Northern Ireland could be subject to direct rule from Westminster if Thursday’s election for the region’s devolved assembly fails to produce a new governing executive. Colum Eastwood, leader of the nationalist, centrist Social Democratic and Labour party, has said the “very idea of power sharing in the north is at risk” in Thursday’s election. Arlene Foster, Democratic Unionist party leader and outgoing first minister, has described the contest as “the most important assembly election in a generation”, saying: “It concerns the very nature of devolution and the future direction of Northern Ireland.” The DUP and Sinn Fein, the Irish republican party, are neck and neck in the race to be the largest party in Stormont, according to the latest opinion polls. But many political leaders in Northern Ireland say it is highly unlikely that they will be able to put together a devolved executive following Thursday’s contest, given the depth of the divisions between them. If the leading parties cannot agree, James Brokenshire, the Northern Ireland secretary, could call another election. But such an outcome is considered unlikely, since it would not necessarily produce a different result.
Mr Brokenshire has said he is “not contemplating anything other than a continuation of devolved government in Northern Ireland”. However, if he cannot broker a deal between the largest parties, it would be up to the UK government to create the framework for direct rule.
A return to direct rule would be seen as the biggest failure of the devolution experiment in Northern Ireland for a decade, and is likely to be met with dismay in Dublin, which is a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement that created the current political settlement.
Full Article: Northern Ireland election risks return to direct rule from London.