Chris Heaton-Harris said he would “articulate my next steps” in a statement to Parliament next week.

Reacting to the news, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said there should be a “sharp focus” on finding a negotiated or legislative solution to union concerns about the Northern Ireland Protocol. “There is no firm basis for a fully functioning Stormont until the NIP is replaced with arrangements that unionists can support. Progress on NI has only been made when unionists and nationalists get on board,” he tweeted. Mr Heaton-Harris was legally obliged to call an election after last week’s deadline to appoint an executive after the last vote in May passed. The Stormont Assembly has been in flux since February, when the DUP withdrew First Minister Paul Givan in a bid to pressure the UK government to act on unionist concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Mr Heaton-Harris has yet to set a date for a future election. In his statement, Mr Heaton-Harris said: “At midnight on October 28, I was tasked with calling an election for the House of Commons. Since then, my involvement with political parties has continued. “I have had valuable conversations with people across Northern Ireland, including business and community representatives. I heard their sincere concerns about the impact and cost of elections at this time.

We use a number of different social media to manage additional content that may set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Check their details and accept them to load the content. Manage preferences “I can now confirm that there will be no parliamentary elections in December or ahead of the festive season. Current legislation requires me to set an election date within 12 weeks of October 28 and next week, I will make a statement to Parliament to set out my next steps. “My aim, what the people of Northern Ireland deserve, is to restore a strong devolved government. My role is to create the right environment for parties in Northern Ireland to work together to restore devolved institutions and respond to critical issues affecting the people of Northern Ireland. “I do not take this task lightly, nor do I ignore the very real concerns that people have about the cost of living.” In response, former foreign secretary Lord Peter Hain told BBC Radio Ulster: “I’m not at all surprised that nobody thought the election would solve anything. It doesn’t please me at all to say this, but I don’t think the Foreign Secretary or the Government know what they are doing. “They seem to be drifting from one problem to another. This is no way to govern and no way to try to solve the very difficult problems. “Rule number one for any Secretary of State, if you set a deadline you have to stick to it. The fundamental problem is that there are still no solutions to the problems that the protocol has caused. Everyone else in Northern Ireland wants serious negotiations to resolve the strikes. These are fixed.” On Wednesday, Steve Baker, a junior minister at the Northern Ireland Office, had insisted that the date for the election would be confirmed soon. Reacting to the news, Ulster Unionist Party deputy leader Robbie Butler tweeted: “The right decision by @chhcalling for the people of Northern Ireland. No elections this side of Christmas. “It is imperative that all steps are taken to address the lack of an executive and partisan NI Protocol. We must ALL do better for the stretched and beleaguered public.” Alliance Party MLA John Blair wrote: “If the SoS [Secretary of State] He is concerned about the devolved institutions and the people of Northern Ireland as his statement says, then he will introduce the reform required to end this endless cycle of confrontation, deadlock and ransom.” A DUP boycott of devolved institutions in protest over the Northern Ireland Brexit Protocol prevented the formation of a government in the wake of the election result. While the UK government now has a legal responsibility to call a new election within 12 weeks, it could amend legislation in Westminster that would either extend or remove that time limit. The government is committed to securing changes to the protocol, either through a negotiated compromise with the EU or through proposed unilateral domestic legislation, the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, which will empower ministers to scrap the arrangements without Brussels’ approval. The European Commission said the latter approach would violate the terms of an international treaty and potentially trigger immediate retaliatory action.