I wasn't sure whether to be amused or angry when I first learned of the government giving consideration to taxing rubbish collections as part of council tax reforms for England and Wales (and Scotland?). In principle, it would be a good incentive for peo… more »

I've been saying from I began blogging just over a year ago that I'd like to see the Conservatives perform better in Northern Ireland elections, so you'd naturally expect that I'd be happy at the prospect of UUP members defecting to the Tories. Well you… more »

This is one for the fans of loyalist paramilitaries out there. On Saturday, the Mount Vernon UVF sent an 8-man gang into Rathcoole to torture Robert McCord for information he didn't have - ie the location of his estranged cousin, Raymond. Paramilitari… more »