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Business Campaigns Community Cost of Living

Budget Energy Tariff to Increase By 4%

Budget Energy is set to increase its electricity tariff by 4% from 15 January 2026. A typical Budget Energy credit customer will see their annual electricity bill rise by around £47 per year and a typical prepayment customer will see their top-up costs rise by around £46 per year. Raymond Gormley, Head of Energy at […]

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Business Campaigns Community Constituency Cost of Living Government Infrastructure Newry Newry and Armagh Stormont

Newry: Temporary “Grace Period” For Festive Parking

Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has delivered a festive boost to Lisburn and Newry by introducing an hour’s grace period for people parking in the on-street parking spaces within the Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs). This means people will have up to one hour to return to their cars following the expiry of their paid parking event […]

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Armagh Campaigns Community Constituency Cost of Living Government Newry Newry and Armagh Politics South Armagh Westminster

Child Benefit U-Turn Welcome, But More Needed – Dáire Hughes MP

Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh, Dáire Hughes, has welcomed HMRC’s U-turn in the issuing of letters suspending Child Benefit payments to families that have done nothing wrong.  Dáire Hughes MP said; “We welcome HMRC’s change of approach, recognising the staggering failure of their practices and their commitment to reinstate Child Benefit payments to […]

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Campaigns Community Constituency Cost of Living Government Newry Newry and Armagh Politics Westminster

Grant: Chancellors Statement a waste of Time

Ms. Grant commented after the Chancellor’s early morning press conference this week said, “What a waste of time as it turned out to be uneventful, with heavy emphasis on business, defense, and the national debt. These are all the reasons traditionally given when the working class is about to be shafted. Ms. Grant continued it […]

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Campaigns Community Constituency Cost of Living Newry Newry and Armagh

Grant Slams Rising Food Costs

Nicola Grant Workers Party representative has hit out at the massive rise in food inflation over the past five years. The cost-of-living crisis has left millions of workers and their families struggling to put food on the table, food inflation having risen by 38% over five years, leaving working-class people unable to provide even the […]

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Campaigns Community Cost of Living Government Politics Stormont

Minister Announces £12.4m Jobs Programme For Benefit Claimants

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has announced a new £12.4 million employment drive to support working age benefit claimants into work. JobStart will seek to build new connections between employers and workers, creating work opportunities while tackling economic inactivity, right across Northern Ireland. Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said: “JobStart is the biggest jobs programme of its kind, […]

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Campaigns Community Consumer Council NI Cost of Living

SSE Airtricity Standard Variable Tariff to Increase by 4%

Northern Ireland’s second biggest energy supplier, SSE Airtricity, is set to increase its standard variable electricity tariff by 4% from 1 November 2025. A typical SSE Airtricity credit customer on a standard variable tariff will see their bill rise by around £45 per year. Raymond Gormley, Head of Energy at the Consumer Council said: “From […]

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Campaigns Community Cost of Living Lifestyle

Cheapest Spots to Fill Up Revealed – Where does your town rank?

By Compare NI Parents tackling the dreaded school runs are being shown the most pocket-friendly places to fill up their cars across Northern Ireland to help make savings on their fuel bills. Back-to-school season is a challenging time financially for many families, with new figures showing that a third of NI parents are being forced […]

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Campaigns Community Constituency Cost of Living Newry Newry and Armagh

Grant: Executive Not Doing Enough to Tackle Child Poverty

Nicola Grant Workers Party Regional spokesperson speaking at a Workers Party event discussing poverty said that child poverty is at the root of so many evils, yet our Executive parties are doing nothing to address the root causes of poverty and multiple deprivations. Ms. Grant said generational poverty has impacted on the life chances of not […]

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Campaigns Community Constituency Cost of Living Government Newry Newry and Armagh Politics Westminster

Grant Calls on MPs to Oppose Welfare Cuts

Nicola Grant workers party representative is calling on all Northern Ireland MPs to oppose the government welfare bill in Westminster next Tuesday. Already over 120 Labour MPs have signed the amendment calling for a pause on the changes, including further consultations and for support to be in place before any further cuts are made. They […]

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Campaigns Community Constituency Cost of Living Downpatrick Education Government Politics South Down Stormont

Mason Welcomes £55 Million Investment Into Childcare and Early Years

Sinn Féin MLA Cathy Mason has welcomed the £55 million investment into childcare and early years. The party’s spokesperson on childcare and early years said: “Today’s announcement of additional childcare support for school-aged children is very welcome, and will help make childcare more affordable and accessible for families from September. “The extension of 22.5 free […]

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Campaigns Community Cost of Living Education Government Politics Stormont

Minister Announces £55 Million Childcare Scheme

Education Minister Paul Givan has announced a £55 million package of measures for early learning and childcare that will include an extension of the Northern Ireland Childcare Subsidy Scheme to cover school-age children. Speaking after Executive approval of the support measures, the Minister said: “Today, the Executive agreed an additional £55m investment in early learning and […]