Secretary of State rules out 'festive' Stormont Assembly election

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has confirmed an election will not take place in December. Chris Heaton-Harris denied a U-turn in not calling an election last Friday after saying he would make parties return to the polls immediately after the deadline for them to form a new executive passed.

According to current legislation he must call an election within the next 12 weeks and it had been expected a December 15 election would be called.

Mr Heaton-Harris is due to update parliament next week, where he is likely to lay out his next steps for solving the protocol deadlock.

Heaton-Harris said: “At midnight on 28 October, I came under a duty to call an Assembly election. Since then, my engagement with the political parties has continued. I have had valuable conversations with people across Northern Ireland, including business and community representatives. I have listened to their sincere concerns about the impact and cost of an election at this time. “I can now confirm that no Assembly election will take place in December, or ahead of the festive season. Current legislation requires me to name a date for an election to take place within 12 weeks of 28 October and next week, I will make a statement in Parliament to lay out my next steps. “My objective, what the people of Northern Ireland deserve, is the restoration of a strong devolved government. My duty is to create the right environment for the parties in Northern Ireland to work together to restore the devolved institutions and deliver on crucial issues impacting Northern Ireland’s people. “I do not take this duty lightly, nor do I overlook the very real concerns people have around their cost of living.”

This is a breaking story and will be updated.

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