James Brokenshire, Northern Ireland secretary, says region is gliding towards direct rule from London and that paying MLAs is unsustainableStormont assembly members could have their pay stopped as the Northern Ireland secretary said the region was “on the glide path” towards direct rule from Westminster. Devolved government in Northern Ireland has been on hold since the collapse of the assembly in January. Brokenshire told the Northern Ireland select committee on Wednesday that members of the local assembly accepted their £49,500 a year could not continue to be paid if they were not doing the job they were elected to do. He told the committee that “time is running out” for devolution and warned there would be direct rule by stealth. He told MPs that for Westminster to set a budget for Northern Ireland was “significant and serious”.

Source: The Guardian October 18, 2017 10:40 UTC