Michelle O’Neill says there is no threat to Northern Ireland power sharing after Jeffrey Donaldson’s resignation

Published

2 years ago

March 31, 2024

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There is no threat to Northern Ireland’s power-sharing agreement after the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) resigned over allegations of historical sexual offences, First Minister Michelle O’Neill has said.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson stepped down on Friday. It is understood he will be “strenuously contesting” all charges against him.

Sinn Fein vice president Ms O’Neill told Sky News she has approached the leaders of the three other parties in the ministerial executive in Belfast to ensure “cohesion” amid the political fallout.

The deal that restored power sharing earlier this year hinged on the backing of Donaldson.

“I think everybody was shocked,” Ms O’Neill said of Friday’s developments.

“[It’s] a very challenging time, not least for those people that have come forward to the police.”

She added: “I’ve spoken to the new interim leader of the DUP, Gavin Robinson. I’ve also spoken to my executive colleagues, the political leaders around the executive table, just in terms of the work that we have to do, that we need to prioritise cohesion and leadership through these times.”

No threat to power sharing

Ms O’Neill said all the party leaders shared the view there is no threat to the power-sharing institutions.

“The public here rightly deserve our newly formed executive to continue to deliver for them for now and into the future,” she said.

“My priority is to make that power sharing work, my priority is to work with the other political leaders around the executive table.

“That was why I thought it was important yesterday to reach out to each of the political leaders to talk about the need for cohesion, to talk about the need for leadership and to talk about the delivery that we now need to get on with in terms of the executive itself.”

A political earthquake without warning presents a threat to power sharing

David Blevins

Senior Ireland correspondent

@skydavidblevins

“Cohesion and leadership” – the priorities outlined by Northern Ireland’s first minister in her bid to avert a full-blown political crisis.

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill told Sky News she was “shocked” by the circumstances of Unionist leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s resignation. Shocked is an understatement. Northern Ireland is reeling from a political earthquake without warning and struggling to assess the damage. There is a criminal investigation under way – politicians are choosing their words carefully to ensure they do not compromise it.

But they must, at the same time, attempt to deal with the political fall-out, to steady the ship in unchartered waters. The Democratic Unionist Party has not only lost its leader in inauspicious circumstances but erased him from its online presence. At least three of the Party’s eight Westminster seats were already deemed marginal, and at risk in the upcoming general election. If Jeffrey Donaldson resigns as an MP, it could find itself fighting a by-election in Lagan Valley very quickly.

And those landmines pose a very real threat to the power-sharing government, just eight weeks after it came into existence. Senior DUP figures, who opposed Donaldson’s decision to compromise and restore devolution, could seek to take control of the party. Hardline Unionists outside the party have urged them to do so and terminate power sharing again over controversial post-Brexit trading arrangements.

But does the DUP want to risk a Stormont election and face a general election with the party in chaos? I don’t think so, but one party’s dysfunction can quickly become every party’s problem, if it is not managed carefully.

There wasn’t a whiff of political point-scoring when Michelle O’Neill urged other party leaders to protect power sharing – to be cohesive. But she and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly will need every ounce of their leadership to avoid a political shipwreck.

The first minister added she intended to “provide leadership” and to make sure the power-sharing government got results on the “day-to-day matters that people want us to be prioritising”.

“The public rightly expect their political leaders to deliver for them. That’s where I’m going to be focused,” she said.

‘Victims must have opportunity for justice’

It came after Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly said she was “shocked and devastated” by the news of the charges against Donaldson.

She added: “Victims must always have the best opportunity for justice. This must be fully respected and supported.

“My thoughts are with those suffering who have put their faith in the criminal justice system.

“Protecting the integrity of that process necessitates significant restrictions on what can be said. I have faith in our justice system.”

Ms Little-Pengelly went on to say that she was “determined” to work with the interim party leader Mr Robinson to “provide stability” and continue “tackling the big issues faced by Northern Ireland”.

Donaldson due in court in April

Donaldson has led the DUP since 2021 and has been the MP for Lagan Valley since 1997.

The 61-year-old will appear in court in Newry, Co Down, on 24 April.

A 57-year-old woman has been charged with aiding and abetting offences in relation to the same police investigation.

He has been suspended by the party but it is understood he remains an MP.

Politics

Labour accused of ‘scandalous attempt to subvert democracy’

Published

2 hours ago

December 4, 2025

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Four mayoral elections to be postponed - as Labour accused of 'scandalous attempt to subvert democracy'

Four mayoral elections due to take place in May 2026 are set to be postponed by two years, Sky News understands.

Elections for the new mayoralties of Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Sussex and Brighton, and Norfolk and Suffolk will be pushed back until 2028.

The decision, first revealed by The Sun, is due to be announced by ministers today.

This is the second time elections are being delayed in these areas. Local elections due in May 2025 were delayed by then communities secretary Angela Rayner for a year in order to convert them into combined authorities led by mayors.

However, it is understood that these councils need more time to complete their reorganisation.

The news has sparked accusations Labour are delaying the elections for political purposes.

Reform UK’s head of policy Zia Yusuf said: “This is a blatant attempt to stop big Reform wins next May.

“It’s an act of a desperate government who are clinging onto power by any means necessary.

“Labour has proven time and time again that they’re not beyond denying democracy to millions of people in order to maintain their cosy status quo.”

The Tories’ shadow housing secretary James Cleverly said it was a “scandalous attempt to subvert democracy by a Labour government whose credibility and popularity are already in tatters”.

“The Conservatives firmly oppose this decision to delay the mayoral elections, especially when candidates have been selected and campaigning is well under way,” he added.

“Democracy is being denied yet again after the council elections cancelled by Labour this year.

“There is no credible justification for this move. The Labour government must reverse it immediately.”

The reorganisation is part of Labour’s manifesto commitment to widen devolution, which it argues will improve local economies.

The government wants to abolish the two-tier system of county and district councils and merge them together to create larger unitary authorities. It also wants more areas to have regional mayors, like Greater Manchester’s Andy Burnham.

Reform UK enjoyed success in the local elections in May, winning more than 600 seats and taking control of 10 councils stretching from Kent to County Durham. The party also toppled a 14,000-strong Labour majority in a parliamentary by-election.

The Liberal Democrats’ local government spokesperson Zoe Franklin called the postponed elections “a disgrace”.

“Democracy delayed is democracy denied,” she added. “We are fighting to end this blatant stitch up between Labour and the Conservatives over local elections.”

Politics

Reeves between a rook and a hard place after claims she ‘made up’ chess championship

Published

2 hours ago

December 4, 2025

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Reeves between a rook and a hard place after claims she 'made up' chess championship

As an opening gambit at PMQs, Kemi Badenoch attacked Labour’s knight, the prime minister, over his Treasury queen, Rachel Reeves.

“We now know the black hole was fake, the chancellor’s book was fake, her CV was fake – even her chess claims are made up,” said the Tory leader.

Politics Live: Labour MP who voted against inheritance tax suspended

“She doesn’t belong in the Treasury; she belongs in la-la land.”

Chess claims made up? Where did that attacking move from Kemi come from? Hasn’t the chancellor told us for years that she was a national chess champion in 1993?

Indeed she has. “I am – I was – a geek. I played chess. I was the British girls’ under-14 champion,” she declared proudly in a 2023 interview with The Guardian.

She posted a video showing her playing chess in parliament and before last week’s budget posed for photos with a chessboard.

But her chess champion claim has been disputed by a former junior champion, Alex Edmans, who has accused her of misrepresenting her credentials.

“Her claim was quite specific,” Edmans, now a professor of finance at the London Business School, told Ali Fortescue on the Politics Hub on Sky News.

“She said she was the British girls’ under-14 champion. There was one event that can go on that title, which is the British Championship. And in the year that she claimed, it was Emily Howard who won that title instead.

“She did indeed win a quite different title. There was a British Women’s Chess Association championship, but that’s a more minor title. I’ve won titles like the British squad title, but that’s not the same.

“Just like running a marathon in London is not the same as the London Marathon, there was one event which is very prestigious, which is the British Championship.

“So the dispute is not whether she was a good or bad chess player. That shouldn’t be the criterion for a chancellor. But if you weren’t the British champion, you shouldn’t make that statement.”

Oh dear! So now, along with allegations of plagiarism, a dodgy CV and “lying” – according to Ms Badenoch – about the nation’s finances, the chancellor is between a rook and a hard place.

Or is she? “This story is absolute nonsense,” a Treasury mate told Sky News. No word from the No.10 knight, Sir Keir Starmer, or his Downing Street ranks, however.

Emily Howard, as it happens, is now an accomplished composer, having graduated from the chessboard to the keyboard.

The chancellor’s opponents, meanwhile, claim her budget blunders means the Treasury queen has now become a pawn, there for the taking.

But since Rachel Reeves did indeed win a chess title, just not the one she claimed, her supporters insist she can justifiably claim to have been a champion.

So it’s too soon for Kemi Badenoch and the Conservatives to claim checkmate. The dispute remains a stalemate. For now.

Politics

Connecticut orders Robinhood, Crypto.com, Kalshi to stop prediction markets

Published

4 hours ago

December 4, 2025

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Connecticut orders Robinhood, Crypto.com, Kalshi to stop prediction markets

The US state of Connecticut has hit Robinhood, Kalshi and Crypto.com with cease and desist orders, accusing the platforms of offering unlicensed sports betting through event contracts.

The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection sent letters to the three platforms on Wednesday, claiming they were “conducting unlicensed online gambling, more specifically sports wagering,” with event contracts available online.

“None of these entities possess a license to offer wagering in our state, and even if they did, their contracts violate numerous other state laws and policies, including offering wagers to individuals under the age of 21,” said DCP Commissioner Bryan Cafferelli.

DCP Gaming Director Kris Gilman accused the platforms of “deceptively advertising that their services are legal,” adding that they operate outside of the state’s regulatory environment, “posing a serious risk to consumers who may not realize that wagers placed on these illegal platforms offer no protections for their money or information.”

Prediction markets have come under legal scrutiny in several US states, as the use of these platforms has skyrocketed this year and attracted billions of dollars in investment for allowing users to bet on the outcome of a variety of events.

*Prediction markets saw huge volumes in November. Source:* *Token Terminal*

Kalshi fires back in court

A Kalshi spokesperson told Cointelegraph that it is “a regulated, nationwide exchange for real-world events, and it is subject to exclusive federal jurisdiction.

“It’s very different from what state-regulated sportsbooks and casinos offer their customers. We are confident in our legal arguments and have filed suit in federal court,” Kalshi added.

In a complaint filed on Wednesday against the DCP, Kalshi claimed that “Connecticut’s attempt to regulate Kalshi intrudes upon the federal regulatory framework that Congress established for regulating derivatives on designated exchanges.”

It added that its platform was subject to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s “exclusive jurisdiction” and its sports event contracts “are lawful under federal law.”

“As we’ve previously shared, Robinhood’s event contracts are federally regulated by the CFTC and offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, a CFTC-registered entity, allowing retail customers to access prediction markets in a safe, compliant, and regulated manner,” a Robinhood spokesperson told Cointelegraph.

Crypto.com did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In its statement, Connecticut’s DCP said that prediction market platforms pose serious risks to consumers because they lack the required technical standards and security protections for financial and personal data.

*Source:* *Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection*

The agency claimed that such platforms also lack integrity controls to prevent insider betting or manipulation, operate without regulatory oversight of their payout rules, advertise to self-excluded gamblers and on college campuses, and permit betting on events with known outcomes, thereby giving insiders unfair advantages.

Only three platforms are legally licensed for sports wagering in Connecticut: DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics, all of which require users to be at least 21 years old.

Kalshi under fire in at least 10 US states

Connecticut is not the only state to take a hard stance on prediction platforms; regulators in two neighboring states have previously taken action.

New York sent a cease and desist to Kalshi in late October, and the company responded on Oct. 27 by suing the state. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts state attorney general sued Kalshi in the state court in September.