The DUP is “ready to fight” in fresh Assembly elections, leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said following talks with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris.
Mr Heaton-Harris was holding discussions with Stormont leaders on Wednesday as a deadline for calling another election in the region approaches.
The NI Secretary has repeatedly warned that he will call a Stormont poll if Friday’s deadline passes without a devolved executive being formed.
The DUP has refused to engage with the devolved institutions in Belfast in the wake of May’s Assembly election, meaning it has not been possible to form an executive.
The party’s boycott is part of a campaign of opposition to the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol and it says it will not return to powersharing until decisive action is taken to remove the protocol’s economic barriers on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Sir Jeffrey told reporters in London there was “still some way to go” in solving the problems over the protocol following his phone conversation with Mr Heaton-Harris.
He said: “I think the Secretary of State is of a mind to call an election, that is a matter for the Government, frankly I don’t think it helps us to get any quicker towards the solution that we need or to get the political institutions back up and running and fully functioning again.
“We need to clear away the debris of the protocol, that needs to be our focus, we need to get agreement on arrangements that respect Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom and that allow for continuing cross-border trade where that is required, and I don’t see how an election helps us to get there.
“But, to be clear, we’re ready to fight in that election, I’ve just been signing off on our election literature, we’re ready to go.
“If the Secretary of State decides to call the election I’m not afraid to take my case to the people.”
Mr Heaton-Harris, who was reappointed in his role by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday, repeated on Wednesday his warning over another election, indicating that the change at No 10 has not altered the Government’s position on the issue.
Asked about the prospect of an election, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said on Wednesday: “That position remains that it will be triggered on the 28th. The exact date for the election will have to be set out subsequently.”
A 24-month legislative timeframe to form an administration expires just after midnight early on Friday.
If no ministerial executive is in place by then, the UK Government assumes a legal responsibility to call another election.
Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill, who would be in line to be first minister if the executive was formed ahead of the deadline, held talks with Mr Heaton-Harris in Belfast on Wednesday evening.
“The clock is obviously ticking and we’re very close to the Friday deadline,” she said.
“My number one priority is the restoration of the executive, that should also be the Secretary of State’s priority.
“The people here deserve no less than a fully functioning executive, one that is going to get them get through the cost-of-living crisis, one that’s going to fix and invest in our health service – that’s where we need to be.
“As this deadline looms it’s just not acceptable for the DUP not to join the rest of us but they have an opportunity tomorrow and it’s up to them to take that opportunity.”
The Government has vowed to secure changes to the protocol, either by a negotiated compromise with the EU or through proposed domestic legislation – the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill – which would empower ministers to scrap the arrangements without the approval of Brussels.
The European Commission has warned that such unilateral action at Westminster would be in breach of international law and could prompt retaliatory action.
Talks with the EU resumed recently, with both London and Brussels talking up the potential of reaching an agreed solution but no breakthroughs are expected ahead of the election deadline.
While the Government has the ability to amend the legislation and prevent a winter election, Mr Heaton-Harris has made it clear he will call a fresh poll if the deadline passes, with December 15 the likely date.
On Wednesday, the Northern Ireland Secretary tweeted: “My priority is for NI’s political leaders to come together and restore the executive.
“The people of Northern Ireland deserve a fully-functioning devolved government, so I understand the public’s frustration.
“However, if the parties will not re-form, I will call an election.”
The Assembly is being recalled on Thursday for a special sitting ahead of the deadline.
The sitting will see an attempt to elect a new speaker – a pre-requisite before an executive can be appointed – but that bid is set to fail as the DUP will use its veto to block it.
MLAs will then debate a motion, tabled by Sinn Fein in consultation with the Alliance Party, that will focus on the cost-of-living crisis, the instability at Westminster and the absence of devolved government at Stormont.
The first failed attempt to elect a new speaker came in May following the election. The Assembly has been recalled on two further occasions since, most recently in August.
While Northern Ireland has no first or deputy first ministers, other ministers who served in the previous mandate have remained in post following May’s election, albeit they have been significantly constrained in the decisions they can take.
If Friday’s deadline passes without a full executive having been established, those remaining ministers will cease to hold office.
On Wednesday, the leaders of an industry body warned that Northern Ireland businesses are facing a “tipping point” and require the help of a functioning executive.
The president and vice president of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry urged politicians at Stormont and in Westminster to reach a resolution which would restore the powersharing institutions.
