{"id":26882,"date":"2022-07-21T15:18:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T19:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26882"},"modified":"2022-07-25T11:21:23","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T15:21:23","slug":"northern-ireland-secretary-determined-to-avoid-new-stormont-elections-in-the-fall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=26882","title":{"rendered":"Northern Ireland Secretary Determined To Avoid New Stormont Elections In The Fall"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Shailesh Vara said he is not afraid to take tough decisions and the option of cutting MLAs pay is \u2018on the table\u2019 (PA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Northern Ireland Secretary Shailesh Vara said he is determined to avoid a fresh Stormont election in the autumn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stressed that he is not afraid to take tough decisions and that the option of cutting MLAs\u2019 pay is \u201con the table\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Stormont institutions have been in flux since February when the DUP withdrew its first minister from the devolved executive, calling for the British government to act on the Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffrey Donaldson\u2019s party has remained firm, resisting a number of attempts to resuscitate the power-sharing institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Assembly will sit next Tuesday to attempt for the third time since May\u2019s election to elect a new speaker following a recall motion by the SDLP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However the DUP has made clear it will continue to block the election of a speaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without a speaker, no further Assembly business can be done, including the nomination of new first and deputy first ministers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a new power-sharing administration is not in place within six months of May\u2019s election, the UK Government assumes a legal responsibility to call a fresh poll within the following three months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Vara said there is going to have to be \u201csome serious thinking\u201d before the end of October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am determined to do everything I possibly can to make sure that an election is not called,\u201d he told media during a visit to Atlas Women\u2019s Centre in Lisburn, Co Antrim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to work with all the political parties to make sure that we can move forward, but if tough decisions have to be taken then you will find that this Secretary of State is not afraid to take them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked would he cut MLAs\u2019 pay, he said that is \u201con the table\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not ruling anything out but I\u2019m very much hoping that very soon we can get heads together and that that Executive will be running, but nothing is being ruled out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Vara added: \u201cMy immediate priority is to get everyone to think about the 1.9 million people in Northern Ireland who are desperately wanting to have decisions made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRight now there is \u00a3400 million that is just sitting waiting to be spent, and that money can be spent by the Northern Ireland Executive but it isn\u2019t sitting, and that money can help people when they desperately need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are in extraordinarily difficult circumstances right now, we have the post-pandemic period, we have the knock-on effect of the Ukraine war, there are supply chains that are having difficulties, there are rising prices in terms of cost of living \u2026 these are real issues that are affecting people on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI want to see all the politicians working together to make sure that those real issues that are affecting the citizens of Northern Ireland are dealt with because that\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday evening the British government\u2019s contentious Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which would effectively over-ride parts of the post-Brexit settlement, moved closer to becoming law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Donaldson said, despite the progress of the legislation, his party was still not prepared to reengage with the Stormont institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are clear that we need to see further progress made,\u201d he told BBC NI. \u201cIt is good that the legislation, the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, has now completed all stages in the House of Commons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut, of course, we want to know if a new prime minister remains committed to taking this legislation forward and we will be engaging with both the leadership contenders and their teams over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut we haven\u2019t yet got the solution that we need on the protocol. We\u2019ve got a pathway now that can take us to that solution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commenting on his party\u2019s successful recall petition, SDLP MLA Matthew O\u2019Toole said: \u201cAt a time when working households are facing a real emergency, there is no justification for those continuing to hold our democratic institutions to ransom for their own cheap political games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why the SDLP is recalling politicians from the summer recess to address the real challenges facing our communities. The Protocol Bill has, unfortunately, passed its Commons stages and it is time for Jeffrey Donaldson to make his mind up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe cannot keep speaking out of both sides of his mouth when it comes to the restoration of the Assembly and the Executive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Vara said the UK government is keen to have a negotiated settlement with the European Union over the protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But he said that after 18 months of negotiations, 300 hours of officials talking, 26 separate meetings between Lord Frost with his EU counterparts, and 17 separate papers, it is \u201cdifficult\u201d when they are told \u201csorry the deal has been signed up already and that\u2019s it\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we really need is a can-do attitude so that when people are sitting at that table, rather than drawing lines and saying I\u2019m not moving beyond this, what I\u2019d like to see is for them to say, \u2018there are nearly 1.9 million people who are affected by this, we need to do the best we can for them so we that can move this to the side and we can deal with so many other issues that need to be addressed\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Vara has been in the role for just a number of weeks following the resignation of Brandon Lewis in a Cabinet revolt against British prime minister Boris Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked about the rival Conservative Party leadership contenders Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, Mr Vara said: \u201cThey have made it absolutely clear to me that Northern Ireland is uppermost there and they want to make sure that they get the Executive up and running.\u201d<\/p>\n

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