#And – from Sinn Féin – there were demands for a new Bill of Rights

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Gordon Brown says Tory pacts with unionists breach British neutrality

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown with his Irish counterpart Brian Cowen with DUP and Sinn Féin delegations at Hillsborough Castle in 2010. Gordon Brown Hillsborough Castle Policing and Justice Tory-DUP deal FORMER prime minister Gordon Brown claims the British government’s “long-standing neutrality” in Northern Ireland was first undermined by the ill-fated electoral alliance between the Tories…

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New Post has been published on http://thecommoner.co.uk/2017/10/30/stormont-deadlock/

Stormont deadlock

Image caption With no ministers in place at Stormont, civil servants have been making the day-to-day calls on running public services

There have been months of headlines about deadlines to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

It has been without an executive since January, when the governing parties - the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin - split in a bitter row over the handling of a renewable energy scheme.

The biggest crisis in Northern Ireland politics for more than a decade has left Stormont in limbo.

Now the UK government is set to take at least one big decision out of the hands of MLAs.

It has said Westminster will have to implement a budget for the region if the parties cannot agree to get an executive up and running this week.

So, with the latest cut-off for talks looming, what are the chances of settlement and what could happen if the parties can only agree to disagree?

Why is this still rumbling on?

It has been a long year in Northern Ireland politics.

In a strange sort of way, a lot has changed while much has stayed the same.

The first of two elections saw Sinn Féin strengthen its hand in the Northern Ireland Assembly in March, while the DUP did the same in the House of Commons after June's Westminster poll.

But in spite of days, weeks and months of talks, the relationship between the two powerhouses has remained a cold one.

Just a couple of weeks ago when some informed onlookers were predicting that a deal between the two parties was close, the prospect was punctured again.

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire has been patient in the extreme, some would argue, but others are asking: Has he been decisive enough?

What do the parties stand divided on?

While some of the issues that led to the demise of the Stormont institutions appear to have been resolved, or at least lessened in significance for either party, the split remains as wide as ever on others.

Take the big sticking point of Sinn Féin's demand for legislation to give official status to the Irish language in Northern Ireland.

The party has been frank and forthright in its insistence that Stormont won't get up and running again until a standalone act to allow that is agreed.

The DUP has made moves to open itself to the Irish language, meeting campaign groups and even publicly speaking a few words of it themselves.

But its suggestion of a culture bill, encompassing legislation for Irish and Ulster Scots, falls short of what Sinn Féin wants.

Both parties will hold their conferences this month.

For the DUP, some commentators have suggested that an agreement to legislation on Irish could be a hard sell to its members at that event.

For Sinn Fein, there's a view that the party's leadership might find that if it was to renege on its key demands, its grassroots could find that hard to swallow.

Other issues, including rights for same-sex couples to marry and measures to deal with investigations into killings during the Troubles, also feature high on the talks agenda.

What will happen if a deal isn't reached?

Mr Brokenshire has warned for months that "greater UK government intervention" is on the cards if the DUP and Sinn Féin can't resolve their differences.

Whether that would amount to full direct rule in the immediate future is unclear, but probably unlikely.

One thing is for sure, a 2017-18 budget for Northern Ireland will have to be put in place.

Civil servants have access to 95% of Northern Ireland's block grant from Westminster, allowing money to keep flowing to public services.

With a budget in place, the final 5% of that money would be available.

The government has already stepped in to legislate for this year's rates bills without disrupting the talks, so a similar arrangement for a budget is possible.

The parties could be given further time to resolve their differences.

Ultimately, another way of governing Northern Ireland will have to be found if a deal proves to be elusive.

If power was to transfer to Westminster, the Conservative government would make the big decisions in areas such as health, education and justice.

While all of this has been going on, who has been running Northern Ireland?

With no ministers in place at Stormont, civil servants have been making the day-to-day calls on running public services, but their hands are largely tied.

Major decisions - many involving hundreds of thousands or even millions of pounds of public money - need to be approved by an executive.

Take the reform of Northern Ireland's health service as one example.

With the system at breaking point, an ambitious plan was unveiled almost exactly 12 months ago.

But with no health minister and no executive in place, no changes can be implemented and the difficulties remain.

Have MLAs still been getting paid through all of this?

All 90 assembly members have been receiving their full salaries since they were elected in March.

Rules put in place last year meant they received a £500 increase in April to take their salaries to £49,500 a year.

They'll get the same rise again in 2018.

Image copyright Getty Images

Some MLAs have acknowledged that they are only doing part of what they were elected to do.

With no functioning assembly, MLAs have not done any legislative work since they were elected, but they have still been helping the public by working in their constituencies.

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has said their salaries should be cut by 30% to reflect that.

But her DUP counterpart Arlene Foster has said cutting salaries can't be used as a "stick" to encourage progress in the talks.

If Stormont isn't running, when will MLAs' pay be stopped?

There is significant public concern about the issue - it jams the phonelines on radio talk shows - and again, it's for Mr Brokenshire to decide what will happen.

He has said several times that it will have to be looked at if the stalemate at Stormont continues.

But he hasn't fixed a date on when a change could be imposed or given any indication of what he might do.

What he has said is that he cannot tackle the MLAs' pay until direct rule is in force.

All a bit of a mess, isn't it?

That's one way of putting it.

Business leaders, public service workers, those relying on the health service and many others have voiced their frustration and anger about the situation at Stormont.

The pressure has increased steadily on the DUP and Sinn Féin the longer their stalemate has gone on.

The question remains - is either side ready to make the compromises required to do a deal?