NI To Lose Three MPs

A referendum on changing the UK's voting system for general elections will take place in May, on the same day as the Northern Ireland Assembly elections. It may also mean a cut in the number of MPs from NI losing three seats. The legislation was approved in a late night sitting of the House of Commons after the House of Lords had tried to amend the plans.

Cops Attacked In Grange

Police have come under attack from youths throwing bricks and even petrol bombs during a search for drugs in Co Antrim. A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of drugs offences after the search at the house in Grahamstown Park in Ballyclare's Grange Estate. The PSNI said a makeshift barrier was also briefly placed across a road.

Baseball Bat Attack Slammed

Robin Newton, the East Belfast DUP MLA has said the brutal battering of a man in Strandburn Crescent with a baseball bat should be condemned by all right-thinking people. "No one has the right to take the law into their own hands. Those who carried out the attack are likely to be involved in other similar actions and if such beatings continue then a victim will end up very seriously injured or even worse. To take a baseball bat to another person's head requires a level of viciousness and brutality that makes right-thinking people recoil," he said.

Sex Offendors In Focus

Naomi Long MP has urged the UK Home Secretary to ensure that there would be no 'loopholes' created by the difference in approach of different UK jurisdictions to the Supreme Court ruling regarding the permanent retention of individuals on the Sex Offenders register. The Alliance MP raised the issue in a question following an oral statement in the Commons by Secretary of State, Theresa May MP. "We must ensure that there is no reduction in the protection afforded to the public due to different approaches taken in different devolved regions and it is vital that the NI Executive is properly consulted throughout this process and that any differences in approach between the devolved administrations do not lead to sex offenders being able to manipulate this situation by moving between jurisdictions, leaving the public more vulnerable," she said.

McLaughlin Slams Budget

The Sinn Fein Finance Spokesperson Mitchel McLaughlin has confirmed the party had submitted a response to the consultation on the Northern Ireland Draft Budget. He said there can be a 'Better Way' and that - with the onset of Tory cuts - the onus was on the Assembly and Executive to take the lead in generating additional revenues, achieving fiscal and economic levers as well as working together to achieve the best deal for frontline services and those most vulnerable in our society. "Our economic proposal document identified revenue-raising opportunities of over £1bn and it also highlights the very immediate and obvious need for the transfer of fiscal powers to the Assembly and Executive."

Homes Repossessed?

Some 2,540 families in Northern Ireland are forecast to lose their homes this year, according to a new report. HML manages £40bn of mortgages and predicts almost 1% (0.83%) of mortgaged homes in NI are likely to be repossessed, a rate worse than any other UK region. It expects 33,250 home repossessions in the UK during 2011. The group said the higher level in Northern Ireland reflected a drop in house prices by more than 10% in the region during the past year, it also highlighted the recession in the Republic of Ireland.

NIHE Boosts Ballyclare

A Co Antrim community group, Northend Community Association has teamed up with the NI Housing Executive (NIHE) on a new project aimed at improving the look of the Erskine/Rashee estate in rural Ballyclare. The NIHE-funded scheme aims to redevelop the landscape around the local area with a spokesperson for the Community Association thanking Housing Executive staff for making sure the funding was secured for the scheme, and for the plans they laid out to tidy up the estate.

(BMcC/GK)