View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
  2. Brexit
15 February 2018updated 24 Jun 2021 12:26pm

The DUP adds to May’s woes by shattering hopes of a power-share deal with Sinn Féin

The government barely has the legaslitive power for Brexit, let alone direct rule in Northern Ireland.

By Stephen Bush

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: after getting all dressed up to make a deal, Theresa May has had the wind let out of her sails by Arlene Foster.

The DUP’s leader has declared that there is “no current prospect” of a deal being reached between her party and Sinn Féin, citing irreconciliable differences over the Irish language, and saying publicly what many members of the DUP have been saying privately for months: that power-sharing in Northern Ireland is dead for the foreseeable future and that it is well past time for Whitehall to begin direct rule. To add salt to the wound, Simon Hamilton, the DUP’s man charged with negotiating with Sinn Féin, has said that May’s visit was “a distraction” that was “not helpful”.

What went wrong? The British government rightly picked up that there was movement within Sinn Féin now that its leadership handover is done and dusted, which made a deal easier at their end; but failed to realise that the ground had shifted within the DUP as well, and not in a good way. Foster is a relative moderate – she even drinks from time to time – and still partly carries the blame for the DUP’s disappointing result in the snap election in March 2017.

The collapse of power-sharing was triggered, yes, in part, because Sinn Féin wanted to effect the changing of the guard between the Martin McGuinness-Gerry Adams generation and the new Mary Lou McDonald-Michelle O’Neill generation. But the major factor was the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme, a poorly-designed environmental subsidy that effectively paid businesses the more renewable energy they used, even when that usage wasn’t replacing existing usage. The so-called “cash for ash” scandal saw farmers fitting heaters in buildings that had previously been unheated and businesses fitting extra heaters in order to cash in. The final bill is expected to exceed £1bn and the minister in charge was Arlene Foster, then Minister for Enterprise. 

There is no suggestion however that Foster behaved improperly during her time in charge of the department. But her maladroit handling of the row on the campaign trail helped contribute to the loss of the Unionist majority in the subsequent snap election. All of which meant that with anger rising in the DUP’s grassroots about the Irish Language Act, the party leadership’s ability to make a deal has weakened at exactly the point Sinn Féin’s has strengthened.

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

What happens next? In all likelihood, the British government will persist with the idea that power-sharing is not dead for a while longer. Why? Because the legislative and institutional demands of Brexit already mean that the government’s domestic agenda is largely non-existent. Now legislative time will have to be found to manage direct rule, putting further pressure on a stretched civil service and a majorityless government.

Content from our partners
Development finance reform: the key to climate action
Individually rare, collectively common – how do we transform the lives of people with rare diseases?
Future proofing the NHS

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU