Mr Heaton-Harris had also said that his talks with the DUP over their concerns about post-Brexit trading arrangements had concluded. Under current rules Mr Heaton-Harris is obliged to call new Assembly elections on January 18 if the powersharing Assembly has not returned. But writing in the Belfast Telegraph, the Northern Ireland Secretary said he would not be treating that date as a deadline. “By getting back to work they will unlock the £584 million made available by the UK Government to address public sector pay. “That is because the financial package we have offered requires decisions on how to improve and modernise the public services and these must be taken by locally-elected politicians with the mandate to do so.

Source: The Herald December 29, 2023 13:58 UTC