Northern Ireland: DUP agrees to end 2-year boycott that caused the government to collapse

Northern Ireland’s largest British unionist party has agreed to end a boycott that left the region’s people without a power-sharing administration for two years, it said Tuesday — a breakthrough that could see the shuttered Belfast government restored within days.

Northern Ireland’s largest British unionist party has agreed to end a boycott that left the region’s people without a power-sharing administration for two years, it said Tuesday — a breakthrough that could see the shuttered Belfast government restored within days.

After a late-night meeting, Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the party’s executive has backed proposals to return to the government. He said agreements reached with the U.K. government in London “provide a basis for our party to nominate members to the Northern Ireland Executive, thus seeing the restoration of the locally elected institutions.”

The breakthrough came after the U.K. government last week gave Northern Ireland politicians until Feb. 8 to restore the collapsed government in Belfast or face new elections.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson leaves his party headquarters in east Belfast on Monday night.Peter Morrison / AP“All the conditions are in place for the Assembly to return,” Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said. “The parties entitled to form an Executive are meeting today to discuss these matters, and I hope to be able to finalize this deal with the political parties as soon as possible.”

The DUP walked out in February 2022 in a dispute over post-Brexit trade rules. Ever since, it has refused to return to the government with the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein. Under power-sharing rules established as part of Northern Ireland’s peace process, the administration must include both British unionists and Irish nationalists.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/northern-ireland-dup-end-boycott-rcna136310

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