A Stormont election is the last resort for trying to resolve the political crisis, says ex-Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith
Another Stormont assembly election is the "last resort" for trying to resolve the political crisis, a former leader of the Conservative Party has said.
The leaders of the Stormont parties who would sit on the Northern Ireland Executive met Mr Heaton-Harris on Tuesday but they said he gave no clarity about when an election might be held.The Democratic Unionist Party has blocked the restoration of power-sharing in its protest against the post-Brexit trading arrangement known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.Sir Iain Duncan Smith told BBC News NI that there was no appetite for an election in Northern Ireland.
The protocol keeps Northern Ireland aligned with some EU trade rules to ensure that goods can move freely across the Irish land border after Brexit. "The sensible thing to do would be to introduce legislation to avoid this [election] and get serious about people getting back into government," said the Foyle MP.Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie said that avoiding an election would allow the UK-EU negotiations "to continue in earnest".
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