Stormont: Alliance bid to recall assembly to debate poll deadline

The Alliance Party is attempting to recall the Northern Ireland Assembly to debate the impending deadline to restore Stormont's ruling executive.

The secretary of state for Northern Ireland said on Tuesday he would call an election if the executive was not restored by 00:01 on 28 October.

The Alliance leader said departments would be left without ministers during a time of "chaos" in the UK government.

Naomi Long called for an end to "ransom politics" and dysfunction at Stormont.

The Northern Ireland Executive has not fully functioned since February, when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) pulled its first minister out of office in protest over post-Brexit trade rules known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Under current legislation, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris must call a fresh election if Stormont's power-sharing executive government is not back up and running within six months of the last assembly poll, which was held on 5 May.

Appearing before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster on Tuesday, he said he "can't see the space" to pass emergency legislation that would be needed to avert another election.

Launching her party's recall petition, the Alliance leader said: "We are in an unprecedented period of uncertainty between Parliament and the assembly.

"As things stand, next week the caretaker ministers are removed from office and departments are left without direction at a time when Westminster is in chaos.

"In that context, and considering the cost of living and cost of business crisis, it is reckless and irresponsible in the extreme to allow the institutions to drift into deeper crisis, dragging in its wake our public finances and public services.

"Engaging in ransom politics at this time is completely scandalous."

Northern Ireland's chief electoral officer Virginia McVea said preparations were being finalised for a December election.

"We have been in contingency planning and have been in contact with about 600 odd polling places and nearly 9,000 potential staff, to check, particularly given the timing, 'would you be available?'," she told BBC Radio Foyle.

She said the vast majority of polling stations and staff were available.

"We just hope that continues to hold," she said.

The estimated cost of another election would be in the region of about £6.5m, Ms McVea added.

Suddenly a Christmas election looks more likely than not.

Northern Ireland's chief electoral officer has written to the parties telling them the probable date would be 15 December, if the election goes ahead.

Chris Heaton-Harris is adamant that is what he will do if the executive is not restored in time for his deadline.

Alliance's motion to recall the assembly to debate the deadline also calls for reform at Stormont to ensure no single party can collapse the institutions again.

Mrs Long's party has expressed concern that the crisis is being compounded by the Conservative Party's problems at Westminster.

The assembly has been recalled three times since the last election in May in an attempt to force the DUP to abandon its boycott and three times it has failed.

Recall petitions need signatures of at least 30 assembly members to succeed - Alliance has 17 members so would need the support of other parties.

Mrs Long said assembly members had a responsibility to take action to support those who were struggling during the cost-of-living crisis.

"Whilst the assembly and executive can't solve all of those problems, some of which are national or global, it is the difference between being able to do something as opposed to nothing to help those in need," she said.

The DUP has repeatedly refused to nominate a new assembly speaker, which means Stormont cannot appoint a power-sharing executive and existing "caretaker" ministers cannot take any major policy decisions.

The DUP argues that the Northern Ireland Protocol is damaging trade and undermining the integrity of the union.

The Alliance leader said: "The focus on a negotiated outcome on the protocol, which is welcome, cannot be allowed to eclipse the urgency of restoring the executive and doing so on a sustainable basis to end the cycle of dysfunction."

Ms Long pointed out that the DUP stand-off was not the first time one party had walked away from the executive, causing political paralysis at Stormont.

Sinn Féin withdrew from the executive in January 2017 in a row over the RHI green energy scandal and later refused to return unless legislation for an Irish language act was implemented.

"Over the last 25 years we have been increasingly locked into a cycle of crisis and collapse," Mrs Long said.

"Democracy has been repeatedly subverted by single parties, we must ensure when the institutions return, no-one is able to do that again."

DUP MP for Belfast East, Gavin Robinson, said the one thing "guaranteed from another election is that there will be further delay in sorting out the problems that are the barrier to the restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland".

He reiterated his party's opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Sinn Féin Finance Minister Conor Murphy said he did not think "anybody with any sense would want an election in the run-up to December".

"I think what people want to see happening is that we respect the outcome of the last election which is only a few months ago," he said.