In Northern Ireland’s capital, the election is being fought between unionists and ‘neithers’ – with poverty, crumbling public services and crime at the forefront
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East Belfast’s streetscape resembles a historical tapestry. Murals commemorate the Titanic, first world war battles and loyalist paramilitaries – faded eras of building ships, fighting Germans and striking back at the IRA and Catholics during the Troubles.
The impression is of a constituency held in aspic, a timeless bastion of working-class unionism, but this is deceptive. The giant yellow cranes of Harland & Wolff still dominate the skyline but the shipyard’s glory days are long gone. Neighbourhoods that relied on traditional industries have decayed while other areas have gentrified amid a burgeoning population of tech workers and other well-paid professionals who do not paint their kerbstones red, white and blue.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/22/belfast-east-election-issues-cost-of-living-unionism-northern-ireland
Author : Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
Publish date : 2024-06-22 11:27:33
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