Sinn Fein councillors in Armagh have complained about "SDLP bullying" after a female republican councillor was allegedly called "a washer woman". Not very pleasant, nor politically correct, but given the shenanigans and fist fights that used to happen inside Belfast's "Dome of Delight", it's maybe also a sign of how far we have come that it merits a complaint.
could be decision time for our would be MLAs and Councillors. The Environment Minister Arlene Foster is talking about a combined election that month to both the Assembly and our eleven proposed super councils. If both happened on the same day our budding politicians might have to choose between Stormont and their local council - easy enough for some, but maybe not for those who would be sure of becoming a councillor but not so sure of becoming an MLA. They wouldn't get a chance to try their hand at the Assembly first and then turn to their council if they fail to make it into Stormont.
The council legislation will rule out the dual mandate, by which MLAs have held on to their council seats. But what about the other dual mandate? The Ulster Unionist Sammy Gardiner has asked Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness to provide a timescale for ending Westminster/Stormont double jobbing. The North Antrim MP and Mid Ulster MP answer in the following terms "Disqualification for membership of the Assembly is a reserved matter under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and therefore not one for which the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister has any direct responsibility".
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I'm Mark Devenport, BBC NI's political editor, and I'll be blogging here on all things politics. For the latest updates across BBC blogs,
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