{"id":4879,"date":"2018-09-03T16:18:21","date_gmt":"2018-09-03T15:18:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/qpol.qub.ac.uk\/?p=4879"},"modified":"2018-09-03T16:18:21","modified_gmt":"2018-09-03T15:18:21","slug":"reason-northern-ireland-without-government-500-days-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qub.ac.uk\/qpol\/reason-northern-ireland-without-government-500-days-brexit\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a reason why Northern Ireland has been without a government for more than 500 days \u2013 Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After more than 500 days of stalemate, Northern Ireland has surpassed the record previously set by Belgium for the longest run in peacetime without a working government<\/a>. The trigger for the collapse of Stormont\u2019s power-sharing institutions concerned a relative anodyne issue \u2013 the implication of the DUP leader Arlene Foster in a seriously flawed renewable energy scheme<\/a>. However, there were a range of other factors which created a breakdown in trust between Foster\u2019s party and Sinn F\u00e9in. Among these were the DUP\u2019s opposition to Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s proposal of an act to help preserve and promote the Irish language and its refusal to countenance gay marriage. On top of these, there were issues relating to Northern Ireland\u2019s past conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arguably, though, the key factor that continues to prevent an agreement to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland is the same issue that has destabilised politics right across the UK: Brexit. The day after the vote to leave the EU in 2016, Sinn F\u00e9in called for a vote on Irish unity<\/a>. This was linked to the threat that Brexit could re-establish a hard border in Ireland, with serious economic implications for both parts of the island. Sinn F\u00e9in argues that this might change the attitudes even of many unionists in Northern Ireland, creating a momentum towards republicans\u2019 long-standing goal of reunification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To continue reading, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Article first appeared on The Conversation.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The <\/em>featured image<\/em><\/a> in this article is used courtesy of Getty Images under a <\/em>Creative Commons licence.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brexit has revived the ideologies of Irish nationalism and Ulster unionism, and reignited their most central dispute \u2013 continued union with Britain or unification with Ireland says Dr Peter McLoughlin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2461,"featured_media":4883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[521,42,748,94,749,586],"class_list":["post-4879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics-and-democracy","tag-arlene-foster","tag-brexit","tag-michelle-oneill","tag-northern-ireland-assembly","tag-parliament-buildings","tag-stormont"],"mb":[],"acf":{"authors":{"simple_value_formatted":"