The U.K.’s Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire announced Wednesday he would take “necessary steps” to allow a budget bill for Northern Ireland be introduced in Westminster, the BBC reported.
Northern Ireland’s two major parties, Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), have failed to reach an agreement that would restore power-sharing at Stormont, leaving the territory without a devolved administration since January.
“It is very unlikely that an executive will be in place within a timetable to pass a budget by the end of November which is the point at which we and the Northern Ireland civil service assess that Northern Ireland will begin to run out of resources,” Brokenshire said. “No government could simply stand by and allow that to happen.”
Brokenshire also said his decision did not mean a return to London’s direct rule of the territory and would not be “a barrier” to continue ongoing negotiations, the Guardian reported. He would be ready to withdraw the budget bill if an executive is formed before December, he said.
Michelle O’Neill, Sinn Féin’s Stormont leader, said her party had tried to be “flexible” but “endless talks without conclusion are not sustainable.”
DUP MP Gregory Campbell criticized Sinn Féin’s opposition to the budget. “Decisions being taken in the House of Commons instead of at Stormont is not what we want but civil servants must have a legal basis to spend money,” he added.
Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Smith said direct rule from London would be a “terrible backward step” and blamed Brokenshire for his “complete disengagement.”
Prime Minister Theresa May should invest more time to “broker a fresh agreement that brings back the power-sharing executive and devolved government which the people of Northern Ireland voted for, and that they deserve,” Smith said.
Politico
