Northern Ireland Protocol: Assembly Speaker blocked by DUP for second time

Michelle O'Neill (centre) accused the DUP of stopping other parties from working together

Stormont has failed to elect a new Speaker after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) refused to vote in favour.

The Northern Ireland Assembly had been recalled for the vote, following a proposal by Sinn Féin.

A Speaker cannot be elected without support from both unionists and nationalists.

The DUP said it would not agree to a new Speaker until its issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol were addressed.

It was the second time the DUP did not vote for a Speaker since the assembly election on 5 May and also means an executive cannot be formed.

The protocol is the part of the Brexit deal designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland.

Unionists said the fact it created a border in the Irish Sea undermined Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom and argued that it was damaging Northern Ireland's economy.

The Ulster Unionist party (UUP) had nominated Mike Nesbitt to become Speaker while the SDLP nominated Patsy McGlone.

'I am not giving up'

Speaking after the vote, Sinn Féin's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill said the DUP was preventing other parties from working together.

"We will come back again, we will do this again because I am not giving up, we believe in making this institution work and we still, at this point, call on the DUP to join with all the other parties that actually want to make politics work," she said.

Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister said the recall showed the majority of MLAs wanted to elect a speaker.

"There was much chat in the assembly there about stunts being pulled today but let's be clear, the only stunt being pulled over the past few weeks and the past few months is the stunt of the DUP to not restore the executive, or even nominate a Speaker.

"Any consequence from now, and from the day that the DUP walked away from the executive, any hardships that people are facing, are on the heads of the DUP."

Earlier in the chamber, the DUP's Paul Givan said the recall of the assembly was "another attempt at majority rule".

"[It] has no credibility when it comes forward from the party that kept these institutions down for three years," he said.

"The public will see the hypocrisy for what it is from Sinn Féin.

"This isn't a serious attempt to restore the principles of power sharing and these institutions. It is a stunt."

Paul Givan (centre) criticised the attempt to nominate a Speaker

Robbie Butler of the UUP said his party had written to the head of the civil service urging all-party talks to draw up a programme for government.

"I have referred to this sitting today as potentially artificial because we will know in a short matter of time whether we can convince the party to my right [the DUP] whether they might make a move today but whilst I've said it's kind of artificial, it's absolutely within the rules to do this," he said.

The SDLP's Matthew O'Toole said the DUP's actions were "unconscionable" and "abhorrent".

"We know in all probability that today the DUP will not let us elect a Speaker," he said.

"Today is another opportunity to elect first of all a Speaker and then first and deputy first ministers, to enable the people who were retuned here by the electorate just a few weeks ago to come here and do our jobs."

In a tweet, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis repeated his plea to Stormont parties to elect a Speaker, adding: "Together, we must work together to deliver a brighter future for Northern Ireland".

In Stormont's Great Hall there hangs a portrait of the first assembly Speaker, John Alderdice.

The question now is how long might we wait before a new Speaker is able to take the chair he once occupied?

Be in no doubt, other parties are trying to up the ante and pressure the DUP to end its ongoing protest of the institutions, at least in part to allow the assembly to operate.

The DUP refuses to budge, it says it is buoyed by the recent commitment from London to start moving on the protocol.

Sinn Féin has vowed to continue pushing for MLAs to be recalled as many times as it takes to get a new Speaker installed - the rules mean they can do that without limit.

For now, this appears to be another roundabout in a Stormont stalemate with no clear exit route.

Speaking before the debate in the assembly, DUP MLA Gordon Lyons said the recall was a "distraction from the real problem" of the protocol.

"We don't want to be in this position, but we have made more progress in two weeks than we made in the previous two years," Mr Lyons said.

"It's unfortunate that it has taken this step to bring the matter to a head."

The economy minister added that no elected unionist representative supported the protocol and accused Sinn Féin of not attempting to "deal with the problem".

• A simple guide to the Brexit border problem

Under assembly rules, no business can take place after an election until a new Speaker is elected.

A bid to do so on 13 May failed because it requires cross-community support from a majority of unionist and nationalist MLAs.

There are concerns that without a functioning government in Northern Ireland, the cost-of-living crisis cannot be addressed by politicians.

Last week, Finance Minister Conor Murphy said there was "no guarantee" Northern Ireland households could avail of a planned £400 energy bill discount this autumn, without an executive in place to distribute funding.

Colum Eastwood's SDLP nominated Patsy McGlone as speaker

Monday's proceedings at Stormont were chaired by an acting Speaker, which under the rules must be the oldest MLA - currently Alan Chambers of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP).

A Sinn Féin motion was also proposed calling for "immediate action to be taken by an incoming executive to address issues... including the cost-of-living crisis and challenges in our health service".

However, this cannot be debated unless a new Speaker and first and deputy first minister are elected first.