Voting in Northern Ireland is much harder than in Great Britain.  Voters in Northern Ireland must provide a Digital Registration Number (DRN) when they register online to vote by post or by proxy. But the DRN is not a requirement in any other part of the UK  Over 5,000 absentee vote applications were rejected in NI before the 2023 council elections due to issues with the Digital Registration Number (DRN).  This is up from the 3636 people whose votes were rejected in the 2022 Assembly election for the same reason. Every vote matters. In Northern Ireland election results can depend on a very small number of votes - like in Fermanagh South Tyrone when the seat was won in 2019 by 57 votes. The Digital Registration Number must be scrapped, to make sure everyone get to exercise their right to vote.

Havelock House is one of Northern Ireland’s best-known cultural landmarks. It is also one of our most threatened buildings – developers Olympian Homes plan to tear it down to make for an eight-storey apartment block. Time is running out: Belfast City Council will decide on Olympian’s planning application in September. Its decision may end the remarkable story of the Victorian linen factory which became a television icon. As the home of Ulster Television (UTV) for almost sixty years, Havelock House had an integral role in the birth of Northern Ireland’s television industry. It was the place where iconic local series such as Teatime with Tommy, Romper Room and Good Evening Ulster were made. The building is also nationally important: it is the last surviving small station from the pioneering days of UK television. Features such as the original UTV studio are our last built record of the birth of regional television on these islands. TV history was made there. UTV was the first small regional ITV station and Havelock House pioneered a new low-cost TV production model. Its success allowed other less populous parts of the UK to have their own local stations. It was also the site of the first adult education shows on UK television, a pioneering ‘rooftop’ studio and the first satellite link-up between a UK regional station and the US. There’s more to Havelock House than television though – the building has been a familiar presence on Belfast’s Ormeau Road since 1871. After its stint as a linen factory, it became the headquarters of the All-British Trading Stamp Company, an early loyalty scheme where customers received stamps with their shopping which could be trade in for free items. The building then saw service during World War II as accommodation for soldiers who were protecting the city’s bridges from German attack. After the war, it became an engineering works and a dressmakers. Its exterior also hides a secret – beneath the plaster render applied by UTV in 1959, there is attractive polychromic brickwork and stone cut dressings similar to buildings such as the Riddell warehouse, which unlike Havelock House, have listed status. Havelock House is a versatile and historic building which stands ready for a new chapter in its remarkable story. It should the showpiece of any redevelopment of the area rather than torn down for yet another faceless apartment block. As guardians of our city’s heritage, Belfast City Council must reject any proposal for the building’s demolition and put in place an appropriate strategy for its protection.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill has promised that the redevelopment of Casement Park “will be built on my watch”. But time is running out to get it built in time for Euro 2028. Work needs to start as soon as possible in order to meet the deadlines set by UEFA, the European governing body for football. The Irish government, GAA and NI Executive have recommitted their funding for the rebuild - but the UK government has failed to do so.  Imagine in four years time, coverage of Euro 2028 beamed into homes across the world from all over these islands - but the North misses out. We, the undersigned, call on the incoming UK government to commit to funding Casement Park as soon as possible before its too late. 

BBC and RTÉ are member sof the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs Eurovision. Even though the bosses of the BBC and RTÉ, Tim Davie and Kevin Bakhurst, have the power to put pressure on the EBU to expel Israel, neither have taken any action. Unlike the BBC and RTÉ, we will not let Israel artwash genocide by boycotting this year's event. Sign the petition and join our boycott today!

In Northern Ireland, no matter who we are, our everyday speech is littered with Gaelic and Scots words. Many of the names of our towns and cities are derived from Irish, and it was historically spoken by many Protestant people across Ulster. It's wrong that a vile social media campaign has led this importance educational resource to move premises. Shared spaces where we learn from each other are vital for our peace-building and our quality of life. We offer our support and respect and stand firmly with all those involved in Naíscoil na Seolta.

The shore of Belfast Lough is special - lovely walks at low tide, seals, birds, the beach. It's a perfect place for people to enjoy, and to improve their physical and mental health, and appreciate our natural environment. Yet it's closed off. Access denied! NIWater and MEABC have the power to change that. So simply open the gate, and #ShareTheShore!

Violence against women in Northern Ireland is at crisis point. In the space of just over a week, two women in Northern Ireland, Montserrat Martorell, and Sophie Watson were murdered in their homes, and a third was stabbed. And with Northern Ireland having the third highest femicide rate in Europe.  The strategy to end this violence is ready to be signed off and funded - it is time for Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly to stop dragging their feet while women's lives are being lost. 

The Troubles in Northern Ireland cost thousands of lives and tore generations of families apart. The fragile peace brokered after was hard won. It was a process which took years and involved people who had been at war with each other sitting down together to work out a way forward. No matter which way people voted on Brexit, no one wants to put peace in Northern Ireland at risk. Please don’t risk the fragile peace in Northern Ireland. It’s too important to sacrifice.

Stop-start government harms us all - impacting on the length of our NHS waiting lists, the state of our rivers, and worsening the cost-of-living crisis. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster, which has oversight of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has called for a review to look at the options. Just last week, the Tánaiste Micheál Martin said “the time has come for reform”. The University of Liverpool found that 70% of research participants– including a majority of unionist, nationalist and other participants – agreed that the Good Friday Agreement needs ‘to undergo some changes to work better’. We need a review now.

To show the world that Belfast cares for the people who have put Belfast on top of the world stage in music.

We urge the  Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Mr Andrew Muir to listen to the fears and concerns of the community of Warrenpoint / Carlingford Lough, to call for Re Gen Waste to be removed from Warrenpoint Harbour Authority and to have their licence revoked due to the foul smell/flies / loud noise to a harbour so close to homes and business in the town. We ask the Minister to move this Waste to an unpopulated site and to another harbour that has the capacity and infrastructure and away from populated areas. We as the community of Warrenpoint / Carlingford Lough are asking the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir to Get Re -Gen Waste out of Warrenpoint. We do not need political point-scoring from other parties getting in the way of the community with this petition. Mr Muir is a new minister, other parties have had their own ministers over time also, so no point-scoring to take here as have had time to help us stop this. we as the community take this petition forward to the minister. 1. Health and Wellbeing of the public/workers   The storage of large quantities of rotting waste in a mismanaged waste operation in Warrenpoint Port which has been documented as “non-compliant” on multiple occasions by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) ) has given rise to infestations of flies and a stench which has been described as “vile”, “nauseating”, “evil” “foul” and “sickening” by residents, port workers,  business owners, Independent Councillors, MLA’s and the MP for South Down. 2. A legacy of waste controversy and safety risks. Stories of the 2023 and 2024 stench follow on from a toxic waste controversy involving the same waste company (Re-Gen Waste Ltd) dating back to 2017 and the combined evidence has been reported extensively on print, broadcast (BBC and ITV), and social media. A waste fire in the Port and, in the past month alone,  two truck fires on motorways, all involving Re-Gen Waste Ltd) have led to growing concerns regarding safety management or lack thereof. 3. Invasion of public spaces and other negative impacts All of the above points have raised concerns around toxic invasion of open spaces and the negative economic impact on local festivals and tourism. As a result of the proximity of the mountains of waste storage bales to residences, the well-documented scourges of flies and bluebottles combined with the disgusting stench have forced residents off the streets and out of their gardens to take refuge indoors, often with windows now specially fitted with fly screens. Outdoor spaces have been invaded and concerns have been raised about the devaluing of property as a result of the public nuisance plague which is particularly harmful to people with long-term health issues. 4. Environmental damage The other serious concern is damage to the environment caused by leaking bales in close proximity to the protected shores and waters of Carlingford Lough. Again, NIEA officials have noted the leaks and, in September 2023, have shared their concerns in a letter to the local MLA stating that “these non-compliances are a concern to the NIEA and we are focused on ensuring that Regen addresses the odor as quickly as possible.” 5. The Remedy With the stench now prevailing for more than a year since Warrenpoint Port executives first acknowledged that it was out of control, it is now abundantly clear that despite the spraying of vast quantities of deodorants over the festering waste bales and the best efforts of Re-Gen Waste Ltd,  NIEA and Warrenpoint Port, the only solution is to remove the mismanaged operation out of Warrenpoint to an appropriate site with the facilities and required level of competence to keep the odours away from residential areas.  This move would also negate the unsustainable transport aspects which include carrying waste by road from Belfast, south to Newry and then Warrenpoint for storage close to a residential area before being exported by sea, back northwards again, past Belfast towards Scandinavian countries.  This solution was agreed by residents and the three political parties who attended the recent Hustings in Warrenpoint and we feel that to delay in delivering this solution any longer  is to cause unnecessary suffering and expense to a community and environment that has already suffered more than enough.

It's been 40 years since the first integrated school was started here, but in 2022 only 7.5% of schools here are integrated schools - bringing together children from all backgrounds - Catholic, Protestant and other. But there is overwhelming demand: 71% of people here believe our children should be educated together. Stormont has commissioned a new Independent Review of Education that could change everything - but we need you to tell them integrated education matters to you so that they make recommendations to promote integrated education! Now's your chance to speak up! Email the panel members now and tell them that you want to live in a future where all our children are educated together, promoting reconciliation.