Scots go to the polls today to make what is, perhaps, the most momentous decision of their lives: whether to stay within a 300 year union with England or go it alone.

A row has blown up over plans for a motor racing circuit in Wales, with Silverstone claiming it could be being funded by illegal state aid.

The proposal for the Dáil to stock its own branded wine will help promote its appeal to tourists, a Government TD said today.

Wales is to become the first country in the UK where people will be presumed to have consented for their organs to be donated unless they opt out.

A proposal to scrap a prayer at the start of a local authority meeting sparked an unholy row last night.

Developing trade links between Ireland and Britain will be at the centre of discussions by politicians from both countries tomorrow.

A moment of Seanad silence could manifest one way of living in an inclusive society, writes Senator Katherine Zappone

The ferry link between Cork and Swansea is to end, with the loss of 78 jobs.

The family of Gary Speed expressed their thanks for the "overwhelming support" they have received following the death of the Wales manager yesterday.

SOME years ago I was walking in a wood with my brother when we came across a badger caught in a snare.

David Cameron and Nick Clegg have insisted their British government coalition will continue, despite the humiliation handed out to Liberal Democrats in the elections and the referendum on voting reform.

Proposals to change the way MPs are elected were decisively rejected by voters in a referendum across the UK today.

Voters in Britain and the North go to the polls today in a series of national and local elections. They will also vote in a referendum to decide the way MPs are elected.

An investigation into the alleged misconduct of a senior civil servant in the North will be carried out by a retired leading official in the Welsh Assembly, it was announced today.

SPECULATION is mounting that government agencies in Ireland and Wales will shortly make a €3 million investment in the Fastnet Line.

ONE of the leading figures behind the proposed restoration of Cork-Swansea ferry has been invited to address the Welsh Assembly in the hope it will provide a grant for the project.

Tánaiste and Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan will discuss the economy with Irish and British politicians in Co Donegal tomorrow.

A major security operation is moving into place to protect dozens of senior British and Irish politicians meeting at a lakeside hotel in Co Donegal next week.

The group considering how to deal with the legacy of the North's Troubles will today reveal their plans to British and Irish politicians behind closed doors.

History was made today at a meeting of British-Irish body when it was attended by unionist politicians for the first time.

A forum of politicians is to call on the British government to release secret files on the Real IRA suspects behind the Omagh bombing.

THE first concerted political effort to restore the Cork to Swansea ferry service will begin today.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing another disastrous setback in next week's crucial by-election battle, according to polls.

ONE of 17 young people thought to have killed themselves in the same community in south Wales was plagued by the death of his best friend, an inquest heard yesterday.

JUSTICE Minister Brian Lenihan has played down a report suggesting Ireland is a route for trafficking children into Britain.

Monks at a Hindu temple were today celebrating a temporary reprieve granted to a sacred bull on death row on a Welsh farm.

The UK's Labour party was taking a bruising today as results came in from elections in Scotland, Wales and England – but Tony Blair’s party appeared to have escaped the bloodbath some were predicting.

LABOUR was last night braced for a political bruising in the biggest test of electoral opinion since it won a third term in office in the 2005 general election.

Millions of voters go to the polls today in the government’s biggest electoral test since Labour won its third term in power in 2005.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said today that he will make a “definitive” statement next week on his plans to leave No 10 – as June 30 emerged as the likely date for the hand-over to his successor.

Smokers in Wales were today banned from lighting up in public places.

Anglo-Irish relations have never been better, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told British and Irish politicians in Dublin tonight.

Five Big Brother Housemates face eviction this week, Channel Four announced tonight.

THIS week has seen a remarkable convulsion within Britain’s Labour Party, culminating in the confirmation by Tony Blair that he will quit within a year.

Tony Blair will quit as Labour leader on May 31 next year and resign as British Prime Minister on July 26 2007 after an eight-week battle for the succession, it was claimed today.

The first-ever attendance of Democratic Unionist Party members at an Anglo-Irish institution set up under the Good Friday Agreement is very significant, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today.

FOUR members of Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party are to join politicians from across Ireland and Britain for the first time later this month at a major conference in the Republic.

Four members of Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionist Party are to join politicians from across Ireland and Britain for the first time later this month at a major conference in Kerry.

SUCCESSFUL structures set up to address the problems of debt in Cork are to be copied by a Welsh organisation.

Former Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy was today appointed co-chairman of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body.

READING the British newspapers this week gives one a real sense of déjà vu.

Protesters demanding the return of fishing policy to national governments took the campaign to Brussels today at the start of talks on more restrictions for the beleaguered UK fleet.

Members of the Irish-British Inter-Parliamentary Body will be briefed by Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy on the latest developments in the peace process at their twice-yearly conference in Wales tomorrow.