parade along Portadown’s Garvaghy Road to take place, according to survey by Let’s Talk Loyalism belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/…

Contrasting voices today. Sinn Fein controlled residents groups are united by attitudes stuck in the past. Offering nothing but confrontation and division. A unionist survey, however, of over 2500 people shows a community offering respect, compromise and reconciliation over Garvaghy Road.

Garvaghy Road survey challenges the lazy assumptions about unionist & loyalist attitudes. The appetite for respect, dialogue and a peaceful way forward is clear. But confidence in the Parades Commission is seriously lacking. Those two things cannot be ignored. @TalkLoyalism

The Garvaghy Road survey paints a clear picture. There is overwhelming support for a procession to return, alongside strong support for peaceful and lawful means, respect for local residents and reconciliation. Nearly 30 years on, the issue remains unresolved.🧵

NEW: @TalkLoyalism survey- key findings below. An extraordinary result on confidence in the Parades Commission: 94% of the unionist community generally has no confidence in them to be fair or impartial, and this rises to 98% in Upper Bann. They are devoid of legitimacy.

Full results published tomorrow. Feedback from 2553 respondents. Cataloguing an overwhelmingly positive response that emphatically dispels common myths about unionist attitudes toward Drumcree.

Full results published tomorrow. Feedback from 2553 respondents. Cataloguing an overwhelmingly positive response that emphatically dispels common myths about unionist attitudes toward Drumcree. @TalkLoyalism

Letter: Why can’t a 10-minute parade from church on a Sunday morning be tolerated? trib.al/95ToamT

Our children’s reading ability is in decline in Northern Ireland. Why? In just a decade it has dropped from scoring 497 to 482 (main drop coming in 2022 - COVID anyone?). Is it a generation experiencing increased digitalisation? More screen time than story time? Is it the reduced use or reliance on hard evaluative skills, all the while being conditioned by the instant hit of mind numbing devices that shrink our attention span? Perhaps it’s all of the above - and more. Yet, how is it that England faces the same technological temptations that we do, as does RoI, but they have not experienced the same level of decline? England’s reading scores, although falling like everywhere else in 2022, are now on the rise. Whatever England is doing, we need to assess it, analyse if it can work in Northern Ireland, and apply it. Reforms have already been implemented by Paul Givan to be fair. Though, Northern Ireland isn’t England and has its own challenges specific to it. Chief among them is the educational chasm between the well-off and less well-off in our society. 30pp more students achieve 5 A*-C GCSE’s (inc. Maths and English) who are not on free school meals compared to those that are. In simple terms, living in an area of social deprivation and coming from a household struggling to meet ends meat, statistically means you are less likely to succeed. The same can be said of attendance. Average attendance figures drop from 93.6% to 87.9% when students are on Free School Meals. It widens further at post-primary school. In fact, overall, one in four students from less-well off households have 85% or under average attendance - that’s the EA threshold for Educational Welfare intervention. A rather complicated picture. Before it gets too doom and gloom, Northern Ireland’s reading ability is not the worst by any means. It outperforms Wales, has around about the same as Scotland and is significantly higher than the international average. Nonetheless, it is still in decline. There’s a lot to be done. It will be done by schools, the Executive, the EA, and most of all parents and carers along with the children themselves. If you have been fortunate enough to have some children of your own, be sure to read to them. Over and over again. Read for yourself, and let them watch you reading. Read even when they don’t want to read. Read before bed at night until they do it by themselves. Read and keep reading because the benefits of it are endless.

RT @mooreholmes24: Irresponsible journalism. Stoking fear and raising tensions - the nationalist MO when not getting their way. A spat of m…

Sinn Fein complained of “disruption” in Newry yesterday because of a Protestant cultural parade. For decades, the IRA brought vastly greater disruption to Newry. Not traffic diversion, but bombings, shootings, death and destruction. 🧵Thread below of IRA “disruption” in Newry

Difficult to sum up just how incredulous it is that Belfast City Council have decided to light up City Hall in celebration of abortion. A symbol of just how far moral standards in society have plummeted. Abortion should not be encouraged or celebrated. It is an incredibly sensitive and emotive issue, but not one that should be trivialised in lights and illuminated across Belfast’s civic headquarters.