The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
PM to visit Belfast amid political crisis as DUP blocks speaker election
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to visit Northern Ireland on Monday amid a political crisis caused by the DUP blocking the election of a speaker at Stormont, Sinn Fein vicepresident Michelle O’Neill has said.
The DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, has insisted he is sending a “clear message” to the EU and the UK Government about resolving issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol.
But Ms O’Neill accused the unionist party of “punishing the electorate” while Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said it had been a “shameful day” for the DUP.
The failure to elect a speaker leaves the Stormont Assembly unable to function.
The 90 MLAs met for the first time in the Stormont chamber yesterday after last week’s Northern Ireland Assembly election saw Sinn Fein emerge as the largest party for the first time.
The first order of business was for MLAs to sign the roll of membership before an attempt was made to elect a speaker.
Two candidates, Mike Nesbitt of the UUP and Patsy McGlone, of the SDLP, were nominated but did not receive the necessary support.
The DUP is also refusing to nominate for the position of deputy first minister, which prevents the forming of a new executive, as part of its protest against the protocol.
Unionists oppose the post-Brexit treaty because of the economic barriers it creates between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Sinn Fein Stormont leader Ms O’Neill said the DUP has “punished the
electorate” by boycotting the election of a speaker and that “the public deserve better”.
Speaking in the Great Hall after the Assembly was adjourned, Ms O’Neill said the DUP’s action to boycott the election of an Assembly speaker “isn’t tolerable, it isn’t acceptable, it isn’t good enough”.
Ms O’Neill also announced that Sinn Fein MLA for Upper Bann John O’Dowd would be taking up the role of infrastructure minister in a caretaker capacity, after the former minister Nichola Mallon of the SDLP lost her seat in last week’s election.
A visibly angry Mrs Long said: “Despite the fact that the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland voted for parties that wanted to
return to government, that wanted to see the Assembly work and despite the fact that even those who voted for the DUP gave them no mandate to block a return to the Assembly, we have found ourselves in that situation today.
“But while this is a sad day for the people of Northern Ireland, it is a shameful day for the DUP.
“The day the DUP came to Stormont, signed the register, took their salaries but refused to take their seats and do the work to
earn it. I don’t think that is ever acceptable but it is particularly unacceptable when people in our constituencies are struggling to feed their families, struggling to heat their homes, worried for their futures and it puts all of us as politicians in a place which is embarrassing once again.
“We want to serve the public but are prevented from doing so.”
Speaking earlier, Sir Jeffrey said: “We have taken the decision not at this stage to support the election of a speaker.
“I believe that we need to send a very clear message to the European Union and to our government that we are serious about getting this protocol sorted out.”