Unionists block Northern Ireland legislature over Brexit rules

LONDON >> Northern Ireland’s second-biggest political party on Friday blocked the formation of a working legislature in Belfast, and said it would keep up the boycott until the U.K. government tears up post-Brexit trade rules it accuses of destabilizing the region.

The Democratic Unionist Party’s move deepens Northern Ireland’s political deadlock, which is fueling a U.K.-EU feud that could balloon into a trade war between Britain and the 27-nation European Union. The DUP came second in a Northern Ireland Assembly election last week that saw Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein win the most seats — the first time a party that seeks union with the Republic of Ireland has won an election in the bastion of Protestant power.

Under Northern Ireland’s mandatory power-sharing rules, that gives Sinn Fein the post of first minister, with the DUP taking the deputy first minister job. A government can’t be formed unless both roles are filled.