Unionists set to block N Ireland govt over Brexit trade spat

13/5/2022 19:31

        Northern Ireland's second-biggest political party says it will block the formation of a working legislature in Belfast on Friday and will keep up the boycott until the U.K. government tears up post-Brexit trade rules it accuses of destabilizing the region.
        
        The Democratic Unionist Party's move deepens Northern Ireland's political deadlock, which is fueling a U.K.-EU feud that could balloon into a trade war between Britain and the 27-nation European Union.
        
        The DUP came second in a Northern Ireland Assembly election last week that saw Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein win the most seats — the first time a party that seeks union with the Republic of Ireland has won an election in the bastion of Protestant power.
        
        Under Northern Ireland's mandatory power-sharing rules, that gives Sinn Fein the post of first minister, with the DUP taking the deputy first minister job. A government can't be formed unless both roles are filled, and the DUP says it won't take part unless border checks on goods moving to Northern Ireland from the rest of the U.K. are scrapped.
        
        The party also says it will block lawmakers electing a speaker when they meet Friday, which will leave the assembly unable to function.