BURNHAM’S “PLACE-FIRST” AND THE POSTCODE THAT POLITICS FORGOT Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign | www.strangfordloughcrossing.org | 29 June 2026 Andy Burnham delivered his leadership vision today at the People’s History Museum in Manchester — a venue chosen, by his own account, as a home of democracy and people-powered change. Speaking following his by-election victory in Makerfield […]
What the Markets Would Think of Lord O’Neill’s Infrastructure Views — and Why it Matters for the Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign | www.strangfordloughcrossing.org 1. The Two Audiences Within “The Markets” “The markets” is not a single actor. In the context of UK public infrastructure spending, two distinct market constituencies have opposing […]
Lord O’Neill of Gatley — Why He Favours Construction Build Lord Jim O’Neill (Terence James O’Neill, Baron O’Neill of Gatley, born 17 March 1957) is an English economist, former chairman of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and former Conservative government minister, serving as Commercial Secretary to the Treasury in the Second Cameron Ministry from May 2015 […]
More homes are being lost than built — and Northern Ireland cannot even measure the problem The claim that the UK is losing homes to other uses faster than it builds them is not a campaigning slogan. It is an arithmetical consequence of published government data. The evidence below makes the case in two parts: […]
Click on image above for CPD dashboards £43 Billion in Stranded Value: What the CPD Register Tells an Incoming Prime Minister Kevin Barry MRICS | QuintinQS | June 2026 When former Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill told Sky News in June 2026 that the United Kingdom needs an “infrastructure version of the OBR” — an […]
Kircubbin Pier: A Village Waiting for Its Moment Published: Strangford Lough Crossing Campaign | www.strangfordloughcrossing.org Look at the photographs above. The first photo shows Kircubbin pier today. Beautiful in its own right, set against the extraordinary backdrop of Strangford Lough, with the Mournes visible on the horizon on a clear day — but undeniably quiet, […]
Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC): Everything You Need to Know By Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS, QUINTIN QS — June 2026 If you have heard the words “Strangford Lough Crossing” and want to understand what it is, where it stands, and why it matters — this is the place to start. Everything here is sourced. Every figure […]
Opportunities for NI Construction Firms & Consultants: Minister Launches Pioneering £61.5m Affordable Rent Programme Posted: 16 June 2026 Communities Minister Gordon Lyons today announced the launch of Northern Ireland’s first Affordable Rent (Intermediate Rent) programme — a significant new pipeline of work for contractors, consultants, architects, engineers, and the wider construction supply chain. This innovative […]
Introducing the Strangford Lough Crossing Public Debate A new public forum for open questions, evidenced answers, and a fair hearing for the case for a fixed crossing of Strangford Lough. Click on image above for access to forum. By Kevin Barry BSc(Hons) MRICS, QUINTIN QS — 11 June 2026 For the past two years I […]
Click on image above for Feasibility Dashboard Update: 8th June 2026 – Ferry re-classification – a quiet change and what it may mean Now mentioning something which the Department for Infrastructure did, quietly, in October 2023: it moved responsibility for the Strangford Lough Ferry out of the part of the Department that looks after roads, […]