Northern Ireland Assembly elections 2027: Six months to go

With elections to Stormont due in May 2027, this IfG webinar will bring together an expert panel from Northern Ireland to explore the most recent developments and how they affect the prospects for the next elections.

How is the executive, restored in January 2024 with the first ever nationalist first minister, faring? Will it hold on until the elections – or will the political row over Drumcree trigger another collapse? How is the economy doing, and what is happening with the budget? How are public services performing? What does Andy Burnham’s Brexit reset mean for Northern Ireland? And how are politicians in London and Belfast, including Burnham's recently appointed secretary of state Chris Bryant, managing the relationships and the politics?

For answers to all these questions and more, join our expert panel on 5 November, featuring:

• Professor Deirdre Heenan, Professor of Social Policy at Ulster University  
• Sam McBride, Northern Ireland Editor at The Belfast Telegraph
• Sir David Sterling, former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service
• Ann Watt, Director at Pivotal, Northern Ireland’s independent public policy think tank

This webinar will the chaired by Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.