The Stormont Assembly will sit for the first time in two and half years later after it was recalled by MLAs wishing to protest at changes to Northern Ireland’s abortion laws. In an unorthodox step, the plenary session has been convened in the ongoing absence of a powersharing executive. The noon sitting will be largely symbolic, as the Assembly cannot perform its legislative functions without a ministerial executive in place. The abortion law will change in Northern Ireland at midnight on Monday when the Executive Formation Act 2019 comes into effect. The sitting was only for the 90 freshly-elected MLAs to sign the roll of membership and the Assembly has not reconvened since.

Source: Irish Examiner October 21, 2019 01:41 UTC