If no executive is formed within six months of an Assembly election, the United Kingdom Government's Northern Ireland Secretary can call a new election early.[9] On 28 September 2022, Chris Heaton-Harris, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, stated that he had a legal obligation to call an early election on 28 October if no government was formed by that date,[10] probably[11] to be held no later than January 2023.[12][13]Sinn Féin leader Michelle O'Neill voiced her opposition to such an election: "The people spoke, and the people asked for a functioning executive, they asked for us to make politics work."[14] Both the UK Prime MinisterRishi Sunak and the Irish TánaisteLeo Varadkar had urged the DUP to agree to the formation of a Government.[15]
The parties met on 27 October and failed to elect a Speaker, the fourth time they had met and failed to do so, and no government was formed by the deadline.[16] On 28 October, Heaton-Harris expressed disappointment that no Executive had been formed and acknowledged his legal duty to call an election,[17] but delayed immediately calling one.[18] The chief electoral officer said the election date would likely be 15 December.[19] The last date that an election could be held under the legislation existing then was 19 January 2023.[20]
On 29 October, Heaton-Harris continued to delay calling an election. Claire Hanna, a Member of Parliament for the SDLP, reacted to the news, saying an election was now "less likely". Heaton-Harris held another round of talks with the political parties on 1 November, amid speculation that the UK government could introduce legislation to delay the need for a new election.[21][20] However, Northern Ireland Office Minister Steve Baker said on 2 November that Heaton-Harris "will soon confirm the date of the next Northern Ireland Assembly election as required by law."[22]
An Act to make provision to extend the period following the Northern Ireland Assembly election of 5 May 2022 during which Ministers may be appointed and after which the Secretary of State must propose a date for another election; about the exercise of functions in the absence of Northern Ireland Ministers; to confer powers on the Secretary of State to determine salaries and other benefits for Members of the Assembly in respect of periods in which the Assembly is not functioning; and to confer powers on the Secretary of State to set the regional rate in Northern Ireland.
On 4 November, Heaton-Harris said an election would not be held in December.[23] On 9 November, he said that he would be introducing legislation to (retrospectively) extend the deadline to form a new Assembly Executive to 8 December 2022, with the option for an additional 6-week extension.[24] The requisite legislation, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2022 (c. 48),[25][26] was passed by the Westminster Parliament on 6 December 2022.[27]
The December 2022 deadline passed without any resolution. The deadline was extended to 19 January 2023. Heaton-Harris invited the parties to new talks on 11 January 2023 to discuss the situation,[30] but Sinn Féin pulled out in protest at the exclusion of its president, Mary Lou McDonald, after which the SDLP refused to take part as well.[31][32]
Under the then legislation, the latest possible date for the next election, if an Executive is not formed, was 13 April 2023.[24][33] The deadline to form an Executive passed on 19 January 2023, but Heaton-Harris played down the prospect of him calling a snap election.[34]
Under then existing legislation, Heaton-Harris had to call an election by the end of the first week of March 2023. However, he proposed a further extension, with a new deadline to form an Executive of 18 January 2024 proposed.[35][36] This was achieved through the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Organ and Tissue Donation) Act 2023,[37] which completed its passage through the Westminster Parliament in late February 2023.[38][37]
On 27 February 2023, the UK and EU announced the Windsor Framework to make changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol.[39] It was hoped that this would lead to formation of an Assembly executive.[40] However, the DUP boycott continued.[41] Talks with the DUP continued without success through to December.[42]
The Assembly was recalled on 17 January 2024. The DUP position was unchanged.[43] Heaton-Harris said that he would, again, bring primary legislation to further extend the deadline to 8 February 2024, via the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill 2024.[44][45]
On 18 January 2024, the legal deadline to restore power-sharing was passed.[46] The same day the largest general strike in more than 50 years was held across Northern Ireland, in protest over pay.[47]Secretary of State for Northern IrelandChris Heaton-Harris released a statement on the situation.[48] In 25 January, the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Act 2024 (c. 2) was introduced to extend the period necessary for restoration of government without calling a snap election. It came into law the same day.[49]
On 29 January 2024, an urgent meeting of the Democratic Unionist Party executive was called following the passing over the deadline to restore power sharing at Stormont.[50] Details of the meeting was reportedly leaked to loyalist activist Jamie Bryson.[51][52]Jeffrey Donaldson revealed in the morning that his party would return to Stormont.[53][54] This end of the boycott was welcomed by Sinn Féin.[55]
On 30 January, the parties returned to Stormont for talks.[62] The same day further public sector strikes were held.[63] The Assembly sat on Saturday 3 February.[64][65] Fresh elections were to be called had the executive not been formed by 8 February.[66]
On 3 February 2024, the Northern Ireland Assembly met to elect a new Speaker, with Edwin Poots, a former leader of the DUP, chosen to be the Assembly's 7th Speaker.[67]Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill was nominated as First Minister, becoming the first nationalist politician to hold the post, while the DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly was appointed deputy.[68][69] Alliance and the UUP also took ministerial positions. They were entitled to one each. The Justice portfolio is assigned separately and was also filled by Alliance.[70] The SDLP missed out on any ministerial positions due to winning insufficient seats in the Assembly; they went into opposition instead.[71]
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It was created as a separate legal entity on 3 May 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920. The new autonomous Northern Ireland was formed from six of the nine counties of Ulster: four counties with unionist majorities – Antrim, Armagh, Down, and Londonderry – and two counties with slight Irish nationalist majorities – Fermanagh and Tyrone – in the 1918 General Election. The remaining three Ulster counties with larger nationalist majorities were not included. In large part unionists, at least in the north-east, supported its creation while nationalists were opposed.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. It is currently led by Gavin Robinson, who initially stepped in as an interim after the resignation of Jeffrey Donaldson. It is the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, and won five seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom at the 2024 election. The party has been mostly described as right-wing and socially conservative, being anti-abortion and opposing same-sex marriage. The DUP sees itself as defending Britishness and Ulster Protestant culture against Irish nationalism and republicanism. It is also Eurosceptic and supported Brexit.
The Northern Ireland Assembly, often referred to by the metonym Stormont, is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast.
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly, situated in Belfast. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement. The executive is referred to in the legislation as the Executive Committee of the assembly and is an example of consociationalist ("power-sharing") government.
United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification or a New Ireland, is the proposition that all of the island of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically: the sovereign state of Ireland has jurisdiction over the majority of Ireland, while Northern Ireland, which lies entirely within the Irish province of Ulster, is part of the United Kingdom. Achieving a united Ireland is a central tenet of Irish nationalism and Republicanism, particularly of both mainstream and dissident republican political and paramilitary organisations. Unionists support Northern Ireland remaining part of the United Kingdom and oppose Irish unification.
Arlene Isobel Foster, Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee,, is a British broadcaster and politician from Northern Ireland who is serving as Chair of Intertrade UK since September 2024. She previously served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2016 to 2017 and 2020 to 2021 and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 2015 to 2021. Foster was the first woman to hold either position. She is a Member of the House of Lords, having previously been a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2003 to 2021.
Edwin Poots is a British politician from Northern Ireland, serving as Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly since February 2024. He served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998.
Michelle O'Neill is an Irish politician who has been First Minister of Northern Ireland since February 2024 and Vice President of Sinn Féin since 2018. She has also been the MLA for Mid Ulster in the Northern Ireland Assembly since 2007. O'Neill was previously deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2020 to 2022. O'Neill served on the Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council from 2005 to 2011.
Paul Jonathan Givan is a Northern Irish unionist politician who served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), he has served as Minister of Education since 3 February 2024. Givan has been a Member of the Legislative Assembly for Lagan Valley since 2010.
The Third Executive was, under the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, a power-sharing coalition.
The 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on Thursday, 2 March 2017. The election was held to elect members (MLAs) following the resignation of deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in protest over the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. McGuinness' position was not filled, and thus by law his resignation triggered an election.
The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal, also referred to as RHIgate and the Cash for Ash scandal, is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy incentive scheme that has been reported to potentially cost the public purse almost £500 million. The plan, initiated in 2012, was overseen by Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the then-Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Investment. Foster failed to introduce proper cost controls, allowing the plan to spiral out of control. The scheme worked by paying applicants to use renewable energy. However, the rate paid was more than the cost of the fuel, and thus many applicants were making profits simply by heating their properties.
The 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election was held on 5 May 2022. It elected 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly. It was the seventh assembly election since the establishment of the assembly in 1998. The election was held three months after the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed due to the resignation of the First Minister, Paul Givan of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Executive of the 6th Northern Ireland Assembly was appointed on 11 January 2020, after the confirmation of Arlene Foster and Michelle O'Neill as First and deputy First Minister.
The Identity and Language Act 2022 is an act of Parliament in the United Kingdom providing "official recognition of the status of the Irish language" in Northern Ireland, with Ulster Scots being an officially recognised minority language.
New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) is a 9 January 2020 agreement which restored the government of the Northern Ireland Executive after a three-year hiatus triggered by the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal. It was negotiated by Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Julian Smith and Irish Tánaiste Simon Coveney.
A Northern Ireland Assembly election will be held to elect 90 members to the Northern Ireland Assembly on or before 6 May 2027.
Events from the year 2022 in Northern Ireland.
The 6th Executive of Northern Ireland was appointed on 3 February 2024, following the 2022 election to the seventh Northern Ireland Assembly held on 5 May 2022 and the protracted negotiations leading up to the 2024 Northern Ireland Executive formation. The newly elected assembly met for the first time on 13 May 2022. It is led by Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Féin as First Minister and Emma Little-Pengelly of the DUP as deputy First Minister.
Local elections were held in Northern Ireland on 18 May 2023. The elections were delayed by two weeks to avoid overlapping with the coronation of King Charles III. Following the elections, Sinn Féin became the largest party in local government for the first time. It also marked the first time that nationalist parties had garnered a greater share of the vote than unionist parties, however, despite this, there were more unionist councillors elected than nationalists.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
