North’s political leaders called to meeting amid powersharing impasse

The North’s political leaders were called to a meeting with the Northern Ireland Secretary on Thursday as the British government continued to press Stormont politicians to restore powersharing.

Chris Heaton-Harris convened the meeting at the Northern Ireland Office in Belfast on Thursday morning.

The North’s politics have been in flux since February when the DUP withdrew its First Minister from the ministerial Executive in protest at Brexit’s Northern Ireland protocol.

The DUP has since blocked the formation of a new administration following May’s Assembly election and prevented the Assembly meeting to conduct legislative business.

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The DUP claims the protocol has undermined Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom by creating economic barriers on trade entering the North from Britain.

The party has insisted it will not allow a return to powersharing until radical changes to the protocol are delivered.

Last week, Mr Heaton-Harris cut the pay of MLAs by 27.5 per cent to reflect the fact they are not doing their jobs as legislators.

If a new Executive is not formed by January 19th, the British government assumes a legal responsibility to call a snap Assembly election by April 13th.

The meeting in Belfast come on a day when British foreign secretary James Cleverly is holding face-to-face talks with European Commission vice-president Maros Šefčovič in Brussels to discuss the protocol deadlock. – PA