NI Secretary fails to set date for election leaving many asking if he has a plan

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris has announced that an election will be held but has not set the date.

Mr Heaton-Harris's statement has left many asking questions as to whether he has a plan.

UTV's political correspondent Vicki Hawthorne said: "It was widely anticipated that he was going to make an announcement. He himself was the person telling everyone that he was prepared to call an election once last night's deadline passed.

"The parties who were here just yesterday for that assembly recall and the media were starting to believe it was imminent and an announcement was going to be called.

"But I guess suspicion started to creep in when that midnight deadline passed and even by three o'clock this afternoon we hadn't heard directly from the Secretary of State as to what his plan was."

Mr Heaton-Harris has until 8 November to make the call if there is going to be an election on 15 December.

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