Leaders of UK and Irish Republic speak out after the collapse of the power-sharing deal between the DUP and Sinn Féin

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Theresa May and Enda Kenny have urged a “respectful” election campaign in Northern Ireland after the collapse of the power-sharing executive triggered a snap poll.

The leaders of the UK and the Irish Republic spoke by telephone after James Brokenshire, the Northern Ireland secretary, confirmed the region will vote on 2 March amid a deepening political crisis.

The taoiseach’s spokesman said the pair discussed the bitter fallout and regretted that the Democratic Unionist party and Sinn Féin had been unable to reach agreement.

“They both expressed the hope that the election campaign would be respectful, noting that following the election the Northern Ireland parties would once again have to engage on the various challenges they face,” he said.

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“The taoiseach and prime minister repeated their desire to see the institutions established under the Good Friday agreement operating effectively, and in particular to have a fully-functioning executive in place as soon as possible.”

Speculation has been mounting that the election campaign will be rancorous given the widening divergence between the two main parties at Stormont.

If a new power-sharing administration cannot be formed after the March elections, the region faces the prospect of yet another election or even direct rule being reimposed from Westminster.

May and Kenny also spoke about the prime minister’s much-anticipated speech to be delivered on Tuesday, which is expected to set out Britain’s Brexit plan. The taoiseach reiterated a number of key concerns for Ireland during the conversation, focusing on economic and trading relationships, the common travel area and the peace process, including concerns about the border.

The Northern Ireland secretary was forced to call the poll after 5pm on Monday when it became clear there would be no 11th-hour deal to bring the DUP and Sinn Féin together to save power sharing in the region.

Brokenshire was obliged by law to declare an election date after the deadline on Monday, after nearly a decade of cross-community coalitions between unionists and nationalists.



The present assembly will sit until 26 January, when it will be dissolved. The election takes place just 10 months after the previous poll, which resulted in a joint Sinn Féin-DUP government.

The devolved administration fell after a row over a bungled green energy scheme and the DUP first minister’s refusal to temporarily stand down from her post.



Sinn Féin earlier on Monday refused to nominate a new deputy first minister in the Stormont parliament, thus triggering an election. The DUP had once again put forward Arlene Foster as first minister.



Under the complex rules of power sharing in the province, a government could not survive if the main political representatives of one section of the community refused to participate in the administration.