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I thought I had found something from the letter below 33 wriggling its way down to 44, but I can't see what it might be connected to. The second word is critical of course. I thought there may be a guide in the text in the preamble but I can't spot anything useful.

It's useful to solve the theme before attacking the code. To solve the theme it might be worth considering why the setter used the strange word at the end of clue 24D.

I'll post a comment on an 'answers' thread in a few minutes which might give a little assistance in breaking the code.

Lastly, though I fear not the last time that I will need to repeat this, Ulster does not equate to NI. Maybe if you live in Surrey or Herts you are indifferent to these matters, but by making Ulster = NI, you are depriving the citizens of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan a province...

Answers thread :
https://www.crosswordsolver.org/forum/710100/listener-4534-answers/

meursault - please do not confuse ignorance with indifference. I plead guilty to one but not the other. I am happy to learn.

Hi Wakeling, I'm not confident that some even want to learn. Another misuse I often hear is 'England' in the place of 'Britain' or 'UK'. If you correct the speaker, they're inclined to think you're being petty...

I think for many of us the 'Ulster does not equate to NI' is superfluous.

I can't crack the southeast corner and would appreciate hints on 42ac, 44ac, and 31d.

That maybe so, Malone. But it's wrong, and probably came about due to resentment arising from the partition. People I've met in Donegal and Cavan think it's nonsense to refer to the 6 counties as Ulster. For the reason I gave previously.

Mersault - I know it's wrong! I'm sure many other people do too. Having lived there for many years, I'm not really in need of a history lesson. Still, I'm sure your intentions were good!

Hi, monimolimnion,

42ac is one of the clues that doesn't have a cut letter. Definition is first word. Think what Wyoming is and put this round two letter word meaning “as”.

44ac needs to lose a letter. Definition is “fence”.

31dn also needs to lose a letter. Definition is first word. Answer is in Bradford.

Generally straightforward clues but a very clever endgame.