Deadline to restore Northern Ireland Executive to expire

The deadline to restore Stormont’s government ends tonight at midnight. If there’s no government by 23:59 GMT, the Northern Ireland secretary must call an early election.

Chris Heaton-Harris has delayed this deadline before and plans to do so again, promising legislation next week.

This deadline coincides with a mass strike involving 100,000 public sector workers in a pay and conditions dispute.

The Northern Ireland government collapsed in February 2022 due to the DUP’s protest against post-Brexit trade checks.

The Windsor Framework was agreed in 2023, but the DUP seeks more changes, claiming it doesn’t address concerns.