The Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, has again deferred naming a date for fresh elections for the Stormont assembly amid accusations the region is being used as a political football. In a statement after meeting party leaders, Heaton-Harris said he was concerned about the emergence of a “black hole” in the budget for Northern Ireland but did not name a date for the election. His refusal to set the date after repeatedly reminding party leaders they would face one unless they resumed power sharing is being seen as the first test of Heaton-Harris’s credibility. Northern Ireland’s two main parties accused Heaton-Harris of failing to provide any clarity on the matter. The Democratic Unionist party leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, said he was given “no indication at this stage that an agreement is close or imminent”.
“I’m calling on the government to have a razor-sharp focus on these negotiations. Let’s make progress. Let’s get this done,” he said. Sources in London have suggested the foreign secretary, James Cleverly, is delaying the date to allow UK-EU talks over the Northern Ireland protocol to take off. Talks between the EU and the UK resumed last month, with the Northern Ireland minister Steve Baker outlining hopes for a confidential “tunnel” – without public commentary – to focus on technical solutions to border checks and issues of VAT before political leaders take over to tackle red lines including the role of the European court of justice. After meeting party leaders in Belfast, Heaton-Harris hinted at unease over calling an election. “I had conversations with party leaders today and expressed how disappointed I am that under current legislation the legal duty now falls on me to call an election. I listened to the party leaders’ various views on calling that election. “There are important issues of government to be dealt with due to the absence of ministers. I am particularly worried that the executive has an enormous black hole in its budget, which potentially has serious implications for the delivery of many of Northern Ireland’s public services. Measures to set a budget will be required in the short term. I will provide a further update on next steps in due course.” Stormont ministers were stood down last week after a legal deadline to form a devolved government by midnight on Thursday passed without resolution, with Heaton-Harris saying he was now legally obliged to call an election. The Ulster Unionist party leader, Doug Beattie, said an election was a “nonsensical” solution to the impasse over power sharing, adding that Northern Ireland was being treated as “a football between the UK and the EU”. Sinn Féin’s vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, said Heaton-Harris had provided “no clarity” as to how he will deal with the crisis at Stormont, while Donaldson said they were not told “if and when” an election would be called. “So, at the moment, neither we nor the people of Northern Ireland know if and when an election will take place,” Donaldson said.