On Friday, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said there would be no election in Stormond in December. Speaking in Dublin at Sinn Féin’s annual conference, O’Neill called on the British government to present its plan next week. O’Neill said: “They haven’t yet determined what the next steps are, so I would demand that there be a very clear statement next week from the British government that actually says what they are going to do next. “If they are going to extend the time to call an election, the purpose must be to find an agreed way to make the protocol work and all these talks must continue in earnest. “We need to find an agreed way forward. Westminster needs to step up to the plate and find a way to make the protocol work, and then the public can have a strain that will actually help them overcome their cost of living crisis. “It’s just crazy that in this day and age, when people are struggling in these winter months, there’s no executive in place and no ministers making decisions. “There is no one at the helm in the north. It’s not good enough.” Mary Lou McDonald, meanwhile, said shared power between Dublin and London should be a “plan B” if a Northern Ireland executive is not restored. The Sinn Fein leader said that if the Democratic Unionist Party continued to boycott the Northern Ireland assembly, then the British and Irish governments would have to form a partnership. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Speaking at the conference, McDonald said she had spoken to the Irish prime minister, Micheal Martin, about the prospect of a common authority, adding that there needed to be clarity around a “plan B”. “It means not turning back the clock. It means for those sections of political unionism who yearn for yesterday, yesterday is not available, only tomorrow, the only way is ahead,” McDonald added. “The very basis of the peaceful settlement of democratic institutions was the partnership between all of us. On this island between two sovereign governments. “So in case the DUP continue to sabotage the institutions, continue to refuse to nominate a deputy first minister to work with Michelle O’Neill, first minister for all, if it continues, then of course. governments need to have a plan B, a partnership plan, a common principle plan, and I raised that issue with the committee [Micheál Martin] recently.” Both the British and Irish governments have played down the prospect of joint power in recent weeks, with Heaton-Harris saying the UK government’s position is that she “will not support it”. Irish Foreign Secretary Simon Coveney said during a recent visit to Belfast that the joint principle was not the “focus” of the Irish government. He made the comments as he sought to address recent anger from loyalists over the prospect of a joint UK-Ireland authority if devolution in Belfast is not restored. Sinn Féin is calling for an Irish government role in running Northern Ireland if the ongoing devolution logjam continues.
