Alistair Bushe, Editor
Dear reader,
October 2020 will go down as the month in which Northern Ireland returned to a form of lockdown with schools closed for an extra week over half term and hospitality closing its doors again for at least a month.
The restrictions introduced by the Stormont Executive certainly weren't without controversy, not least because of an apparent split at the Executive table, but I wouldn't envy being in the seat of First Minister Arlene Foster as she tried to balance reducing the number of new Covid-19 cases and the threat to public health, with preserving the economy and people's livelihoods.
As I write this newsletter, the restrictions are due to be lifted at the end of next week, but some medical figures here have called for a general lockdown, with Stormont's health advisers believed to want the closure of hospitality to be extended for another fortnight.
Mrs Foster wrote an article for us last month, in which she emphasised that while the threat from Covid-19 remains very real, we cannot continue to lock down Northern Ireland. That is broadly representative of the News Letter's view which is outlined in a Morning View column last month. While we want to curb Covid-19 and beat the pandemic, we also have to be conscious of the impact that the restrictions have on so many people's lives.
One of the most read stories on our website during October was written by political editor Sam McBride, who did an extensive sit-down interview with Mervyn Gibson, the Orange Order's Grand Secretary.
Mr Gibson revealed the Order's plans to mark the centenary of Northern Ireland in 2021 with the centrepiece of the celebrations set to be a huge parade from Stormont. There will also be fireworks and garden parties, and plenty of other festivities. Fingers crossed that by that stage we will be at the other side of this dreadful pandemic and that the celebrations can take place in all of their glory.
We have deliberately moved Sam into a different way of working with emphasis on delivering political stories and top analysis to our subscribers and registered readers when they need it.
I was delighted to confirm that Peter Robinson, Northern Ireland's former first minister and the former DUP leader, had joined us as a new columnist during October.
It's a real coup for us to sign Peter, and his first fortnightly column (it will be published on our website alternate Fridays) was hugely significant. He argued that a border poll will happen on the island of Ireland, so unionism needs to be well prepared with a pro-Union group.
It is a measure of the importance of the column that it was followed up by various other news outlets, including Northern Ireland's other daily newspaper outlets, the Belfast Telegraph and the Irish News.
I'm delighted that within a few weeks of each other, we have managed to recruit both Ruth Dudley Edwards and Peter Robinson as columnists, and I trust you are enjoying their views.
October wasn't a month of entirely bad news by any means. The Queen's Birthday Honours, which had been due to be announced in the spring, were delayed by the pandemic but when they were revealed during October, they honoured many Northern Ireland people who have done sterling work to combat Covid-19. Here is a full list of our Northern Ireland heroes. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
Please continue to stay safe.
Regards,
Alistair Bushe,
Editor
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