Negotiations are continuing about restoring power-sharing in Northern Ireland but the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) appears unlikely to agree a deal before Christmas.
The BBC and PA Media both say they have been told by DUP sources that an agreement will not take place this week, as the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, continues to face pressure from hardliners within his own party and the rival Traditional Ulster Voice (TUV).
TUV posters—which say “Stop DUP sell-out”—have been put up close to the homes and offices of several DUP politicians over the weekend amid claims Sir Jeffrey’s party were considering accepting a deal which would involve £2.5 billion of money from the government in London.
‘I Will not be Intimidated’
He said: “I will not be intimidated or distracted by such shadowy behaviour any more than similar behaviour I have faced in the past by republicans.”TUV leader Jim Allister told the BBC’s “The Nolan Show”: “This is a bit of political activism to which there has been a huge over-reaction. If there is no sell-out afoot then no-one has anything to worry about.”
Representatives from all Northern Ireland’s political parties are due to reconvene at Hillsborough Castle outside Belfast on Monday afternoon.
A party spokesman told PA, “The DUP is condition-led, not calendar-led.”
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has reportedly offered a £2.5 billion sweetener—in the form of a lump sum—on the condition that power-sharing between Stormont’s two biggest parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, is agreed.
The DUP and many of its grassroots supporters remain angry about the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was negotiated by then Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Brexit negotiator David Frost, now Lord Frost.
The protocol effectively created a new border between the British mainland and Northern Ireland, in the Irish Sea, undermining Protestant and unionist Ulster’s identity.
UK Government has Made ‘Generous Package’
Mr. Heaton-Harris said: “I welcome the constructive discussions we had with the parties over the last week. The parties have had time to consider the generous package offered by the government to support Northern Ireland’s public services in the event that the Executive is restored.”“I look forward to discussing final details with the parties over the coming days,” he added.
Jamie Bryson, a hardline unionist blogger, wrote on X: “It is a welcome development the DUP has ruled out any deal before Christmas. That gives time and space to reflect on the seven tests, and the importance of adherence to them.”
“If a deal is arrived at, the DUP should take the time to consult widely externally (after their own internal process) to allow proper scrutiny on what are, in truth, very simple legal questions,” he added.
Northern Ireland suffered decades of political violence between 1969 and 1998, with more than 3,000 people killed in bombings and shootings by the Provisional IRA, their loyalist enemies, the UVF and UDA, and the security forces.
The Troubles ended with the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, which set up a power-sharing executive at Stormont.
But power-sharing began to fall apart in 2017 when Sinn Fein leader and deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, resigned over a botched green energy scheme and then DUP leader Arlene Foster’s refusal to agree to legislation which would boost the Irish, or Gaelic, language.
Mr. McGuinness later died and his successor, Michelle O'Neill, agreed a new power-sharing deal in Jan. 2020 but it collapsed again 49 months later when violent protests against the Northern Ireland Protocol pressured the DUP into pulling out.
