Northern Assembly Elections | Business Post

Northern Ireland

Preparing political options for a Plan B government in North

As the stalemate continues, three main options are being considered, including the least popular among all parties – a return to direct rule

Northern Ireland

Polls open for local government elections in Northern Ireland

Sinn Féin, which currently has 105 councillors, is hoping emerge as the largest party

Northern Ireland faces election in 12 weeks as DUP boycotts parliament

Powersharing in the region collapsed after the unionist party pushed for a new Brexit deal

McDonald calls for a plan B over Northern Ireland executive

Addressing the Sinn Féin ard fheis this weekend, the party president said that the British and Irish governments should not agree to direct rule in the North

Northern Ireland

Taoiseach says time not right for reform of Good Friday Agreement

Micheál Martin has said current system is ‘not fit for purpose’, but that improvements should be explored in the longer term rather than now

Up for debate: The best from the Business Post’s columnists

Insightful analysis of the main developments in business and politics from our team of writers, including Matt Cooper, Elaine Byrne and Tony O’Brien

Editor’s picks: Sit down with the best of our big reads

Our editors handpick the best writing in this week’s Business Post – including Varadkar on becoming Taoiseach again and the concentration camps China has created for its ethnic minorities

Northern Ireland

Daniel Murray: Spectre of direct rule is raised as DUP forces fresh elections

The British government has dismissed the prospect of joint authority, while the Taoiseach has emphasised Ireland’s right to exert its ‘consultative role’

North’s new Secretary of State warns of election if no executive in place by October 28

Chris Heaton-Harris has told Sinn Féin’s leaders that if no progress is made on restoring the executive, there will be a new poll

Northern Ireland

Adams calls FF and FG leaders ‘sore losers’ after Sinn Féin’s North success

Former Sinn Féin leader in his podcast said the North had never been intended to allow a nationalist leader emerge, and that within unionism there are those who still see them as second class

Susan O’Keeffe: SF’s Stormont success shows how little Britain’s government cares about the North

If Boris Johnson’s Conservatives had any interest in preserving the unity of the UK, they would have paid far more heed to an election that could have major consequences

Northern Ireland

Seismic shifts leave the big players at a crossroads

The DUP has softened its tone about having Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Féin as First Minister, but as the dust settles from Thursday’s vote, there is still considerable work to be done to form a new Executive at Stormont

Deirdre Heenan: DUP pays a big political price for playing high-stakes poker

Jeffrey Donaldson was foolish to think that Boris Johnson’ s government would give in to the DUP’s wrecking-ball politics and now the future appears bleak for his party

Sinn Féin hopeful of becoming largest party with counting underway in NI elections

The SDLP face a tough battle amid a surge in support for Alliance candidates

Daniel Murray on the campaign trail: It’s make-or-break for unionism as Sinn Féin closes in on top prize

If the opinion polls are accurate, and Sinn Féin qualifies for the position of First Minister after the Northern Assembly elections, can the DUP be brought back to the table to form an executive?

Deirdre Heenan: Clinging on to the North’s ‘two tribes’ system is undesirable and unsustainable

It may be time to accept that Northern Ireland’s current system of mandatory coalition is obsolete and outdated

Elaine Byrne: Change comes gradually, then suddenly to politics in Ireland

A historic, once-in-a-generation political upheaval is surely on the way in Northern Ireland. But will it survive it?

Michael Brennan on the campaign trail: Northern elections result to hinge on bread and butter issues

Despite unionist calls for a change to the Northern Protocol and Sinn Féin pushing for a border poll, canvassers on the ground are finding voters more exercised about the cost of living