The DUP were hoping for a change of Secretary of State to buy them more time, but Chris Heaton-Harris is staying put. They need to agree to go back to the Assembly by tomorrow night, or he is calling a Christmas election.
With many Councils cancelling their Halloween Fireworks displays due to budget restrictions blowing 6 million on an unnecessary election is going to be a bad look for the DUP.
Meanwhile, Steve Baker is clear in his message to the DUP.
📣A simple message from civil society leaders in Fermanagh on re-forming @niexecutive …#GetOnWithIt pic.twitter.com/Yxaq4Ril5h
— Steve Baker MP FRSA 🗽 (@SteveBakerHW) October 25, 2022
You get the feeling the Conservative Party’s patience with the DUP is running very thin.
To paraphrase Jay Z – Rishi Sunak has 99 problems but the NI Protocol ain’t one.
My money is on the DUP caving and appointing Emma Little-Pengelly as Deputy First Minister.
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.