Published: 13 February 2020 Last month, Northern Ireland Secretary of State Julian Smith was the Spectator’s Minister of the Year. This month, to the bewilderment of politicians on both sides of the Irish border, he was fired by the Spectator’s Parliamentarian of the...
This is the time to learn from mistakes and search for the positive and constructive, writes Ruth Dudley Edwards Published: 29 December 2019 I’m in too good a mood to hurl myself crossly into writing my annual list suggesting who should be deported from Northern...
If our new PM remains resolute, he may yet unravel the torturous Irish border conundrum Published: 25 July 2019 There are, as yet, precious few signs of either the Dublin establishment or Northern Irish nationalists sharing Prime Minister Johnson’s sunny optimism...
Julian Smith has already hit the ground running thanks to a united government and clear instructions, writes Ruth Dudley EdwardsPublished: 29 July 2019Dear Secretary of State,You’ve come from the tough job of chief whip, but this one is worse. In the Commons you...
Bungling Secretary of State should have known Bill would be hijacked, writes Ruth Dudley Edwards Published: 15 July 2019 The only thing you can say for Karen Bradley as Secretary of State is that she’s managed to unite Northern Ireland’s political parties....
Published: 14 March 2019Most law-abiding people in Northern Ireland believe that anyone who committed a crime should be brought to justice – and that the terrible events of Bloody Sunday were inexcusable. What is causing enormous distress is the completely...
Slavish towards Brussels and meddlesome up north amounts to a bad combination, says Ruth Dudley Edwards Published: 14 May 2018 The DUP’s Sammy Wilson got cross last week about Leo Varadkar’s revelation that the Irish government had proposed “a joint...
A new book offers a moral solution to the legacy issue that is bedevilling negotiations, writes Ruth Dudley Edwards Published: 30 April 2018 Dear Secretary of State, You have been given the thankless job of trying to restore the Executive by squaring circles and...
