There you are you have it now

22nd April
Here in Northern Ireland where I am as I write, it is hard to imagine a more peaceful and beautiful place, amongst the Drumlins of County Down. So far away from the troubles in the world it seems, one is liable to forget how the phrase 'the troubles' once applied here. I am also, whilst enjoying the Craic sometimes forgetful of the fact that this is Northern Ireland, with an invisible border between it and the Republic. Indeed I have been reading the Irish Times (there is no border for the news either). There's news here which might make Unionists blanche. The paper reports that the Republic's national debt is down by 5.7 billion Euros, whilst the government's surplus for 2025 was 11.2 billion 'the fourth year in a row in which we recorded a surplus.' National debt stands at 62% of gross national income. The paper doesn't tell us how these record figures were achieved and perhaps they may be building up a torrent of demands for more public works. But on the face of it Ireland has the most successful economy in the EU. 

Perhaps Ireland's record has something to do with its continued membership of the EU? The case for unification won't be made on the back of a few years' economic performance but it won't be a deterrent either. Northern Ireland voters let's recall voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU. They may begin to look enviously down south. Across the water they may just see a constant flow of chaos and indeterminate government, where, by the way, the national debt is  93.2% and is predicted to rise still further in the next two or three years 'before falling slightly' according to UK government predictions. I think we can discount that hope should Labour seek to spend its way out of defeat in 2029. Meanwhile the Irish government looks set to achieve a budget surplus of 9 billion Euros in 2026. Somebody more expert than me could explain what's going on here (of course I appreciate Ireland doesn't have the same demands on its economy which is very different).
 
23rd April
A letter to the New Statesman (unpublished) setting the record straight:
 
‘It would seem that the Andy Burnham bandwagon is gathering pace (Ethan Croft, 17/4) and maybe it is. But is he really the person who will shake Labour out of its troublesome complacency? If after the elections next month Starmer is ejected our new acting Prime Minister will not be Andy Burnham but Lucy Powell, the elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. She will follow in the footsteps of Margaret Beckett and Harriet Harman who didn’t, even temporarily get to No. 10 since Labour was in opposition at the time they became acting leaders of the party. Perhaps punters might spend more time now looking to see what a difference Powell might make. She might after all fancy keeping her new job. She may well find a role for Burnham, whom she supported in the National Executive Committee, but she may also feel it is long overdue for Labour to have a female Prime Minister.’
 
The question of course is whether the party hierarchy would allow Powell to follow in the footsteps of Beckett and Harman into the temporary leadership of the party and this time into the leadership of the country. People like the current Starmer-appointed Deputy PM David Lammy may try to prevent it.
 
+The Labour Party is circulating a party election broadcast which they say has been ‘censored’ by the TV channels and so is being circulated on social media. It claims to repeat the words of Reform individuals in an attempt to illustrate what a bunch of nutters they are. Perhaps it might have been better if it had shown Labour’s achievements and policies for the future. There are some presumably. Just going negative reveals a weakness, and everyone knows about that already. Here it is:   reform-revealed - The Labour Party

26th April
+A reminder that things ain't quite over yet for the troubles in Northern Ireland as it is reported that a car bomb exploded outside a police station south of Belfast.