Northern Ireland’s five party leaders will meet with Secretary of State Brandon Lewis today as newly elected MPs gather in Stormont, despite a lack of immediate hope for a new chief executive.
r Lewis has signaled that he will take the back seat, as a new political crisis is looming in Stormont and the government will not take the initiative to negotiate.
DUP sources said the party would not nominate a deputy prime minister to serve with Michel O’Neill, while the protocol issue remains unresolved.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will travel to London tomorrow to outline the legislative changes the government wants to make.
No major announcement is expected on the protocol in the Queen’s speech tomorrow.
The DUP will argue that its vote, along with the TUV vote, is a mandate for the unionists to remove the protocol.
Upper Bann MLA Jonathan Buckley said: “Either the Secretary of State wants the executive or a protocol – he can’t have both.”
A reception for new WFP will be held tomorrow in Stormont, with the first meeting of the Assembly likely to take place on Thursday, when a new President will be elected.
Party leaders are due to meet in Stormont this afternoon. If a new CEO is formed later this year, Sinn Fein will have four ministers under the d’Hondt system, three DUP and Alliance and UUP one each.
The Minister of Justice will also be elected in an inter-Community vote.
Asked whether his party would join the government or the opposition, Doug Beatty said: “Ulster vehicles will meet at the Houses of Parliament on Monday. In the coming days, there will be many discussions from all sides.
“The people of Northern Ireland want decentralized institutions to work as soon as possible. We will continue to play a positive role and all the decisions that the UUP makes will be in the context of what is best for Northern Ireland and its people. “
Without a new executive director, the previous one could continue in the shadows for six months without a first and deputy first minister.
A series of internal DUP meetings will be held in the coming days. Sir Jeffrey has a week to decide whether to resign as a Lagan Valley MP to sit as an MLA or co-opt another party member in his seat in Stormont.
Speaking before the meeting with party leaders, Mr Lewis promised that the government would address issues related to the Protocol. However, he called on the parties to form an executive branch as soon as possible.
“The people of Northern Ireland deserve a stable and responsible decentralized government, and I will continue to call on the leaders of the political parties in Northern Ireland to fulfill their responsibilities and form an executive branch as soon as possible,” he said.
“This process must begin with the nomination of the President of the Assembly to allow legislation to move forward and address important issues affecting the people of Northern Ireland.
“We have to deal with the outstanding issues of the Protocol on Northern Ireland, and we want to do that with an agreement with the EU, but as we have always said clearly, we will not be ashamed to take further steps if necessary.
When forming a new executive director, he added: “I will stay in close contact with the party leaders, but the parties must agree on the way forward. The new decade The new approach specifically introduced measures to support a country-led process.
“This is in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland, and I call on the parties in Northern Ireland to work together for a brighter future.
Speaking earlier on the BBC’s Sunday Politics program, Mr Lewis described the election results as “significant”, but downplayed the prospect of a border poll, saying unionists still had more seats than nationalists in the Assembly.
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