Sinn Féin is attempting to recall the Northern Ireland Assembly in a bid to elect a new Speaker before the legal deadline to restore the executive expires next Thursday. The party needs the support of 30 assembly members in order to succeed. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has blocked every vote to elect a Speaker, meaning no other assembly business can take place. There have been six recalls since May and Sinn Féin’s latest petition is expected to be backed by the Alliance Party and Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).
Sinn Féin Vice-President Michelle O’Neill called it “decision time for the DUP” in a recent post on X, as a mass strike involving thousands of public sector workers demanding better pay and conditions will take place on the same day as the latest legal deadline. If no executive is formed by Thursday, the Northern Ireland Secretary is duty-bound to call for fresh elections. In the assembly elections held in May 2022, Sinn Féin outpolled the DUP. Nevertheless, Stormont’s power-sharing structures mean that an executive cannot be restored without the support of both parties.
The DUP has blocked the restoration of Stormont’s power-sharing institutions since 2022 in protest against post-Brexit trade checks between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, which they argue diminish the region’s place within the UK internal market. Despite the recent agreement of a new deal called the Windsor Framework to address these grievances, the party has remained dissatisfied and continues to demand further changes.
Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris offered a financial package of £3.3 billion for Northern Ireland if the Stormont institutions are restored and pushing back the legal deadline on several occasions. However, the DUP remains adamant that the proposed changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol are insufficient to restore good governance
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