To Hungary and Cyprus, Putin appears to have added a third, slightly less marginal, ally – Greece. Will Spain be next?
Hard-line cultural unionists have done as much as anyone to box Northern Ireland out of normal British politics. Let this be a wake up call.
Also: the tests facing the new SF speaker; green/nationalist anti-nuclear coalition prepares for 2015; and SNP MSP spies a conspiracy against Holyrood.
The “peace process” is not a get out of jail free card – whether or not it ever justified handing them out.
Also: Cameron prepared to resign over UK breakup; Welsh Tories attack council secrecy, and Adams to stand again to lead Sinn Fein.
Also: UUP leader claims Sinn Fein would collapse Stormont for the sake of its southern ambitions; and Labour set to lose a quarter of their 2010 vote to Sturgeon.
Also: Welsh Labour turn fire on emboldened UKIP; NI21 not quite dead; Stormont deadlock still unresolved; Jones attacks Labour policy.
They are likely to be less stable than coalitions because of the lack of a majority. That does not prevent them enduring,
Ultimately, the fight for free markets comes down to emotion not economics, the heart not the wallet.
It is no use “shooting the crocodiles” without also “draining the swamp”.
Also: Northern Irish civil service plan fresh tranche of cuts; and devolved health services miss performance targets.
Also: Welsh Tory leader denies blackmail ‘cover up’; Sinn Fein accused of intimidating businesses over Gaza; and Ann Clwyd reconsiders retirement.
…a deal with DUP? The Guardian floats one today – as Mel Stride did recently on this site.
If the broadcasters are inviting potential ‘kingmakers’ the case for excluding Parliament’s fourth party evaporates.