The deadline for restoring Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government is quickly approaching, as the latest legal deadline expires at midnight. If no executive is formed, then Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris will be obligated to call for an early election. However, Heaton-Harris has previously extended this deadline and indicated that he plans to do so again, with intentions to bring forward legislation next week.
Northern Ireland’s devolved government collapsed in February 2022 after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) withdrew in protest of post-Brexit trade checks between the region and Great Britain. While a new deal called the Windsor Framework was agreed upon in 2023 between the government and the European Union, the DUP remained unsatisfied and has been in ongoing talks with the government to seek further changes. Heaton-Harris also offered a £3.3bn financial package contingent on the restoration of the Stormont institutions.
Pressure has been building from local parties and trade unions to address the pay dispute in the absence of an executive, as Heaton-Harris has argued that it is a matter for local ministers to handle. The assembly was recalled on Wednesday in a seventh attempt to restore devolved government, but the DUP vetoed the election of an assembly speaker. If an executive is not re-established, the secretary of state is set to be involved once again in setting Stormont’s budget.
In a statement, Heaton-Harris expressed regret that Stormont power-sharing had not been restored, stating that “the people of Northern Ireland deserve local political leadership from representatives they have elected to govern on their behalf.” He intends to bring in legislation on the matter in the coming weeks. However, the upcoming weeks are crucial as the deadline for an early election looms, and the fate of Northern Ireland’s governance hangs in the balance.