The Irish Times view on the riots in Ballymena: unequivocal political response essential
The recent rioting in Ballymena and surrounding areas is troubling on a number of levels, not least that it is unlikely to be an isolated event.
What started out as a peaceful protest following an alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in Ballymena on June 7th
quickly descended into race riots
when it then emerged that the alleged perpetrators, two 14-year old boys, needed the services of a Romanian interpreter during their court appearance.
Studies of what happened show that Ballymena became the locus of far-right social media activity. At the
most acute phase of the rioting,
Ballymena was mentioned nearly 80,000 times across different platforms. Crucially, most of these accounts were from outside Northern Ireland.
An analysis of these posts shows that many of them fall within the legal definition of incitement to hatred. It also became clear that many of the rioters were not from Ballymena and were intent on exploiting local tensions. Sporadic violence spread elsewhere in Northern Ireland as well.
READ MORE
This is similar to what happened in Southport in southern England last year. Far-right activists are opportunistically co-ordinating through social media to stoke tensions and foment race riots.
There are some lessons to be learned. One is the need for ongoing improvement in social media controls.
Elon Musk, the owner of X, has dismantled most of the guardrails on his platform on the basis that they undermine free speech. The reality is that X has become an unmediated platform for hateful content that has very real consequences for the more vulnerable in society, such as the migrant community in Ballymena.
Against this backdrop, the EU has no choice but to resist any pressure from the Trump administration to lessen controls on social media as a quid pro quo for a US-EU trade deal. A key goal of the EU rules is to place responsibility on social media companies to ensure online content is safe, fair and secure.
However, local factors were also at play in Ballymena. The town has become an unemployment blackspot in recent decades. Meanwhile, the 2021 census shows the arrival of non-English speaking migrants into the town and surrounding areas in recent years. While some tensions have been reported, the recent riots are a dramatic and worrying escalation.
In responding to this, political leadership is important. Wrapping criticism of thuggish, racist violence with suggestions that shortcomings in managing immigration in some way provide a rationale – as at least some politicians seem to have done – is not acceptable.
Condemnation of what happened must be unequivocal.
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Irish Times
6 hours ago
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on the riots in Ballymena: unequivocal political response essential
The recent rioting in Ballymena and surrounding areas is troubling on a number of levels, not least that it is unlikely to be an isolated event. What started out as a peaceful protest following an alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl in Ballymena on June 7th quickly descended into race riots when it then emerged that the alleged perpetrators, two 14-year old boys, needed the services of a Romanian interpreter during their court appearance. Studies of what happened show that Ballymena became the locus of far-right social media activity. At the most acute phase of the rioting, Ballymena was mentioned nearly 80,000 times across different platforms. Crucially, most of these accounts were from outside Northern Ireland. An analysis of these posts shows that many of them fall within the legal definition of incitement to hatred. It also became clear that many of the rioters were not from Ballymena and were intent on exploiting local tensions. Sporadic violence spread elsewhere in Northern Ireland as well. READ MORE This is similar to what happened in Southport in southern England last year. Far-right activists are opportunistically co-ordinating through social media to stoke tensions and foment race riots. There are some lessons to be learned. One is the need for ongoing improvement in social media controls. Elon Musk, the owner of X, has dismantled most of the guardrails on his platform on the basis that they undermine free speech. The reality is that X has become an unmediated platform for hateful content that has very real consequences for the more vulnerable in society, such as the migrant community in Ballymena. Against this backdrop, the EU has no choice but to resist any pressure from the Trump administration to lessen controls on social media as a quid pro quo for a US-EU trade deal. A key goal of the EU rules is to place responsibility on social media companies to ensure online content is safe, fair and secure. However, local factors were also at play in Ballymena. The town has become an unemployment blackspot in recent decades. Meanwhile, the 2021 census shows the arrival of non-English speaking migrants into the town and surrounding areas in recent years. While some tensions have been reported, the recent riots are a dramatic and worrying escalation. In responding to this, political leadership is important. Wrapping criticism of thuggish, racist violence with suggestions that shortcomings in managing immigration in some way provide a rationale – as at least some politicians seem to have done – is not acceptable. Condemnation of what happened must be unequivocal.
Irish Times
8 hours ago
- Irish Times
A Nigel Farage-led UK goverment could herald a united Ireland
The election of Reform Party leader, Nigel Farage , as British prime minister after the next Westminster election would accelerate support for Irish unification and Scottish independence, former taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said. Speaking on the BBC's The View programme, shown on BBC Northern Ireland on Thursday night, Mr Varadkar praised British prime minister Keir Starmer 's attitudes towards Ireland since his election last year. 'Prime minister Starmer might be re-elected for a second term. It's equally possible – not probable – but possible, that Nigel Farage could be prime minister of the UK in four years' time, or in nine years' time,' said Mr Varadkar. 'That would change the picture,' he said, and change opinions about Irish unification among 'some people in the middle ground in Northern Ireland if in Westminster we had an English nationalist government'. READ MORE Mr Farage's party won hundreds of seats across England and Wales in May's local elections and frequently leads national opinion polls ahead of Labour and the Conservatives. Even the possibility of a Reform-led government in London strongly supports his contention that the Irish Government should be planning for Irish unification, even if it offered no view on when a referendum should be held, Mr Varadkar said. 'It makes sense to do a bit of horizon scanning, to do a bit of scenario planning, to think about some of those issues, even if it's a just-in-case,' he said. A Farage-led administration would 'double down on Brexit' because those who supported the UK's exit from the EU believed 'it wasn't done properly', the former Fine Gael leader and taoiseach said. 'What you'd see is an attempt to rescind many of the things that prime minister Starmer and his government have done to bring the United Kingdom even further away from the European Union,' he said. [ Explainer: what is Keir Starmer's Brexit reset deal? Opens in new window ] Mr Varadkar said he believed a Farage-led UK government would put Irish unification 'centre stage'. 'And it isn't just because a right-wing nationalist government in London would want to bring the UK and Northern Ireland away from Europe,' he said. Many conservative and populist attitudes pushed by Reform on social issues, such as gay rights, would not be liked by a majority of people in Northern Ireland, from both traditions, he said. '[They] have a liberal and European outlook, and if that's the kind of government they had in London versus a government in Dublin that was very different, it might make them more likely to vote yes to unification,' he said. Mr Varadkar said he hoped a Farage-led government would not happen, 'but I'm saying it could, and we should think about that'. If Farage succeeds, it will be because of English voters showing 'scant regard' for opinions in Northern Ireland and Scotland, he said. 'We've seen that happen before, and we saw it happen with Brexit. Could it happen in four to nine years? It could.' [ Rory Stewart: Britons' view of Ireland has gone from 'patronising superiority to complete ignorance' Opens in new window ] Since he stepped down as taoiseach, Mr Varadkar has repeatedly supported Irish unification, though he told the BBC programme that he had not begun planning for unity during his time in power because he was trying to secure an EU/UK deal. Unification is 'not inevitable' and must be worked towards, he said, but there are 'a lot of factors that would suggest that we're on that trajectory', especially recent polling showing that a majority of young people in Northern Ireland favour it, he said. 'I think that will carry through, and that's why I think it's something that we should plan for,' he said. 'I think it's something that shouldn't just be an aspiration; it's something that should be an objective of the Irish Government, and of Irish society.'
Irish Times
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Supply risk identified for some UK animal medicines shipped to North
Vets, farmers and pet owners in Northern Ireland will continue to have post- Brexit access to animal medicines from the UK in the 'vast majority of cases', the UK government has said. However, it warned of a 'risk of disruption' remaining for a small number of critical products. The comments were contained in a policy paper on Britain's approach to veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland, published by Northern Secretary, Hilary Benn, on Thursday. From January 1st, 2026, veterinary medicines from Britain distributed in Northern Ireland must comply with EU rules agreed between London and Brussels as part of the Windsor Framework . READ MORE Concerns had been raised by vets and politicians that up to half the veterinary medicines used in Northern Ireland could become unavailable because firms in Britain would choose to stop supplying them rather than carry out the additional retesting and relabelling required to sell them in the North after the cut-off date. [ DUP leader: Windsor deal is an opaque mess Opens in new window ] The paper said London's current expectation was that there would be 'very limited disruption, with fewer than 20 products due to face discontinuation that we consider are likely to result in significant adverse impacts if not addressed.' It announced two schemes which it said would provide additional resilience and 'plug any emerging critical gaps' by allowing vets to continue to access medicines from Britain. The UK government said these were within the scope of the Windsor Framework so did not require negotiation with, or approval from, the EU. It is understood the bloc is aware of, and comfortable with, the move. From January 1st, the Veterinary Medicines Health Situation Scheme will 'permit the use of suitable alternative products from outside Northern Ireland' by professionals without any additional red tape 'if the situation of animal or public health so requires'. A separate Veterinary Medicines Internal Market Scheme will allow vets use specific individual medicines not authorised or available in Northern Ireland when needed, again without any additional administrative burden or certification. The UK government also said any veterinary medicines already on the market in Northern Ireland can remain so until their expiry date, even if it is after the cut-off from January 1st. The move was strongly criticised by some unionist parties. DUP MP Carla Lockhart said the 'stark reality' was that the UK government had 'chosen to prioritise placating the EU' over protecting the interests of animals, vets, farmers and the wider agri-food sector in Northern Ireland. Instead of resolving the problem, she said, London had 'simply issued another paper and acquiesced to EU law that does not deal substantively with the concerns raised by the industry and does not enjoy cross-community consent'. Traditional Unionist Voice leader, Jim Allister, said that 'instead of standing up for Northern Ireland, the [UK] government has largely rolled over, devoting its energy to encouraging reorientation of our supplies so that they come from the EU, not GB.'
