What now for Northern Ireland as assembly grinds to halt?

Focus now is what the British government will do on the future of the Northern Ireland protocol

The DUP has said it will not nominate ministers to form a new executive until its concerns about the Northern Ireland protocol are resolved.

The Democratic Unionist party's decision not to back the election of a new speaker for the Northern Ireland Assembly leaves the assembly unable to function.

It also marks an escalation after the party previously indicated it would not nominate for the position of deputy first minister because of its hostility to the post-Brexit trading arrangements.

What was supposed to happen on Friday?

The 90 newly elected members of the legislative assembly gathered at Stormont for what was meant to be the first day of business since the election and signed in as either "nationalist", "unionist" or "other".

After Sinn Féin emerged as the largest party for the first time, it meant the new first minister would be the party’s leader at Stormont, Michelle O’Neill.

Why is the DUP doing this?

The party has said it will not nominate ministers to form a new executive until its concerns about the Northern Ireland protocol are resolved. It opposes the treaty because of the extent of the economic barriers it creates between Northern Ireland and the UK.

There has continued to be pressure from Sinn Féin and from other parties including the Alliance Party , whose leader Naomi Long, said: “It’s hugely frustrating, as members of society, that we’re not going to have a government formed, that we’re not even going to have an assembly where the basics can be done, like scrutinising ministers who are still in post ” 

What does the DUP refusal to back a speaker mean for Northern Ireland’s governance?

The assembly cannot fully operate without a speaker. This means bills cannot be scrutinised, debates cannot take place. New ministers, a new first minister and a new deputy first minister cannot be elected.

Northern Ireland is left with a caretaker government. Ministers are still technically in their posts and in charge of portfolios, but they are very limited in what they can do and, for example, cannot take cross-departmental decisions.

What happens next?

Experts warn the situation cannot continue and governance in Northern Ireland will eventually come to a halt as the focus continues to shift to what the British government will do. 

British foreign secretary Liz Truss has reiterated her threat to scrap parts of the protocol. 

British prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to give a speech as soon as Monday on the future of the protocol after exchanges between Ms Truss and the European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič were described as “tetchy”.