Andrew Kerr

It genuinely feels like we now live in two different countries. In one Britain, people drag themselves to work, pay eye‑watering taxes, National Insurance, council tax, energy bills, travel costs – and still stare at their bank balance wondering how they’re going to afford new shoes for the kids. In the other Britain, a growing army are parked on benefits with rising sickness and disability claims, pulling in combined payments that can beat a full‑time wage and then stacking extra perks, from cut‑price bills to leisure and lifestyle discounts, on top. The same government that says it is “cash‑strapped” and “tough choices” for services somehow finds endless billions for a welfare system its own Prime Minister now calls “unsustainable, indefensible and unfair” – but the only people expected to swallow it are the workers footing the bill. We pay. They benefit. That’s the deal. And it is ripping any sense of basic solidarity to shreds.

@BBCMarkSimpson Now find a similar map of infrastructure investment over the same period. I suspect an inverse relationship.

🌍 Map: ©Crown Copyright & Database Right 2025, Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland 📊Data: NISRA report – Northern Ireland: A Century of Change in Statistics 📈Population growth by county, from 1926 to 2021.

Emergency services are at the scene of an ongoing incident at a school in Coleraine. Firefighters, police and paramedics were called to Coleraine Grammar School shortly after 4:15pm. belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-…

@MichaelPalmerNI I am fully with you on this Michael. Why then are we not strong enough in that conviction to steer clear of the culture wars nonsense

Unionism is a political stance on the constitution of the UK. Nothing more, nothing less. Not all unionists are Protestant. I'm atheist and am entirely secular. I also think it is self-defeating to define unionism by a culture. We are all individuals. Our diversity is a strength.

@timcairns @Gatwick_Airport Remember when we used to have our own special gate in Heathrow

Police out in force and heavy handed @Gatwick_Airport due to illegal immigration from Belfast flights. About 20 very aggressive police officers demanding ID as illegal immigrate are “abusing flights from Belfast” I was told this will be here to stay. This is news to me

11 years ago today, 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians were beheaded by ISIS in Libya for refusing to convert to Islam. Their last words were: “Jesus, I love you.” Remember, no one marched for them. No one protested for them!

@EmPeeKay76 So right Michael

Any political movement has a better chance of being a stronger force by adopting a "broad church" approach. Maintaining the core goal of such a movement whilst appealing to a wider group of people with diverse views is therefore essential. The failure to do so has ramifications.

@BelTel @mclaren_linzi The reactions to Linzi’s article are telling and worrying. There is a large block of maybe 200k union favouring politically middle ground voters like Linzi that are being ignored. Telling them to go join Alliance or continue their disaffected abstention is disastrous for UUP.

Former UUP councillor @mclaren_linzi has said she is “disillusioned” with unionism tinyurl.com/yc7hkkc6 🗣️ "I am looking to the future for my children... I do not want them growing up in a Britain led by Nigel Farage and a far-right party."

@joehas I helped them set up in Dublin in 2018 when they had about 50 folk. Great young leadership team

You would believe how many employees they have.

@smccarthynire @WJProgressive Funniest thing I have seen all day

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the irony.

@JayBasra2 Just a young, fresh thinking guy standing up for equality. The racism coming his way is shocking. Would you say these things to his face? People need to take a look at themselves.

Some people trying their hardest to personally attack my looks and reduce me down to my heritage. Clearly they are afraid of the truth! 😂 😂

Are they talks to Clement? 54% Career win rate. 67% Rangers win rate. Would love the rebuild challenge. Best man for the job.

@mooreholmes24 Do you want new voices with new messages or new voices with the same messages? Changing the voices probably means new messages. Are you open to that?

Loyalism needs new voices, fresh ideas, and people willing to step forward. If we don’t speak up, others will speak for us. If we don’t organise, others will organise against us. Getting involved in politics isn’t about chasing titles or status, it’s about protecting our community, standing for what we believe, and making sure the next generation inherit something worth holding on to, more than slogans, but a future worth having. Don’t wait for someone else to do it. Step up. Loyalism needs you.

@joehas I watched this briefly last night for the first time ever. I’m going to put in the same box as the Christmas Toy show. Downright bizarre!

Showing my two daughters the #roseoftralee in expectations of a Madrid Rose sometime in the future. A St. Patrick’s Day parade started as a joke and now we shut down Gran Via and it’s a huge thing. A team in the Leinster Junior Football Championship started as a joke and then Barcelona Gaels qualified and played there this year. So yeah, a Rose from Spain 🇪🇸 is the last domino to fall.

@A_New_Ireland Catholic does not equal nationalist. Protestant does not equal unionist. Changing religious demographics is nothing but an interesting sideshow.

A great list and I agree with all. I would add Iguacu Falls, Brazil, Tikal, Guatemala, and Queenstown New Zealand

@Efch17 @SuzyJourno Does UUP come in to your consideration? It is aimed very much at you.

@SuzyJourno Put it like this, I’m a unionist albeit not an amazing unionist, but at the minute I believe we’re best off in the UK, if the rise of Reform, Allister etc continues, dragging us back to 1953 then I am very open to understanding what a UI looks like, sure I’m not alone on that.

Unionist grassroots has moved significantly to the right. TUV's simple, straighforward message is its strongest selling point. The DUP is in trouble. On immigration, cultural issues & the rest, it's constantly playing catch-up with Jim Allister’s party. belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/column…

@SeanBra33633981 @KilclooneyJohn Catholic does not equal nationalist. Protestant does not equal unionist. Massively outdated logic.

@KilclooneyJohn 43% Irish Roman Catholic John

BBC NI has recently changed its policy and is now ‘brain washing ‘ is listeners to accept a United Ireland! This change of policy does not happen by accident! I suspect Hilary Benn SoS NI has had a word with BBC NI!!!

@gemmacaddell86 @arleneseesit Politics is about voting for individuals. So vote for those you like irrespective of party badge

DUP forget ego. UUP forget ego. TUV forget ego. Get together form one party, select the most able performers from any party. You will find the single party will produce more representation than the sum of the individual parties.

Worth the wait. #themasters