Making a statement in the House of Commons, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he would introduce legislation that would “provide a short simple extension of the period for setting up executives”. The deadline for Northern Ireland’s parties to form a new power-sharing body ended on October 28. Current law required Mr Heaton-Harris to call a new election within 12 weeks of the deadline – which would have been January 19. Sunak makes Gavin Williamson’s admission at PMQs – Politics more recently Mr Heaton-Harris told MPs he was now extending the deadline for parties to form an executive by six weeks to December 8, with the option of a further six-week extension. The 12-week clock to call an election will now come into force on either December 8 – meaning an election would have to be held by March – or six weeks later on January 19, meaning a poll would have to be held by April at the latest. The Northern Ireland secretary has not said how much he is proposing to cut MLA pay while Stormont remains deadlocked. The moves give parties in Northern Ireland more time to break the deadlock at Stormont. The proposals will require legislation to be introduced and passed in Westminster to enact. “The one thing everyone agrees on is that we have to try to find a way out of this current impasse – where I have a legal duty to call an election that few want and everyone says will change nothing,” Heaton-Harris told MPs. “I will therefore introduce legislation to provide a short, simple extension of the period for appointing executives – extending the current period by six weeks to December 8, with the possibility of a further six-week extension to January 19 if necessary. “This aims to create the time and space needed for talks between the UK and the EU to develop and for the parts of Northern Ireland to work together to restore devolved institutions as soon as possible.” He continued: “People across Northern Ireland are frustrated that MLAs continue to receive a full salary while not carrying out all the duties they were elected to do. “Therefore, I will seek the support of the House to be able to reduce the salaries of MLAs appropriately.” Mr Heaton-Harris also confirmed he will give Stormont civil servants extra powers to allow them to run the region’s public services as the impasse continues. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 1:16 DUP on why NI elections won’t work A DUP boycott of devolved institutions in protest at Brexit’s Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) has prevented the formation of a government since May’s election earlier this year. The protocol was aimed at avoiding a hard border with Ireland, but it created economic barriers to the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, causing resentment and anger among many unionists and loyalists. Read more: Why is there still no assembly and what does Brexit have to do with it? The DUP has refused to return to Stormont until decisive action is taken on the treaty. Responding to the Northern Ireland Secretary’s announcement, DUP MLA Edwin Poots said the UK Government must recognize that until the Protocol is replaced with arrangements that unionists can support, there will be no basis for restoring devolution to North Ireland. “Our opposition to the Protocol is not about wages. The sooner the government deals with the Protocol, the sooner Stormont can be restored,” he said. While in the Commons, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told Mr Heaton-Harris that while courage, understanding and compromise were “good words”, what was needed was “a solution which will see institutions restored with on the basis that Northern Ireland is an integral part. part of the United Kingdom’. Irish Foreign Secretary Simon Coveney welcomed the decision, saying it gave further room for progress in EU-UK talks. “I urge the UK authorities to take this renewed opportunity to engage positively and with real urgency, knowing that the European Commission has listened carefully to the concerns of people across Northern Ireland, including and especially trade unionists,” he said. a statement. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 1:17 NI Secretary ‘under statutory duty’ to call election But Sinn Féin deputy leader Michelle O’Neill said the uncertainty surrounding the election was not good enough. “What we have now are new deadlines, multiple deadlines, in which he may or may not call an election,” he told reporters at Stormont. “So it’s not a good enough place for people to be, and I think the fundamental question today has to be what’s next? “What does the British government intend to do to find an agreed way forward on the protocol?” Ms O’Neill also questioned why Mr Heaton-Harris had not targeted pay cuts for DUP MLAs who refused to cooperate with the devolved institutions. SDLP leader Colum Eastwood welcomed the move to cut MLA salaries, saying the DUP “has no legitimate reason to hang around when people’s homes are cold and their cupboards are empty”. While the leader of the Alliance Party, Naomi Long, welcomed the “clarity” from the Northern Ireland secretary, but added: “However, the overall picture has not changed. “Therefore, we need reform of the Assembly and the executive branch to stop this from happening, otherwise we could easily be back in the same situation again in a few months.” Last week, the Northern Ireland Secretary confirmed that an election in Stormond would not be held in December, saying he had heard the “sincere concerns” across the region about the impact and cost of a new referendum at this time. The UK government has vowed to secure changes to the deal, either through a negotiated compromise with the EU or through proposed domestic legislation that would allow ministers to scrap the arrangements without Brussels’ approval. Opponents have likened the Northern Ireland Protocol bill to “putting the gun on the table” in talks with the EU aimed at finding a solution and say it breaches international law and risks a trade war.
