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.

Linking relocation to reform is a clever way to generate interest in a topic that is otherwise rather dry. There is no chance of the Assembly moving, but nobody can resist talking about it.

The lights begin to go out on Donald Trump’s volatile and frequently terrifying reign

Woman who sued Aer Lingus after falling while disembarking flight settles action

Fine Gael has forgotten its purpose. It doesn’t need ‘renewal’ – it needs an identity

Supreme Court refuses further appeal for man seeking to bring family from Afghanistan

The SDLP argues a “more appropriate and more accessible” site would “bring democratic decision-making closer to the people”. Matthew O’Toole, the party’s Assembly leader, said Stormont “is detached in its location and is........

© The Irish Times