Currently this writer is sitting in the Pullman Hotel in Liverpool watching hundreds of contractors, Labour party staff and volunteers put the finishing touches to the first annual conference of a sitting Labour administration in fifteen years.

Conferences are big business.

Industry lobbyists and journalists vie with delegates to glad hand the big beasts of today - Rayner, Reeves and Streeting - alongside the lions of yesterday - Brown, Mandelson and Blunkett.

There’s a palpable feel-good factor, despite the background noise of internal sniping.

Casement opposition yet another example of unionism’s scorched earth mentality - Chris Donnelly

Ghosts of Belfast’s past can help us understand Ireland’s present - Noel Doran

• Finucane inquiry can shine a light on the ‘deep state’ and unearth answers for all victims - Tom KellyOpens in new window
• Racism stems from an unfounded fear but mostly it’s a result of ignorance and bigotry - Tom KellyOpens in new window
• The new SDLP and UUP leaders need to jointly offer an alternative to the DUP and Sinn Féin’s loveless marriage - Tom KellyOpens in new........
  

  © The Irish News