Belfast Telly | How the people of Northern Ireland did (or didn't) vote

• Non-voter
  
• Unionist
  
• Nationalist
  
• First-time voter
  
• Tactical voter, Sarah Laverty (28) is originally from Ballymoney, Co Antrim
  

"I voted tactically in South Belfast for the SDLP's Claire Hanna. I'm a Green Party member, from a traditionally unionist background but Claire Hanna was the only choice for me.

"Northern Ireland voted Remain in the Brexit referendum. South Belfast voted Remain overwhelmingly, and I felt Claire Hanna had the greatest likelihood of being returned in South Belfast. I want a Remain MP to represent my constituency.

"Whatever happens next, it will not be straightforward, and the complicated Brexit negotiations are going to go on in Westminster and across Europe.

"But I want the true feelings of the people in Northern Ireland to be reflected. I've never voted in this way for a nationalist party like the SDLP or Sinn Fein before, but I'm actually fine with it....

BBC | UK results: Conservatives win majority

One might suppose, the discrepancy between Nov and Dec (-59) might be explained by the intervening period of NEW! party creation, MP "defections", and parliament.uk clerical error. OTOH, NGO exit polling unexpected Tory "landslide" is vindicated by MOE, until further notice.

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

Johnson threatens BBC with two-pronged attack
Biting the hand that feed him. Trump must be envious.

Guardian | SNP turns focus back to independence after election boost
"Alongside publishing her referendum paper, Sturgeon will write formally to Boris Johnson asking his government to give Holyrood the legal powers [!] to stage an independence vote. Johnson told Sturgeon on Friday he would refuse, setting up a constitutional standoff that could end in the courts."
Belfast Telly | 'Now is the time' to get Stormont up and running says Coveney [!] as DUP and Sinn Fein leaders call for cash injection
"[Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith] appeared to rule out the suggestion that some of the big ticket issues could be parked, or moved into a separate process, to enable the restoration of devolution immediately."

archived
Brexeternity & the Five Chieftains
No-deal Brexit would lead to direct rule in Northern Ireland

Councils under huge pressure as number of children in [foster] care soars
"Official figures show there are now 78,150 children in care in England, up from 75,370 in 2018 and almost 20,000 more than in 2009 when 60,900 children were looked after."
Black British history 'missing from school curricula in England'
"Stennett was motivated, in part, by her own education in south London, where she found Black History Month focused mainly on slavery, Martin Luther King [?], and the American civil rights movement [?], with little attention paid to black British history. ...but in 2018 a row occurred after a number of local authorities scrapped the name, rebranding it "diversity month"."

Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.

parliament.uk | Lords examines European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill
20-21 Jan 2020 proceedings, amendments' dispositions: "The bill passes to the Commons for consideration of Lords amendments."
RUSSIA! | Brexit Bill Clears UK Parliament, Set to Become Law After Royal Assent

The Brexit Bill has cleared the UK parliament [3rd reading] and is now set to become law as soon as it signed by the Queen.
[...]
The legislation was approved after the House of Lords decided to back down after its five amendments [?] were rejected by the House of Commons.

BBC | EU withdrawal bill clears final parliamentary hurdle

Earlier, MPs overwhelmingly rejected all five changes - including on child refugees - made by peers to the bill. It then returned to the Lords where peers backed down, despite some anger at their voices being "dismissed".
[...]
A total of five amendments to the bill were sent to MPs for consideration from the Lords, including on [1] EU citizens' rights, [2] the power of UK courts to diverge from EU law and [3] the independence of the judiciary after Brexit.

Another, the so-called [4] Dubs amendment - which reinstated a guarantee that unaccompanied refugee children could continue to join relatives in the UK after Brexit - was also demanded by peers.

A fifth amendment called for the bill to be changed to take note of the [5] Sewel Convention, which states that Parliament should not legislate on devolved issues without the consent of the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Stormont Assembly in Northern Ireland.

, prodedural chart!