It is with great regret that I am announcing today my resignation as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland. I cannot condone the British people of Northern Ireland being dictated by mob rule from the nationalist community. The unionist community has, on many occasions, made their disdain for B013, the Irish Language and Heritage Bill, very clear, and it is disgraceful that our concerns have not been heeded by the Assembly, and as such I feel I cannot be a part of the Executive that oppressed the unionists of Northern Ireland.
The bill is currently in the midst of its second reading vote – the vote which, upon passing, will send the bill for Royal Assent – against the wishes of the entire unionist community, and our petition of concern on the first reading was overruled. The leader of the Solidarity Party of Ireland made it clear that he would welcome any amendments from the unionist community, and the bill's support from the nationalist and other communities is currently unwavering, as demonstrated by the respective MLAs’ recent votes on the bill.
The UUP and the DUP had reached a compromise with the SPI with regards to the bill’s second reading. The unionist community would vote in favour of the bill, and in return, a similar bill for Ulster Scots would be passed in the Assembly. This bill would both give Ulster Scots equal status to the English and Irish languages as an official language of Northern Ireland, and reduce the extension of B013 to only predominantly Irish-speaking regions, while the Ulster Scots bill would extend to predominantly unionist areas. However, the nationalist community voted against the Ulster Scots Protection Bill’s first reading, as did the Independent Socialists and the NI Greens, leaving B013 to extend to the entire country upon its passing.
The bill would require that all road signs in the country be printed in both English and Irish, and that Irish-speaking schools across the country would be given extra funding, and it encourages the establishment of more of these schools. This would be acceptable to the unionist community if it only applied to regions where a majority of the residents identified as Irish by descent, however that is not the case with this bill.
The UUP has committed to working with the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, who wish to amend the bill to only extend to certain regions, in the future if the bill should be resubmitted by the SPI, though the bill in its present form must not pass, for the
... keep reading on reddit ➡Statement from the Leader of the Labour Party:
I can announce that /u/Haroldinite has been elected as the next chair of the Labour Party after getting a majority in the first round. Congratulations to Haroldinite, and I'm looking forward to working with him.
Statement from the Deputy Prime Minister:
Saddened to see England lose to Italy yesterday night. Regardless, our team should be proud they made it this far and I'm sure that they will win the world cup next year!
Statement from the Finance Minister of Northern Ireland:
Congratulations to Italy on winning the euro cup and commiserations to England. I hope we can all come together again soon to enjoy some more sports events.
Statement from the Welsh Minister of Education and Social Security:
Congratulations to Italy for winning and commiserations to Denmark and Ukraine. Hopefully they won't make it this far next time!
This is an automatic summary, original reduced by 61%.
> Martin McGuinness has said he is resigning as Northern Ireland's deputy first minister in protest against the handling of a botched energy scheme that could cost taxpayers £490m. The Sinn Féin MLA's resignation will take effect from 17:00 GMT. He cited the Democratic Unionist Party's conduct over the scandal surrounding the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme as the reason.
> He said First Minister Arlene Foster has a "Clear conflict of interest" in the RHI scandal and her position is "Not credible or tenable".
> The scandal has engulfed politics in Northern Ireland over the past month, with DUP leader Mrs Foster facing repeated calls to resign - all of which she has refused.
> In his resignation letter, Mr McGuinness said the DUP's handling of the scandal has been "Completely out of step with a public mood".
> "The refusal of Arlene Foster to recognise the public anger or to exhibit any humility in the context of the RHI scandal is indicative of a deep-seated arrogance, which is inflicting enormous damage on the executive, the assembly and the entire body politic," he added.
> DUP MP Sammy Wilson said the deputy first minister had stepped down "In a way to deepen this crisis".
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