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’
It speaks to the stop-start nature of Northern Ireland’s politics that since power sharing was established in 1999, it has operated without a functioning government for a third of the time.
That proportion continued to climb last week, as representatives elected to Stormont just six months ago failed to form an executive, leaving power in the hands of unelected civil servants and effectively triggering fresh elections in December.
The impasse this time around is down ...
