London Editor, the Irish Times
40 min listen
In this week’s episode: Is Boris Johnson planning to tear up Britain’s deal with the EU? James Forsyth says in his Spectator cover story this week that Boris Johnson plans to reignite the Brexit voter base by taking on the EU again over Northern Ireland. He joins the podcast along with Denis Staunton, the London
If Sinn Fein emerges with the most seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections this week, it will not be because the party has grown in popularity since the last vote in 2017. It will be because support for the DUP is at its lowest in more than two decades. The DUP has suffered because
11 min listen
This week Edwin Poots was formally endorsed as the DUP’s new leader, in a meeting which Arlene Foster, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (Poots’s rival in the leadership campaign) and other senior DUP politicians walked out of before Poots gave a speech. What does the future hold for the divided political party that held so much sway
21 min listen
Arlene Foster’s departure has left the DUP in a difficult place. Unionists could become disaffected if another relative moderate takes over, but younger voters might abandon the party if a hardliner becomes leader. What does this mean for Northern Ireland? Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Denis Staunton, London editor of the Irish Times.
14 min listen
Sensing an opportunity after the EU triggered Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol, the British government is in talks with the EU over compromises to the agreement. Will this gamble pay off, or could it backfire to stoke tensions on the island of Ireland? Katy Balls talks to James Forsyth and Denis Staunton, London
11 min listen
Boris Johnson is today visiting Brussels to meet EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen for dinner, in the hope that the two can agree a path through the stalling Brexit talks. Katy Balls speaks to James Forsyth and Denis Staunton, London editor of the Irish Times, about whether it could give negotiations the lift
16 min listen
