Newton Emerson: How different would NI politics be if there were a few pubs around Stormont?

The Irish Times · Newton Emerson · 2026-11-05 06:00 UTC

The lack of a Stormont village is felt across the political spectrum. But there are better solutions than relocating it

The SDLP has proposed relocating the Northern Ireland Assembly from the Stormont Estate in suburban east Belfast to a new or repurposed site in the city centre.

Parliament Buildings, the neoclassical edifice everyone refers to as Stormont, would be leased or partially sold to fund the move.

The SDLP made a similar proposal at the time of the Belfast Agreement, winning Sinn Féin’s support, but this was swiftly dismissed as a pointless expense. The party has resurrected the idea as part of a package of reform proposals launched on Tuesday, focused on long-overdue improvements to powersharing.

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