The British government will not hold new elections in Northern Ireland this year. Dissatisfaction with the Brexit deal has been blocking the formation of a new local government for months. The UK minister in charge Chris Heaton-Harris said he would explain in parliament next week what he would do about the political deadlock.

Political chaos has run rampant in Britain’s Northern Ireland since February. It has to do with Brexit, Britain’s departure from the European Union. The political party DUP refuses to be part of the Northern Ireland government again out of anger over the trade deal the UK government struck with the EU in London. This has resulted in Northern Ireland having separate status within the UK.

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Referendum wish

Northern Ireland holds elections in May. Then Sinn Féin got the most seats for the first time. The party wants a referendum on merging Northern Ireland and neighboring EU member Ireland and is a bitter rival to the DUP, which wants to remain part of the UK. Polls show that new elections will not change the balance of power.

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The deadline for forming Northern Ireland’s new government passed last week. Northern Ireland Minister Heaton-Harris initially said he was legally obligated to call new elections within 12 weeks. Northern Ireland’s main parties don’t think it makes sense. They do not expect the new election to end the current stalemate.

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Boycott

The union DUP will not rejoin the government until trade rules relating to Northern Ireland are changed. Such a boycott has grave consequences. The 1998 Good Friday Agreement stipulates that pro-British trade unions and the Irish nationalist bloc should share power in Northern Ireland.

Minister Heaton-Harris said in a statement that he had listened carefully to the concerns of the parties involved. He said there would be no election before the holidays. “It is my job to ensure that the right conditions are in place to allow the political parties in Northern Ireland to rebuild regional institutions together.”