Doug Beattie: Election is 'the last thing NI needs'

Doug Beattie said people have "suffered enough" without an executive collapse

The new Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie has called on the DUP and Sinn Féin to ensure the Stormont executive does not fall once Arlene Foster steps down as First Minister.

Speaking on RTE, he said an election was the last thing Northern Ireland needed during a pandemic.

Last week, Mrs Foster made it clear she would resign immediately if Edwin Poots nominated a new ministerial team.

Sinn Féin has not said if the party will support whoever Mr Poots nominates

Mr Beattie said there is an onus on the DUP and Sinn Féin to "be generous with this".

"We are in a degree of instability and they need to carry on," he said.

"The last thing we need is for the executive to collapse, for there to be even more instability here in Northern Ireland.

"Our people have suffered enough. All of them have suffered enough."

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The nature of their joint office means when the first minister quits, the deputy first minister is also removed.

Sinn Féin and DUP then have seven days to agree each other's nominations to the roles.

Deirdre Hargey would not be drawn on whether Sinn Féin would back Mr Poots' nominee for first minister

Ongoing differences between the parties, including over new Irish language legislation, means that may not be straightforward.

Failure to do so would then require the Northern Ireland secretary to call an election within a "reasonable" time period.

Sinn Féin's Deirdre Hargey would not be drawn on whether her party would back Mr Poots' nominee for first minister.

The communities minister told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme that Sinn Féin's focus was "making sure that the power sharing institutions work".

She said Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald had written to the assembly party leaders asking for an urgent meeting "to look at the implementation of the agreement going forward".

"Change is happening and we can see that and I think it needs to be implemented," she added.

The next Assembly election in Northern Ireland is due to be held in May next year.