Liz Truss resigns: Sinn Fein and Alliance call on DUP to end Stormont boycott to protect people of Northern Ireland from damage caused by Tories

She said: “Forty-five days of chaos and dysfunction at the heart of the Tory Party has ended with the resignation of Liz Truss.

"Forty-five days that worsened an economic crisis and fuelled political instability in the north, while punishing ordinary workers and families who are struggling to heat their homes and put food on the table.

“Forty-five days which laid bare the damage that Brexit has caused Britain politically on the international stage and which has deepened the conversation on constitutional change.

“This is a rudderless Tory government which has no mandate in Ireland.

“Liz Truss' legacy will be soaring mortgage payments, wrecking the economy, lifting the cap on bankers’ bonuses and working in the interests of the super-rich.

“Only a locally elected Executive and Ministers working together will properly serve the interests of people here.

“The clock is ticking with eight days left to restore the Assembly and form a government.

“Sinn Féin is ready to form an Executive today that will put money in people’s pockets to deal with the cost-of-living crisis and start to fix the health service.

“The new British Prime Minister needs to ensure that the Protocol continues to create jobs and investment by protecting our businesses from the damage of Brexit.

“The DUP must now end its boycott of government and work with the rest of us to protect ordinary people from the damage caused by this inept and incompetent British government.”

Alliance Leader Naomi Long agreed that the scale of the chaos in Westminster underlined the need for an urgent restoration of the local Executive.

Mrs Long said: “Liz Truss’ term as prime minister was a disaster from start to finish and will go down in history for all the wrong reasons.

“It had degenerated into a disaster a day, sometimes an hour, for Liz Truss, driven by her decision to pursue a hard right agenda, including trickle down economics, which sent the economy into meltdown and compounded the pain of families and businesses already under strain as a result of the cost of living crisis.

“This relentless chaos has yet again underlined the urgency of restoration of a functioning and reformed Stormont Executive. In previous crises we have been able to fall back on Westminster intervention. However, we do not have that luxury given the unprecedented scale of the crisis unfolding in Westminster.

“While an Assembly and Executive cannot fix international or national crises, they can provide leadership for local people during this unprecedented time and help guide our public services and finances through this difficult period.

“Whatever the outcome in Westminster of this latest development, our priority and our duty to people here is to get back to work ahead of next week's deadline and deliver the best leadership we can for their sake.”