Party leaders meet to discuss priorities for new government in Northern Ireland

By [Your Name]

[Name of the News Website]

2 February 2024

Updated 1 hour ago

Party leaders and officials entitled to form an executive have met to discuss the priorities for day one of a new government in Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Alliance Party, and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) held talks at Stormont Castle on Friday afternoon.

The UUP confirmed they would take up a role in the executive, instead of entering an official opposition.

The Northern Ireland Assembly will sit at 13:00 GMT on Saturday.

Its return marks two years to the day since devolution collapsed.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson (right) says he is looking forward to tomorrow’s Assembly meeting

What happens on Saturday?

The first order of business for members (MLAs) when they enter the assembly chamber will be to elect a new speaker – this must happen before anything else.

Once the speaker is elected, the parties entitled to jointly lead the executive – the body that makes decisions and policy in Northern Ireland – will make their nominations.

For the first time, Sinn Féin will nominate a first minister because it won the most seats in the assembly election in May 2022.

The DUP, as the largest unionist party, will nominate a deputy first minister for the first time – it is widely anticipated that Emma Little-Pengelly will be nominated but the DUP on Friday refused to confirm that.

Although the first and deputy first ministers are joint offices and both hold equal power, Michelle O’Neill becoming the first-ever republican first minister of Northern Ireland will mark a symbolic moment.

Michelle O’Neill is in line to become the first minister

Who will be the opposition at Stormont?

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), which is the fifth-largest party with eight assembly members, does not qualify to be part of the next executive and instead will go into opposition.

Speaking to SDLP assembly member Matthew O’Toole said the opposition will hold the parties in the executive to account and make the institutions “work effectively for the people of Northern Ireland”.

The SDLP does not qualify to be part of the next executive and instead will go into opposition with Matthew O’Toole vying for the role of leader

What’s in the deal?

It will reduce checks and paperwork on goods moving from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland.

It means there will no longer be “routine” checks on Great Britain goods which are sent to Northern Ireland with the intention of staying there.

Those changes involve the maximum flexibility allowed under a previous EU/UK deal it is understood will be acceptable to the EU.

The DUP had demanded changes to the way goods are traded between Northern Ireland and Great Britain to end its Stormont stand-off.

Any return of a power-sharing executive at Stormont will see the UK Treasury release a £3.3bn package which would help support struggling public services in Northern Ireland.

More funding needed to tackle pay disputes

“What the UK government is offering as part of the package is to cover public sector pay awards for one year only,” he said.

The DUP leader said this equates to about £650m, but that Northern Ireland does not currently “have the means for the next two years and the government knows that needs to be resolved”.

Speaking after Friday’s meeting of parties Sir Jeffrey said: “You will not have to wait long to see the new executive in action, making those priorities clear to the Treasury and pressing them for additional funding which is required,” he added after Friday’s meeting.

Legal advice

On Friday, a group of unionists, including the Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister and activist Jamie Bryson, published a legal opinion from the former Northern Ireland attorney general John Larkin KC.

Mr Allister said Mr Larkin has concluded that “nothing here restores Article 6 of the Act of Union, it remains in suspension – the consequence of that is colossal”.

He added: “We shared so many platforms with Jeffrey Donaldson. Faced with the spin that has accompanied this deal, we wanted to strip that away and assess what are the legal realities.”

Mr Allister questioned legal advice Sir Jeffrey claimed to have, saying his deal removed the Irish Sea border and restored Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market.

Sir Jeffrey has, in recent days, taken his unionist rivals to task, accusing them of delivering “nothing” when it comes to changing the Northern Ireland Protocol.

“It is Sir Jeffrey that took on this task and has failed – there’s no point trying to divert from that,” said Mr Allister.

Sir Jeffrey told reporters on Friday that he “fundamentally disagreed” with Mr Larkin’s legal opinion.

“Jim Allister – is that the best that he can do?” he added.

“What I have delivered is change. I stood there on a platform with Jim Allister and he talked a lot, and he shouted a lot, but he has nothing to show for his actions.”