Unionists block new N Ireland govt over Brexit trade rules
LONDON (AP) — Northern Ireland’s second-biggest political party on Friday blocked the formation of a working legislature in Belfast, and said it would keep up the boycott until the U.K. government tears up post-Brexit trade rules it accuses of destabilizing the region.
The Democratic Unionist Party's move deepens Northern Ireland's political deadlock, which is fueling a U.K.-EU feud that could balloon into a trade war between Britain and the 27-nation European Union.
The DUP came second in a Northern Ireland Assembly election last week that saw Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein win the most seats — the first time a party that seeks union with the Republic of Ireland has won an election in the bastion of Protestant power.
Under Northern Ireland’s mandatory power-sharing rules, that gives Sinn Fein the post of first minister, with the DUP taking the deputy first minister job. A government can’t be formed unless both roles are filled, and the DUP says it won’t take part unless border checks on goods moving to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. are scrapped.
It stymied attempts to elect a speaker for the assembly when they met for the first time on Friday, leaving the assembly unable to function.
“The DUP received a mandate to remove the Irish Sea border and our mandate will be given respect," assembly member Paul Givan told legislators. “Our message is now clear: It is time for action, words will no longer suffice.”
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the party's concerns over the new trade rules, known as the Northern Ireland Protocol, “are not merely some political squabble.”
“The protocol is a direct challenge to the principles that have underpinned every agreement reached in Northern Ireland over the last 25 years” of Northern Ireland’s peace process, he said....
