UUP declines position in North’s government

The Northern Ireland Assembly is to have its first formal opposition since the Good Friday peace accord after the Ulster Unionist Party announced it would not take a seat in the powersharing government.

Party leader Mike Nesbitt said the move heralded a new era for devolved politics in the region.

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement established a form of government based on a ruling coalition executive made up of all the North’s main parties. The aim was to ensure all sections of a deeply divided society had a role in power.