If politics is the art of compromise then it would appear many of our MLAs are philistines.

Stormont, rather than the streets, is now the theatre of conflict, and while hurling invective across the Assembly chamber is infinitely preferable to what preceded it, that positive comparison is arguably the only saving grace for the devolved institutions created by the Good Friday Agreement.

As the cost of living crisis deepens, public services continue to decay, and the prospect of widespread strike action looms, the priority for our ruling parties is to point score with petty, pre-scripted tirades.

Respect and a responsibility to set an example to the wider public were largely absent on Monday as First Minister Michelle O’Neill belatedly came to the Assembly to answer questions about her involvement in a protest in Portadown.

John Manley: Stormont once again excels with hostility but fails on meaningful outcomes

A week previous, DUP MLA Phillip Brett tabled an urgent oral question for Ms O’Neill and her counterpart Emma Little-Pengelly asking how standing on the Garvaghy Road to prevent a parade from taking place was consistent with the fist minister’s pledge of........

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