London to rule North if executive collapses

Northern Ireland is facing a prolonged period of direct rule from Westminster in the wake of the anticipated collapse of power-sharing at Stormont, a senior Democratic Unionist predicts.

Jeffrey Donaldson said the bitter political row between his party and its long-term partner in government, Sinn Féin, is unlikely to be resolved without a lengthy talks process, following the looming snap election.

The DUP MP also questioned whether the existing mandatory coalition power-sharing arrangements could ever be revived, and said his party could now press for major reform and the introduction of a system of voluntary coalition: “My own sense of where we are is that we are looking at a prolonged period of direct rule because I don’t see these issues being resolved in a talks process in a short space of time.