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UK postpones Northern Ireland election in face of
all-party opposition
Embarrassing U-turn by NI Secretary Chris
Heaton-Harris follows weeks of his insistence that a new vote must happen after
Stormont’s collapse.
BY SHAWN
POGATCHNIK
NOVEMBER 4,
2022 9:03 AM
DUBLIN —
Northern Ireland will not face a pre-Christmas snap election — and may face
none at all, the U.K. government announced Friday.
Northern
Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris confirmed his U-turn, which was first
reported by POLITICO’s London Playbook, after previously insisting he would
speedily call a new Northern Ireland Assembly election following the collapse
of Stormont last week. Heaton-Harris’ aides strongly briefed the election would
happen on December 15.
But Heaton-Harris
confirmed no election would happen “ahead of the festive season.” He emphasized
that he still faced a legal obligation to call a new vote based on “current”
law — a signal that amending legislation to change this rule could be imminent.
“Current
legislation requires me to name a date for an election to take place within 12
weeks of 28 October. Next week I will make a statement in Parliament to lay out
my next steps,” he said.
Heaton-Harris
faced strong all-party criticism over his initial public defense of the need
for an election. He changed his position after meeting the leaders of four
Northern Ireland parties Tuesday and Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney on
Wednesday. All advised him to avoid an election and focus on a resolution of the
U.K.-EU dispute over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland, the issue
undermining continued power-sharing at Stormont.
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