Stormont stalemate: Labour will have no magic wand

Lord Mandelson was one of the first Northern Ireland secretaries post-Good Friday Agreement

People who believe Labour will produce a magic wand to fix the Stormont impasse are living in a "fool's paradise", according to Lord Mandelson.

The former Northern Ireland secretary made the comment at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

Stormont has been without a functioning executive for 20 months due to a protest by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Lord Mandelson said the party needed "a sense of purpose and direction".

The DUP has opposed provisions in the Northern Ireland Protocol and Windsor Framework for post-Brexit trade, claiming they undermine Northern Ireland's position within the UK's internal market.

The arrangements have introduced some additional checks on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland to take account of Northern Ireland sharing a land border with the Republic of Ireland, an EU country.

On Thursday, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party had a "strong, united approach", adding there was no internal dissent about its Stormont boycott or strategy.

In recent months, rival parties have urged the DUP to return to power-sharing to deal with a budget crisis facing public services.

Michelle O'Neill was speaking at a fringe meeting during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O'Neill, who was also attending the conference, said patience has run out over the DUP's boycott.

Speaking to BBC News NI during a fringe meeting, Ms O'Neill said: "People have been more than reasonable to give the DUP space, but that is now coming to an end point."

She said there was a need to "stop the delay and the dithering".

"All the public services are really really stretched right now," she said. "People are really struggling with the cost of living and there's no executive there to have their backs."

• A simple guide to the Northern Ireland Brexit deal

• UK and EU formally adopt new Brexit deal for NI

• No DUP dissent over Stormont boycott - Donaldson

Lord Mandelson, who served as secretary of state between 1999 and 2001, told BBC News NI the future of Northern Ireland lay with its own people, its own political parties and their own leaders.

He said he believed the DUP was "divided and fragmented".

"Northern Ireland needs its government back, to take advantage of the big economic opportunities that lie ahead," he added.

Sir Keir Starmer urged the DUP get the Stormont institutions up and running

Earlier on Sunday, former Northern Ireland Office minister and Labour's leader in the Lords, Baroness Angela Smith, told the BBC's Sunday Politics programme there has to be movement on restoring devolution.

Asked if a Labour-led government would force the DUP to return to power-sharing, she said: "You just have to have some discussions."

Baroness Smith said the Conservative government needed to have "a more engaged process" with the people and political parties in Northern Ireland.

She also said there needed to be further engagement with the European Union to negotiate changes to the Windsor Framework.

"If you make a real effort, I believe it can happen," she explained.

Last week, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer made it clear he believed the Stormont institutions should be back up and running immediately.

He said "there are ways to resolve" concerns raised by the DUP.

However, he also called for Stormont's immediate return, adding: "The right thing to do is to get in the room and resolve."

During a session of the European Political Community last week, British and Irish prime ministers, Rishi Sunak and Leo Varadkar, said they discussed the situation at Stormont and "shared their concerns".