{"podcast":{"title":"The BelTel","slug":"the-beltel-5373912","podcast_index_feed_id":5373912,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/65670352d7b5d40012be7324","website_url":"https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/65670352d7b5d40012be7324/show-cover.jpg","author":"Belfast Telegraph Podcasts","episode_count":825,"summary":"The BelTel brings you some of Northern Ireland's top journalists, Allison Morris, Sam McBride and Suzanne Breen to name but a few, giving you the inside stories behind what is in the news. Presented by Ciarán Dunbar, the Bel Tel investigates, debates and informs every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-22T06:18:36.697495+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-beltel-5373912"},"episode":{"title":"\"I’m not a soft unionist” says independent MLA Claire Sugden","slug":"i-m-not-a-soft-unionist-says-independent-mla-claire-sugden","published_at":"2026-06-08T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-beltel-5373912/i-m-not-a-soft-unionist-says-independent-mla-claire-sugden","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-beltel-5373912","url":"https://shows.acast.com/the-beltel/episodes/im-not-a-soft-unionist-says-independent-mla-claire-sugden","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/65670352d7b5d40012be7324/e/6a22a14ebe8560e74b7484f0/media.mp3","summary":"Claire Sugden is the only independent MLA in Stormont. Co-opted into the assembly for east Londonderry in 2014, she served as justice minister from May 2016 to March 2017.   Widely considered a ‘liberal unionist’, in May 2021 she turned down an invitation from Doug Beattie to join the UUP but she says she’s no “soft unionist”.   But under John Burrow's leadership, could she consider joining the party now? Can liberal Unionism be revived? And besides Unionism, what else does Claire believe in?   And she tells the BelTel that she wants to continue as a politician but not “at the expense of my health anymore.”  Claire Sugden joined Ciarán Dunbar.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.","meta_description":"Claire Sugden is the only independent MLA in Stormont. Co-opted into the assembly for east Londonderry in 2014, she served as justice minister from May 20…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2432,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-beltel-5373912/episodes/i-m-not-a-soft-unionist-says-independent-mla-claire-sugden/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-beltel-5373912/i-m-not-a-soft-unionist-says-independent-mla-claire-sugden.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}