The UK won’t call an election in Northern Ireland immediately after a deadline for the devolved government to be formed expires tonight, but will consider all options as negotiations with the European Union on the region’s post-Brexit status progress continue.
(Bloomberg) — The UK won’t call an election in Northern Ireland immediately after a deadline for the devolved government to be formed expires tonight, but will consider all options as negotiations with the European Union on the region’s post-Brexit status progress continue.
“I will use the next few weeks I have available to me to assess carefully all options about what happens next and to continue to talk to all interested parties before I make any decisions,” UK Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris wrote in the Irish Times on Thursday, ahead of a meeting with lawmakers in Dublin.
The region’s power-sharing government has not functioned since February, with the Democratic Unionist Party blocking its formation in protest at the terms of the original Brexit deal, which keeps Northern Ireland within the EU’s single market to avoid creating a hard border on the island of Ireland.
Why Northern Ireland Keeps the UK and Europe at Odds: QuickTake
The UK has to announce an election within 12 weeks of tonight’s deadline for the region’s executive to be formed after a previous deadline in November was extended.
An election in May saw nationalist party Sinn Fein become the biggest party in Northern Ireland for the first time.
Further reading:
UK Seeks Brexit Fudge to End Dispute Over European Court (1)
Northern Ireland Still in Limbo as Bid to Form Government Fails
–With assistance from Ellen Milligan.
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