NI Sec Confirms No December Election, Will Set Out Plans Next Week

The UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris has confirmed in a statement that he will not call a snap election to the Northern Ireland Assembly to take place before the New Year. The statement stated that, "Current legislation requires me to name a date for an election to take place within 12 weeks of 28 October, and next week I will make a statement in parliament to lay out my next steps.”

• Both Westminster and Brussels seen as keen to avoid a snap election while sides are engaged in very early technical talks on the Northern Ireland protocol. No talks would be able to take place during a Stormont election period.
• Brussels will be watching the new gov't in UK and its stance on the NI Protocol bill, which if passed would unilaterally disapply the protocol and risk an EU-UK trade war. The bill is still in the committee stage of the House of Lords. Gov't does not hold a majority in the Lords, meaning a potentially lengthy process of getting it passed.