British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris (pictured) said on Thursday that he will not call an election to the Northern Ireland assembly next week, amid talks on changing post-Brexit trade rules between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
A 12-week deadline to hold an election to the Northern Ireland assembly was agreed to start on January 19, in order for talks to continue between London and Brussels on post-Brexit trade conventions. "I have 12 weeks to reflect on what I need to do," Heaton-Harris said after talks with Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin.
The pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) began a boycott nearly one year ago leaving Northern Ireland without a power-sharing government. The news follows Sinn Fein's absence from talks on the Northern Ireland Protocol after the British government excluded Sinn Fein's party leader, Mary Lou McDonald, from the meeting.
