We don’t have much to go on when it comes to predicting the forthcoming election. The polling is volatile and there’s no reliable data on how many people don’t know who they will vote for or remain undecided.

We look at the three relevant battles; in unionism, in nationalism, and the fight for the so called middle ground. There’s a lot of talk about new, fresh politics, but some of the rhetoric, particularly from Sinn Fein, seems depressingly familiar.

We got here via a few weeks of phoney electoral war, during which the parties gave the impression that they were frenziedly busy. Did they achieve anything and why did they leave it so late to get their homework ready?

Plus, the obligatory update on the Protocol. All the latest action on dealing with the Irish Sea border… or lack of it.