The UK Government will again assume a legal duty to call an election if an executive is not formed today.
ANOTHER DEADLINE FOR forming a devolved executive in Northern Ireland is set to fall by the wayside as the deadlock over post-Brexit trading arrangements continues.
19 January is the latest in series of deadlines the parties have been given to resurrect devolution following the last election in May. Many unionists in Northern Ireland are vehemently opposed to arrangements that have created economic barriers on the movement of goods between Britain and Northern Ireland, insisting the protocol has weakened the region’s place within the United Kingdom.
If the latest deadline passes, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris assumes a duty to call an election within 12 weeks.PA Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris leaving Downing Street yesterday. PA If a deal emerges in the coming weeks, and the DUP agrees to re-enter powersharing on the back of it, the Northern Ireland Secretary could then ask Parliament to retrospectively extend the 19 January deadline for forming an executive – meaning the parties could return to Stormont without the need for a fresh election.
“The DUP have to shoulder some responsibility for bringing us to the point that we’re in today,” she told BBC Newsnight.
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