Northern Secretary: ‘Clock is ticking’ towards Assembly elections

The Northern Secretary James Brokenshire has appealed for the main disputing parties to try to find a resolution to the "cash for ash" crisis, while acknowledging that the "clock is ticking" towards Assembly elections.

Mr Brokenshire told the House of Commons on Tuesday the political situation was “grave” and that elections in the coming weeks were highly likely.

He said the British and Irish governments would “continue to provide every possible support and assistance to the executive parties” to determine if a resolution could be found before the effective deadline of Monday.

“We do, however, have to be realistic. The clock is ticking,” he said. “If there is no resolution, then an election is inevitable, despite the widely held view that this election may deepen divisions and threaten the continuity of the devolved institutions.”

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Sinn Féin has until next Monday to nominate a new Deputy First Minister to replace Martin McGuinness who resigned on Monday after Arlene Foster refused to temporarily step down pending an investigation into the renewable heat incentive (RHI) scheme.

Overexpenditure

A failure to put cost controls on the scheme, which was introduced by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment when Ms Foster was minister in 2012, could result in an overexpenditure of up to £490 million (€564 million) in the next 20 years.

Mr McGuinness said when resigning on Monday that Sinn Féin would not be nominating anyone to replace him. After Monday if Sinn Féin holds to that position then Mr Brokenshire must call Assembly elections within a “reasonable period”.

He appealed to politicians to try to end the impasse. “We must not put all of this at risk without every effort to resolve differences,” said Mr Brokenshire.

"We must continue to do all we can to continue to build a brighter, more secure Northern Ireland that works for everyone, and I therefore urge Northern Ireland's political leaders to work together to come together to find a way forward from the current position in the best interests of Northern Ireland."

Notwithstanding his urgings, the general consensus in Northern Ireland on Tuesday night was that elections would likely happen in late February or early March to an Assembly reduced in size from 108 to 90 seats.

The Ulster Unionist Party leader Mike Nesbitt said the DUP and Sinn Féin "have painted themselves into corners",with little way to retreat.

‘Doomed’

“We have a face-off. I don’t think the public need any more proof, 10 years on from when they started this project, that it is a project doomed for failure, that they cannot work together,” he said.

The Alliance leader Naomi Long said a proposal on Tuesday by First Minister Arlene Foster to hold a public inquiry into the RHI scheme was "too little, too late".

“This is now a matter of the former First Minister attempting to cover her embarrassment ahead of a potential election,” said Ms Long.

“However, I believe it won’t wash with the public, who will see it for what it is. It is questionable whether Arlene Foster even has the power to initiate such an inquiry now. She is no longer a Minister and even if she was, it is now a cross-departmental matter and would require Executive agreement to instigate it,” she added.

The DUP Lagan Valley MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he was uncertain whether the Northern Executive and Assembly could be restored, even after an election.

He accused Sinn Féin of dealing a serious blow to powersharing and added: “My own sense of where we are is that we are looking at a prolonged period of [British government] direct rule, because I don’t see these issues being resolved in a talks process in a short space of time.”