UK Minister announces strict budget of £14.2 billion for Northern Ireland amidst political crisis.

The Minister for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harrisannounced today a strict budget of £14.2 billion for the British province that reduces spending for seven of the nine Stormont departments and includes an increase of just 0.5% for Health in a region with the longest waiting lists in the NPH in the UK. Also, the region will not be able to continue to receive 20% more cash per capita than other parts of the country without improved services. On the other hand, “flexibility” has been granted to pay until the end of the next fiscal year a loan from the Treasury of 300 million pounds that was granted last year to plug a financial hole.

The announcement was quickly condemned by political and business leaders. The Catholics of Sinn Fein, who in the last regional elections made history by being the most voted formation for the first time, described it as “immoral and indefensible”. For its part, the Alliance party called it “absolutely brutal.” Even the unionists of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the largest pro-British group, were critical.

With everything, the formations continue without approaching positions to unblock the political crisis. The British province has been without a coalition government for more than a year due to the refusal of the DUP to make a move due to the new customs controls that must be imposed now after Brexit. At the beginning of the year, London and Brussels reached a new agreement to significantly reduce checks. But that is not enough for unionists, who do not accept that Northern Ireland has now been left with a different status from the rest of the United Kingdom to protect the EU’s single market.

In this context, Heaton-Harris introduced a bill to extend the powers of civil servants to administer the region. The powers were due to expire on June 5. At the moment, political parties have until January 18, 2024 to be able to form a Government in Belfast. Although this limit leaves London room to call an election at any time in 2023.