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Cllr Barry McKee

@barryndgreen.bsky.social
1.1K followers 409 following 205 posts

Green Party Councillor for Bangor West. Beer loving LFC supporter, Pearl Jam 10club member, Boundary Brewing Co-op, Birder & GMB union member

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Reposted by Cllr Barry McKee
Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 11h
Today MLAs vote on a Bill to give children on free school meals a payment in the holidays, and one change could decide when families actually see it. The DUP Education Minister wants to remove the rule that says payments must start by the next school break. 1/5
Graphic for the Green Party NI. The top half shows the Northern Ireland Assembly logo and the heading of a notice: "Education (Holiday Meal Payments) Bill, Notice of Amendments tabled on 7 October 2026 for Further Consideration Stage". Large white and lime-green text on a green background reads: "Voting NO to feeding children looks bad, so the DUP Minister is putting holiday hunger on the long finger & undermining the Bill". The Green Party logo and "Published & Promoted by Green Party NI, PO Box 369, Bangor, BT20 9FJ" sit at the bottom.
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
The contrast between the utterly sycophantic coverage this week of Kemi Badenoch, whose party has a truly atrocious electoral record under her leadership, and the utterly dismissive coverage of the Greens, tells you everything you need to know about media bias in the UK
adambienkov.co.uk
Why the Holborn and St Pancras By-Election Was a Good Result for the Green Party
The dismissive coverage of Zack Polanski’s party obscures a far bigger truth about the rise of the left in British politics
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Cllr Brian Smyth @briansmyth99.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Thanks @belfasttelegraph.co.uk for featuring me in today’s edition & speaking about the need for new ideas at Stormont. I’m standing for the Assembly to help build a new storyin East Belfast where good jobs, apprenticeships & green skills give young people opportunities to learn, earn and thrive.
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Cllr Barry McKee @barryndgreen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Great opinion piece by Craig about NI and the #GAWA
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
I thought the “culture war” Portadown Orangemen are executing was being carried out in the name of, and underpinned by the notion of a “PUL community”. I’ve always regarded this a myth, a gross simplification & an imposition. But when some Prods said, “Not in our name” the reaction was instructive.
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Cllr Barry McKee @barryndgreen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Thankful to have had the opportunity to sign this open letter.
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Shauna Corr @shaunacorr.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
GOLD MINE: Inquiry latest as company argues their project will reduce water pollution levels amid plans to use 44,000 tonnes of ammonium nitrate explosives which could add to nitrogen pollution of groundwater, that already breaches conservation limits #environment #pollution #mining
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Cllr Barry McKee @barryndgreen.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sorry for your loss
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Cllr Brian Smyth @briansmyth99.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Green Party statement on Drumcree. It's time for independent international mediation.
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ash Anraí-Jones @looseyleftie.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
i can't help but feel like the DUP and SF have deliberately let this escalate, putting residents' (and regional) peace at risk because they're facing a tough upcoming election
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Cllr Brian Smyth @briansmyth99.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I wish the urgency and fight on both sides of the Garvaghy Rd row was the same around the demise of Lough Neagh. Sure, it's only our drinking water. Stormont couldn't care less.
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Cllr Anthony Flynn @antoflynnser.greenpartyni.org · 26/09/2026
Lough Neagh belongs to all of us. Today we gathered at Stormont to demand urgent action to protect it. We need to tackle pollution, invest in our water infrastructure & properly enforce environmental protections. 💚 Save Lough Neagh.
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The horror that keeps happening over and over to the point where it is just part of the background news in NI: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/...
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Belfast man beat pregnant mother of his two children to death with ‘Dad’ water bottle
Zak Hughes admits brutal murder of Sarah Montgomery that also resulted in loss of her 32-week-old unborn son Liam
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 25/09/2026
Hey Jonathan Reynolds.. we've found a few...
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 25/09/2026
“Today, the Parades Commission allowed a restricted parade down the Garvaghy Road, first time in almost 30 years. This is not a moment for triumphalism, but responsibility. We owe the next generation a broken cycle, not a repeated one.” 1/2
Aerial photograph of a rural road in Drumcree, Portadown, lined with hedgerows and green fields, leading past a cluster of houses toward a stone church with a tall spire and adjoining graveyard. Overlaid text reads “This road doesn’t have to lead us back.” A “Swipe” arrow icon and the Green Party logo appear in the bottom corner, with the imprint “Published & Promoted by Green Party NI, PO Box 369, Bangor, BT20 9FJ.”Green background graphic with white and yellow text of a statement from Brian Smyth, Green Party Group Leader, Belfast City Council, responding to the Parades Commission’s decision to allow a restricted parade down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years. Key highlighted lines read “This is not a moment for triumphalism or provocation, but for responsibility” and “Cultural expression should never come at the cost of community cohesion.” The Green Party logo appears at the bottom with the imprint “Published & Promoted by Green Party NI, PO Box 369, Bangor, BT20 9FJ.”
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Shauna Corr @shaunacorr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Investigations into our chicken waste problem continue. With Lough Neagh high on the agenda this week maybe you’ll have a read of this very important work with @tbij.bsky.social Andrew Wasley @tommygreene.bsky.social and myself 👇 www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
thebureauinvestigates.com
The Muck Files: Dishing the dirt on the UK’s chicken waste trade
UK farm animals produce a monumental amount of waste. But where does it all go?
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Cllr Barry McKee @barryndgreen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Can you give five minutes to help badgers from culling? Please use the guide at the link below (put together by the NI Badger group), to answer all the questions in the consultation. consultations2.nidirect.gov.uk/daera/potent... storage.googleapis.com/mailerlite-u...
Photograph of badger. Text that encourages people to have their say in DAERA consultation on badger culling in NI.
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Cllr Nick Hartley - Green Party @nickhartleygreen.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A new report from my @greenparty.org.uk colleague @jamiedriscoll.bsky.social is out today. How comparing our country’s finances to a household budget has created a myth that keeps us hostage to an economy that makes most of us poorer. Here’s Jamie’s plan to get us out of this mess 👇
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 22/09/2026
Belfast City Airport wants 13,000 extra flights a year and later take‑offs to 10.30pm over east Belfast and Holywood. If you live under the flight path, this is your chance to say no - sign the petition: greenpartyni.org/stop_belfast...
Aerial view of Belfast City Airport and Belfast harbour with the Green Party logo at the top. Overlaid text reads: ‘13,000 extra flights a year & later take-offs; 78% say aircraft noise hits their sleep; More traffic & more pollution.’ A bold pink banner across the runway area says ‘STOP BELFAST CITY AIRPORT EXPANSION’. Below, white text on a green overlay says ‘This expansion piles more noise and pollution onto local families, so the airport can squeeze in more short‑haul flights.’ At the bottom is a red button labelled ‘SIGN OUR PETITION’ and a small line stating it is published and promoted by Green Party NI with a Bangor address.
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Sian Berry MP @sianberry.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Are the Royal Family public servants or not? And if they are, then why do they have a blanket exemption on rules that others have to follow? In July I introduced a Bill to end outrageous Royal exemptions in the Freedom of Information Act. You can read it here: bills.parliament.uk/bills/4267
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Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland @friendsofearthni.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Please ask Mourne, Newry and Down District Council to reject Thales' planning application to expand its facility @actnowcampaigns.bsky.social my.actnowni.org/petitions/no...
my.actnowni.org
Sign Now: No expansion for Thales missile testing facility
Weapons manufacturer Thales supplies drones for Israel's genocide. I've signed this petition calling on Mourne, Newry and Down District Council to reject Thales' planning application to expand its tes...
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Walk Wheel Cycle Trust Northern Ireland @wwctrustni.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Join us to light up the greenway! Mon 28 Sept - Whitespots Country Pk to Green Rd Community Centre & back #ShapingAGreenway www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shaping-a-... @bangordailynews.bsky.social @andccg.bsky.social @barryndgreen.bsky.social
eventbrite.co.uk
'Shaping A Greenway for Everyone' series: Be Seen, Be Bright
Get ready to light up the greenway! Join us for a glow ride evening of cycling, walking and wheeling.
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Peter Walker @peterwalker99.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
By coincidence, I was asked by our opinion desk to write about the current panic over e-bikes, and so I wrote this, pointing out that if we're going to discuss e-bikes we should at least know what we're talking about. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
When is an ebike not an ebike? When it has a powerful illegal engine. Get this menace off our roads | Peter Walker
As a cyclist I want the authorities to act with clarity. Lime bikes and renters can be annoying, but the true threat is those who dangerously flout the law, says the Guardian’s senior political corres...
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Scottish Greens @scottishgreens.org · 14/09/2026
Public money shouldn't be used to fund companies who are profiting from illegal Israeli settlements or genocide. This week, parliament has a chance to end Scotland's complicity in genocide. 🇵🇸
Stop Funding Genocide. Scottish Greens to force vote in parliament to end taxpayer funding for companies complicit in Israel's genocide and illegal occupation.
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Cllr Barry McKee @barryndgreen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Poor thing
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Philip O'Connor @philipoconnor.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
In 1933, a retirement home for Jewish people opened at Lützowstrasse 48/49 in Berlin, a place for them to live their remaining days in dignity. In 1939, it was taken over by the Nazis, who turned it into a propaganda office for HItler's Schutzstaffel - better known as the SS. (1/n)
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Cllr Anthony Flynn @antoflynnser.greenpartyni.org · 12/09/2026
What is happening to our waterways? Green water and dead fish at Crawfordsburn. An ecological crisis at Lough Neagh. And only 29% of NI's rivers are in good or high ecological condition. Whatever the explanation at Crawfordsburn, we should expect much better from DAERA & the Environment Minister.
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Carla Denyer @carladenyer.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Today I supported the Assisted Dying Bill because I want those in the final few months of life to have the agency to shorten their suffering if they wish Last year I supported many positive amendments to ensure this bill had robust safeguards. I am disappointed it did not pass🧵
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Owen Jones @owenjones.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Remember the 3,000 people murdered by al-Qaeda terrorists 25 years ago. Remember the up to 4.6 million people - according to Brown University estimates - killed by US-led forces in the post-9/11 wars. A hideous crime, followed by the crime of the century.
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Cllr Barry McKee @barryndgreen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
👏
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 09/09/2026
Paul Givan says fairness means scrapping priority for disadvantaged children in pre-school admissions. Real fairness means finishing the job first. Only 65% of children currently have a full-time pre-school place. This is not a universal system yet, whatever the Minister calls it. 1/5
BBC headline reading 'Children with a parent on benefits no longer eligible for priority pre-school place' above a photo of Education Minister Paul Givan. Text overlay reads: 'Givan cuts protection for disadvantaged kids before the system's even finished.' Green Party logo and promoter imprint below: Published & Promoted by Green Party NI, PO Box 369, Bangor, BT20 9FJ.
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
So pleased to see @zackpolanski.bsky.social demanding the Government’s suppressed then redacted report on ecosystem collapse be published in full. People can’t prepare for what they don’t know - concealing this report is unforgivable #WildSummit
theguardian.com
Polanski calls for report on ecosystem collapse to be published in full
Green leader says ministers must stop ‘hiding the truth’ about threat to UK security from climate and nature crisis
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Elaine Crory @elainecrory.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
What Paul Givan has done with removing the social disadvantage criteria (SDC) without consulting on it - something he explicitly said he planned in the draft childcare strategy - will cut a generation of disadvantaged kids off at the knees. Many of them from (ostensibly) DUP voting families.
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Patricia Devlin @trishdevlin.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Six years ago, Ireland was promised a dedicated Wildlife Crime Unit. It never materialised, and no one really explained why. I went looking for answers. It took a year-long battle with the NPWS and an Information Commissioner investigation to get them. Here’s what I found ⬇️ jrnl.ie/7135559
jrnl.ie
The FOI Files: The year-long battle for records on Ireland’s promised Wildlife Crime Unit
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage claimed disclosure could harm wildlife crime investigations and future prosecutions, but the Information Commissioner disagreed.
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 08/09/2026
“Stormont must take responsibility for Translink cuts” - Cllr Anthony Flynn, Assembly candidate North Down.
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 07/09/2026
Andy Burnham promised to cap political donations. Now he’s in Downing Street, he’s backtracked. Politics should work for ordinary people, not billionaires and corporate lobbyists. Read Rachel Millward’s full article below 👇
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 07/09/2026
We’re hiring! 2 fixed-term roles from Oct 2026: Communications & Events Officer (25hrs/wk) and Regional Organiser (30hrs/wk). No party experience needed. Apply by 12pm Mon 21 Sept 2026. Request an info pack: leader@greenpartyni.org
Green Party NI hiring graphic: Communications & Events Officer (25hrs/wk) and Regional Organiser (30hrs/wk), fixed-term contractor roles from Oct 2026. Apply by 12pm Mon 21 Sept 2026 via leader@greenpartyni.org.
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Sarah Creighton @saraita101.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Gerard McCarthy's response to Maureen Lipman is so fucking good
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The government must know full well that many people have neither the space nor the money to store extra food in their homes. It is individuating responsibility for a collective problem. As usual, it is the poorest and most excluded who will suffer from it. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Minister tells Brits to stock up on days of supplies after ‘supersize’ El Niño warning
Exclusive: Angela Eagle urges UK citizens to be ‘a bit more resilient’ as they plan for national emergencies
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Aliza Adi (she/her) @alizaadi.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
#CleanAir is a human right - even for us city folk
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Shauna Corr @shaunacorr.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Not the first major boo-boo by NI’s Department for Infrastructure in relation to the Dalradian gold mine application. Now they’ve paid around £400,000 for a report they didn’t even submit into evidence 👀 www.thedetail.tv/articles/400...
thedetail.tv
Stormont department spent £400,000 on gold mine report rejected as late evidence by Sperrins inquiry
This is the second time Stormont officials failed to submit documentation to the inquriy on time
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Cllr Brian Smyth @briansmyth99.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
ALL THE DUP HAVE LEFT ARE CULTURE WARS TO DEFLECT FROM THEIR MESS. Last night I challenged the DUP on housing. Twenty years in government, & working class Loyalist communities are continually failed and been abandoned by them. Instead they chose to pick culture wars around climate action.
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 31/08/2026
8,383. That’s every graduate vacancy advertised across the UK last month: down 45% in a year and the lowest number on record. Employers are already pointing to AI adoption as part of the reason. 1/10
Graphic showing the cover of Northern Ireland’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy. Large text reads: “THEY WROTE THE CONCLUSION BEFORE THEY ASKED THE QUESTION. THEN THEY TOLD YOU, OUT LOUD, THAT THEY’RE NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR ANSWER.” Green Party NI branding and legal imprint appear at the bottom.Graphic with a dark blue and green background. Two tilted BBC-style news screenshots appear in the centre: one headline reads “Stormont suggests AI could automate public sector admin,” and the other reads “Graduate job vacancies drop by almost 50% in a year, survey suggests.” White dotted lines connect the two headlines. Text on the right says “JOIN THE DOTS.” Green Party NI branding and legal imprint appear at the bottom.Graphic with a blurred green and blue background. Two highlighted quotations from Northern Ireland’s draft AI Strategy appear in white and lime-green text: •	Page 4: “This strategy is grounded in the premise that… AI can unlock significant opportunities.” •	Page 7: “Debate will inevitably persist… but the purpose of this strategy is not to pronounce on those debates.” Below the quotations, large text reads: “They made up their minds before they asked you — then told you your answer would not change it.” Green Party NI branding and legal imprint appear at the bottom, with a hand icon and number 3 indicating the third slide in a carousel.Graphic containing four highlighted quotations from the draft AI strategy: •	Page 4: AI can “create higher-quality jobs.” •	Page 26: Public servants can be freed up by “automating routine public-facing tasks.” •	Page 33: Workers are “at risk of AI-displacement,” particularly people already facing inequality. •	Page 38: A “marketing campaign” could answer the question “why AI?” The quotes appear in white and lime-green text over a blurred green and blue background. A hand icon indicates swiping left. Green Party NI branding and legal imprint appear at the bottom.
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Mr and Mrs Trellis @thenorfolkcoast.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Veterinary Medicines - pesticides used in tick & flea treatments are bad for freshwater bugs. The collective, large-scale use of pesticides in vet medicine is equating to pollution across UK waterways with knock-on effects to freshwater invertebrates & ecosystems www.buglife.org.uk/campaigns/ve...
buglife.org.uk
Veterinary Medicines - Buglife
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 29/08/2026
Cregagh Glen should be a place for fresh air, clean water and wildlife - not repeated pollution incidents. The river has already been hit multiple times in just a couple of years. 1/3
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Cllr Barry McKee @barryndgreen.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Nothing would surprise you about them. I’m SO past being scundered for them. We need DFI reform as much as we need Stormont reform.
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 27/08/2026
From today, households in GB can legally plug in solar and start saving. Northern Ireland still can’t. Assembly candidate for North Down Cllr Anthony Flynn was promised our rules would move in step with Britain, but that hasn’t happened, and renters and flat dwellers are losing £110 a year saving.
Green Party NI graphic with a photo of two tilted rooftop solar panels mounted on a balcony surrounded by flowering plants, overlaid with a dark green gradient. White bold text reads “NORTHERN IRELAND LEFT BEHIND ON ENERGY SAVINGS FROM” followed by “PLUG-IN SOLAR” in lime green. The Green Party logo sits at the top, with “Published & Promoted by Green Party NI, PO Box 369, Bangor, BT20 9FJ” at the bottom.Letterhead correspondence from the Department for the Economy, dated 20 May 2026, reference COR-0278-2026, from Minister Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA to Cllr Anthony Flynn regarding plug-in solar. The letter states the British Government has begun work to enable plug-in solar devices to be sold in Britain and Northern Ireland, that Energy Secretary Ed Miliband wrote to the Electricity Networks Association on 30 March 2026 to progress the work, and that NIE Networks has indicated the review of Engineering Recommendation G98/NI is expected to proceed in parallel with the equivalent British process and conclude on broadly similar timescales. It closes with the Minister’s signature and title.Green Party NI graphic with a photo of a portable folding solar panel set up in a garden beside a laptop, mug, and notebook on an outdoor table, overlaid with a dark green gradient. White bold text reads “NORTHERN IRELAND LEFT BEHIND ON ENERGY SAVINGS FROM” followed by “PLUG-IN SOLAR” in lime green. The Green Party logo sits at the top, with “Published & Promoted by Green Party NI, PO Box 369, Bangor, BT20 9FJ” at the bottom.
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 26/08/2026
Belfast City Council has agreed to light up city hall for International Safe Abortion Day September 28, and that visibility matters. 1/5
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Simon Oldridge @sioldridge.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Fed up with people shirking responsibility by arguing that the UK causes just 1% of emissions? Here are two fantastic analogies from a primary school teacher, Mark in Coventry, who called Sheila Fogerty on @lbc.co.uk - one involving dog poo 😆 Other arguments here: www.nebriefing.org/mp-dialogue
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Green Party Northern Ireland @greenpartyni.org · 17/08/2026
Mal O’Hara has been chosen as the Green Party candidate for North Belfast, and he’s ready for the fight ahead. One in four children in North Belfast live in poverty. Thousands of households are homeless while homes across Ardoyne, Ballysillan and beyond sit empty, cold and falling apart. 1/2
Green Party candidate card for Mal O’Hara, North Belfast, standing inside a church with a stained-glass window and seated crowd behind him. Text: “Your Green Party Candidate, Mal O’Hara, North Belfast. One in four children in North Belfast live in poverty. Thousands of households are homeless while homes sit empty, cold and unfit for purpose in Ardoyne, Ballysillan and beyond. That’s a political choice, and I’m standing to change it.” Footer: greenpartyni.org/join, Green Party NI logo.
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