October Stormont election if parties do not engage, Northern secretary says

A fresh Assembly election will be called at the end of October if parties do not “earnestly engage” to restore Stormont, the UK’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland warned on Friday night.

Shailesh Vara urged all parties “in the strongest possible terms” to work together to form a powersharing executive and “address the issues that matter most to people”.

The North has been without a functioning government since the last elections in May, as the largest unionist party, the DUP, has boycotted its formation until its concerns over the Northern Ireland protocol are dealt with.

Addressing the British-Irish Association conference in Oxford, Mr Vara said it was the “duty” of elected representatives to get the devolved institutions up and running during a cost-of-living crisis so they can “start spending the money that is waiting to be spent”.

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By law, the UK government is required to set a date for an Assembly election if a first and deputy first minister have not been appointed after four consecutive six-week periods for negotiations.

“There are people in Northern Ireland right now who are suffering. Some don’t know how they are going to put food on the table for their families and themselves,” Mr Vara said.

“The New Decade, New Approach agreement provided a lengthy period for politicians in Northern Ireland to restore functioning devolved institutions.

“But let me be clear, if the parties do not make full use of that time to earnestly engage to restore a fully functioning executive, then I will have to call an election at the end of October.

“This is not something that the people of Northern Ireland want or need, especially given the present economic circumstances.

“What people want is a fully functioning executive, taking decisive action to tackle the cost of living crisis, improve healthcare, improve education and drive the economy to its full potential.”

Following May’s historic polls, Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party in the Assembly with its Northern leader Michelle O’Neill becoming First Minister designate.

The DUP has refused to elect an Assembly speaker since the election, leading to the effective collapse of the institutions.

The controversial protocol Bill, which aims to scrap parts of the post-Brexit trade deal, is making its way through Westminster and is due to come before the House of Lords in the autumn.

Mr Vara accepted there were issues around the protocol.

But he added: “There is also a bigger picture here. We need to get back to finding some common understanding and a relationship of trust between friends and neighbours with a spirit of good intent and a willingness to make things better.

“I accept that the politics around this are difficult. But given the political will, this can be resolved.”