Christmas election plans taking shape as Chris Heaton-Harris reappointed as Northern Ireland secretary by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

The reappointment of Chris Heaton-Harris as NI secretary by new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak could be a sign that the government under new management will press ahead and confirm a poll if the power-sharing Stormont executive is not restored by midnight on Thursday. Having met with King Charles for the customary royal endorsement of his tenure yesterday morning, Mr Sunak began the process of revealing who was in and who was out of his new Cabinet.

The outcome was the culling of almost a dozen of this predecessor Liz Truss’s top-tier ministers. Mr Heaton-Harris has repeatedly stated that a legal obligation to call an election – if the DUP continues its boycott of Stormont over the NI Protocol – will be honoured. The cost of a December election has been estimated at £6.5 million.

Chief Electoral Officer Virginia McVea said that although an election was not yet a ‘fait accompli,’ plans are well under way. “We sent some 8,000 letters out in September [to the reserve list of election staff] asking that if an election was to be called in December could you be available to work. “Once you get to that time of the year you know that everybody will be making plans. My concern was coming up to Christmas we’d need 600 and 700 polling stations and 5,500 staff. We needed to give them a heads up,” she said.

Meanwhile, the NI Chamber has warned that NI businesses are facing a “tipping point” and require the help of a functioning executive. In a joint statement, president Gillian McAuley and vice-president Cathal Geoghegan said this week was “pivotal” for the NI economy. They said that despite very significant pressures, “most businesses are continuing to trade well, or at least reasonably,” however, the statement added: “But the alarm bells are ringing with one in five businesses telling us that they are just covering costs.”