- Jane McCormack & Enda McClafferty
- BBC News NI
image source, Charles McQuillan
Sir Geoffrey Donaldson is involved in talks with the government on post-Brexit trade
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leaders did not vote or take a decision on whether to return to power-sharing at Stormont when they met previously.
The DUP is the second largest party in Northern Ireland’s parliament, but has been obstructing the functioning of parliament and the executive since February 2022.
It faces pressure to support a new deal to break the deadlock.
But for now, the impasse continues.
Party leader Sir Geoffrey Donaldson is a member of the party’s executive committee along with 11 others and their support is essential to stopping the party’s boycott at Stormont.
Even if a decision were taken, Sir Jeffrey had given assurances to the party’s executive team of more than 100 members that they would be able to discuss the decision taken by DUP officials.
It is unclear how soon the party can hold an executive meeting.
Northern Ireland’s government collapsed after the DUP withdrew in protest of post-Brexit trade checks between the region and Britain.
The UK has agreed a new deal with the European Union, called the Windsor Framework, aimed at addressing problems with a previous agreement, the Northern Ireland Protocol.
But the DUP said this was not enough and it was continuing to hold talks with the government for further changes.
The former head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service said this was a “pivotal moment” for Northern Ireland, adding that he hoped the DUP would return to power-sharing.
In a rare intervention, Sir David Stirling, who held the role from 2017 to 2020, Posted in X (Old Twitter) On Thursday, he said “union members will be the ones who will regret it the most” if agencies do not return.
He told BBC News NI he had been mired in pessimism recently but hoped that would change.
“I don’t normally like to get involved in politics, but as a member of the trade union activist community, I feel that if we want trade unions to take over, this place needs to function, and that parliament and the executive “It’s going to make this place work,” he said.
“If they are seen not to do so, it puts the future of the union into question.”
As the days went on, it became pretty clear that no decisions would be made today.
In the end, no vote was taken and no decision was made.
So, although we know that Sir Geoffrey Donaldson has spent more time considering his agreement with party leaders, nothing really changed tonight.
We understand that Sir Geoffrey has a majority of the executive team in his corner, so to speak, so whatever stage he presents this deal in the future, it will have the support of a majority of the executive team. It will be.
I think the key thing for him is the amount of support he has.
He wants to be in a position where everyone is lined up behind him when he goes to sell a deal.
He cannot afford to have several big players in his party going in completely different directions.
The DUP meeting was held the day after major industrial action by public sector workers across Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland, workers from 16 unions stood on picket lines and stopped.
Parliament was recalled on Wednesday in the seventh attempt to restore decentralized government since elections were last held in May 2022.
However, the DUP once again vetoed the election of the speaker of parliament, meaning that no other business could be carried out.
On Friday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he hoped the DUP conference was a “positive sign” that devolution could be restored.
“Our role as the Irish Government is to do everything we can to make it sustainable and successful,” he said.
“There are some very serious issues in Northern Ireland that need to be addressed, from public sector pay to health services and other important issues.”
Workers’ strike brought Northern Ireland to a standstill on Thursday
If the executive is not reappointed, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris will be involved in setting Stormont’s budget for the second consecutive year.
In 2023, he set Stormont’s budget in the absence of local ministers, imposing deep cuts to unelected civil servants.
Mr Heaton-Harris also proposed a £3.3bn financial package for Northern Ireland, which would include funds to resolve public sector pay claims, but would be conditional on Stormont institutions being restored.
In a statement released after the day of the action, Mr Heaton-Harris said he was acting to protect public services and would introduce next steps in parliament next week.
“Make things better”
Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beatty said ahead of Friday’s DUP executive meeting that Labor “needs to do things better” if Mr Stormont returns.
He said he believed there could be a split within the DUP, with the party choosing to return to the executive, leaving Mr Sir Jeffrey in a “lonely place” as leader.
“I don’t want to be in his position right now, but I hope they make the right decision,” he said.
Alliance Party deputy leader Stephen Farry said he was cautious and said it was disappointing that the meeting was held after Thursday’s strike.
“We’ve been down this road so many times before, it’s a false dawn,” he said.
“Let’s see if anything comes out.”
Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said this was a “defining moment for trade unionism”, adding that if post-Brexit rules did not change, “fake billings could lead to trade unionism”. “They will be sold to members of the public,” he warned.