Northern Ireland minister quits, adding chaos to Brexit dispute

Northern Ireland First Minister Paul Givan quit on Thursday, triggering a political crisis as the U.K. and the European Union struggle to resolve the region’s post-Brexit trading arrangements. 

Givan’s departure, effective from midnight according to his Democratic Unionist Party, will force deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill to resign as well, paralyzing the executive function of the government. In the absence of an executive, Sinn Fein has called for an early election.

“Our institutions are being tested once again,” Givan told reporters in Belfast. “The delicate balance created by the Belfast and St. Andrews Agreements has been impacted by the agreement made by the United Kingdom government and the European Union which created the Northern Ireland Protocol.”

Under the Good Friday agreement, the first minister and deputy first minister—one unionist and one nationalist—have equal powers and one cannot be in place without the other.

Earlier: N. Ireland Government on Brink of Collapse Amid Brexit Dispute

The move has sparked consternation from the U.K. government, political opponents and businesses alike, who see it as political maneuvering and hugely disruptive to progress on the legislative agenda and policy issues, including the protocol.

“The resignation of the first minister has significant consequences which will negatively impact on people and businesses across Northern Ireland,” Northern Ireland Chamber President Paul Murnaghan and Chief Executive Ann McGregor said in a statement. “The decision effectively paralyzes the executive, leaving legislation and decision making in limbo.”

Creates Uncertainty

Givan’s resignation follows an order Wednesday from Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots for a halt on checks on goods coming into Northern Ireland from the U.K. The checks had come into force as a result of the Northern Ireland protocol that was designed to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland following the U.K.’s departure from the EU.

“Combined with the directive to suspend checks at ports, this decision creates an unsustainable level of uncertainty for businesses, at a time when they need support and stability,” the NI Chamber said. “It also has the potential to seriously damage local and international business confidence.”

“It’s almost like an act of political vandalism,” said Sorcha Eastwood, an Alliance Party councilor in Lagan Valley. Collapsing the assembly will be “incredibly damaging to them and it would be incredibly damaging to Northern Ireland, denying people of the solutions that can really change their lives and protect them.”

The EU also said the move is unhelpful and removes a necessary condition for Northern Ireland to access the bloc’s single market. 

“According to our information, officials in Northern Ireland continue to carry out checks on goods coming to Northern Ireland,” EU Vice President Maros Sefcovic said in a statement Thursday evening after a videoconference with U.K. Foreign Minister Liz Truss. “It is essential that this remains the case.” Sefcovic and Truss will meet again on Feb. 11 to discuss their broader post-Brexit dispute.

Early Vote

While elections to the Northern Irish Assembly are scheduled to be held on or before May 5, Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald on Thursday called for an early vote.

“We cannot stagger on for months without a functioning executive and Sinn Fein will not facilitate this,” she said. “In the absence of a functioning executive an early election must be called and the people must have their say.” 

Legislation expected to be finalized in Westminster next week will allow the Assembly to continue for an initial six-week period if the executive is collapsed. That legislation “has a retrospective element to it” so “there isn’t any reason for an election,” Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said earlier Thursday.

“The decision by the DUP to withdraw the first minister from the Northern Ireland Executive is extremely disappointing,” U.K. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis said in a statement. “I urge them to reinstate the first minister immediately to ensure the necessary delivery of public services for the citizens of Northern Ireland.”