Displaying items by tag: government talks

On 14 February another round of talks between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin ended without practical steps forward. Northern Ireland secretary of state Karen Bradley said she will consider ‘practical steps’ after the talks collapsed. She said that, while substantive progress has been made in recent weeks, this phase of talks had concluded. DUP leader Arlene Foster said there is no prospect of a restored, devolved government for Northern Ireland, while Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill said the DUP failed to close the deal after Foster pulled out of talks. Theresa May said she would continue to work with everyone to make sure there is legislation to enable an Executive to be formed, ‘We now need to consider practical steps. In the continued absence of an Executive, challenging decisions will have to be taken by the UK Government and I will update Parliament after recess.’