Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly symbol	Stormont Parliament Building
Basic data
Seat:	Parliament Buildings, Stormont Estate , Belfast
Legislative period :	5 years
First session:	July 1, 1998
MPs:	90
Current legislative period
Last choice:	Election on March 2, 2017
Chair:	Speaker Alex Maskey ( Sinn Féin )
1 26th 12 7th 2 1 3 1 10 27 1 26th 12 7th 2 1 3 1 10 27
Distribution of seats:	Government (82) DUP 27 (U) Sinn Féin 26 (N) SDLP 12 (N) UUP 10 (U) Alliance 7 (A) Opposition (7) GPNI 2 (A) TUV 1 (U) PBP 1 (A) Independent 2 (U) Independent 1 (A) Speaker (1) 1 (N) Nationalists (U) Unionists (A) Others
Website
www.niassembly.gov.uk

The Northern Ireland Assembly ( Eng .: Northern Ireland Assembly; Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann; Scots: Norlin Airlann Semmlie ) is the currently suspended parliament for the part of Northern Ireland . It has extensive legislative powers in areas not specifically reserved for the UK Parliament . The Assembly also elects the Government of Northern Ireland. It is based in Belfast and meets in Stormont .

The current parliament was created by the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, which was supposed to end the thirty year conflict in Northern Ireland . It is based on the principle of concordance to ensure that Northern Ireland's two largest political groups, the Protestant Unionists and the Catholic Nationalists, are involved in government. It is a unicameral parliament with 90 members. The election takes place through a transferable individual vote in the sense of proportional representation.

The meeting has been suspended several times, the longest from October 2002 to May 2007. During the suspension, its powers were transferred to the UK Department of Northern Ireland. On the basis of the St Andrews Agreement of November 2006, new elections were held in March 2007 and the competences of the assembly were restored.

After a scandal surrounding the Renewable Heat Incentive , the previous first minister, Martin McGuinness, resigned as deputy first minister in early 2017, which, since his party Sinn Féin did not provide a replacement, led to new elections in March 2017. However, since the Unionists (DUP) no longer had an absolute majority in the Assembly, and they did not agree with the opposition (Sinn Féin) on some issues (including same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland and an official language status in Northern Ireland for the Irish language ) were able to agree, no new executive could be established, which means that the Assembly is incapable of acting. The budget for Northern Ireland was adopted by the UK government in London in November 2017. Further talks between the DUP and Sinn Féin, with the support of Prime Minister Theresa May and the Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar , have so far (October 2019) brought no result, although the British and Irish governments promised an "intensification" of the negotiations in May 2019. On October 21, 2019, DUP and some SDLP MPs returned to the assembly after 1008 days to symbolically discuss a bill for the “protection of unborn life”, but for procedural reasons the assembly adjourned after less than an hour without a resolution .

The poor performance for both the DUP and Sinn Féin in the 2019 British general election was seen as a voter reaction to the longstanding political deadlock. New impetus for a fresh start was provided by the UK government's offer to invest an additional £ 2 billion in the province's health system and infrastructure. In addition, the Irish and British prime ministers came to the mutual agreement in January 2020 that an ongoing blockade could only be resolved through early elections. As a result, the leading Northern Irish parties came to an agreement on January 11, 2020 to continue working in the regional parliament. Arlene Foster was reappointed First Minister and Michelle O'Neill was her deputy .

history

predecessor

There have been several regional governments in Northern Ireland's recent history, the first being formed in 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act . After the partition of Ireland , parts of Ulster were granted an autonomous government ( Home Rule ), while the Irish Free State was established on the rest of the island . From June 1921 to March 1972, the Parliament of Northern Ireland existed as a legislative body and was divided into two chambers. There was a majority vote and the borders of the constituencies had been adjusted in such a way that the Catholics, who were already in the minority, were further disadvantaged ( Gerrymandering ). As a result, this parliament was dominated by the Protestant UUP , which was also the government at this time. Parliament was suspended in March 1972 after Bloody Sunday and finally dissolved in 1973.

Shortly after the abolition of this first parliament, calls were made to restore self-government, while dividing power between unionists and nationalists. An assembly created after the Sunningdale Agreement in 1973, which was already called the Northern Ireland Assembly , was repealed a year later because radicals on both sides refused to accept it. In 1982, another assembly was set up, an organ with little authority, which was dissolved again in 1986 due to the lack of support from the Catholic side.

The modern assembly

Northern Ireland Assembly Chamber

The constituency for the Northern Ireland Assembly follows the constituency boundaries for Parliament in Westminster. The borders of the 18 constituencies were partially redrawn in 2008.

The modern Northern Ireland Assembly was elected for the first time on June 25, 1998 as part of the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement and held its first session on July 1 of the same year. All parties in Northern Ireland that supported the agreement and pledged to renounce violence were given the opportunity to send representatives to the regional parliament with equal rights. The assembly existed until December 2, 1999 only "in the shadows", since the assembly was only assigned its tasks at that time. Since then, Parliament has been provisionally dissolved several times by the British government:

• February 11, 2000 to May 30, 2000
• August 10, 2001
• September 12, 2001
• October 14, 2002 to May 7, 2007

The work of the assembly was repeatedly hampered by the conflict between the Protestant parties on the one hand and the Catholic Sinn Fein, allied with the IRA, on the other. The main allegation was that the paramilitary IRA had not yet fully disarmed itself and renounced violence. The last and longest suspension of the meeting came after allegations arose that Sinn Fein employees were spying for the IRA, and UUP ministers resigned as a result. In November 2006, the members of the assembly met again to participate in the St Andrews Accord . On the basis of this agreement, new elections took place on March 7, 2007 and on March 26, self-government was restored with the meeting of the MPs.

In 2016, the number of MPs for future elections was reduced by law from 108 to 90. In each of the 18 constituencies, not 6 but 5 MPs have been elected since then. This rule was first applied in the 2017 election .

In May 2019, the governments of Great Britain and Ireland agreed to "step up" negotiations on the re-establishment of the Assembly. A specific period was not given. By mid-June, the Northern Irish party leaders met several times in the parliament building in Stormont, and five working groups were set up to clarify individual issues. No rapprochement has been known since then.

In the fall of 2019, the Catholic Bishops of All Ireland appealed to the Assembly to meet again by October 21, 2019 at the latest to prevent the liberalization of abortion law in Northern Ireland. The London House of Commons had decided to change the law accordingly. However, the competent supreme court of Northern Ireland, the High Court in Belfast, had already ruled that the previous, strict abortion ban in Northern Ireland violated the European Convention on Human Rights. On December 21, MPs from the DUP and SDLP returned to the Assembly after 1008 days to discuss a DUP bill against the liberalization of abortion law, but because the republican SDLP left the room and the other parliamentary groups did not even leave had appeared, no new speaker could be elected and the session was adjourned after less than an hour. The still incumbent Speaker Robin Newton of the DUP had refused, despite massive pressure from his party, to change the procedural rules of the Assembly in order to enable a resolution. He insisted that before parliamentary deliberations a speaker must be elected who has the confidence of unionists and republicans. This means that on October 22, 2019 at midnight, a new, defused abortion law came into force in Northern Ireland, and same-sex couples will be able to marry there for the first time from February 2020.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wanted to give the Assembly the right, in the event of Brexit , to decide whether Northern Ireland remains in a customs union with the European Union after a transition period of 14 months and every four years thereafter. Even before its ultimate failure, the plan was highly controversial because it did not reveal how the regional parliament should be able to function again.

Distribution of seats between the parties

The composition and powers of the assembly are set out in Northern Ireland law . The 90 (108 members until 2016) are elected in 18 five-member constituencies. The constituencies are the same as for the election of the British House of Commons. After each election, the assembly must meet within eight days. It can dissolve itself with a two-thirds majority. It will be automatically dissolved if it fails to elect a head of government within six weeks. The elections are advertised by the Northern Ireland Minister. At the beginning of the legislative period, each member must register in one of the three groups “Unionists”, “Nationalists” or “Others”. A member may change groups at most once per period. There are currently 40 unionists, 39 nationalists and 11 others in the congregation.

Political party		orientation	Seats
			after the election	current	+/-
	Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)	Unionists	28	27	▼ 1
	Sinn Féin	Nationalists	27	26th	▼ 1
	Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP)	Nationalists	12	12	▬
	Ulster Unionist Party (UUP)	Unionists	10	10	▬
	Alliance Party	Other	08th	07th	▼ 1
	Green Party in Northern Ireland	Other	02	02	▬
	Traditional Unionist Voice	Unionists	01	01	▬
	People Before Profit	Other	01	01	▬
	Independent	Unionists	01	02	▲ 1
	Independent	Other	-	01	▲ 1
	Speaker	-	-	01	▲ 1
total			90	90	▬

The party landscape in Northern Ireland is traditionally denominational. The established British parties such as the Conservative Party , the Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats play no role there and (with the exception of the Conservatives) do not put up any candidates for elections.

elections

Since 1998, Northern Ireland has held five elections to the assembly. They had the following results (number of votes, percentage of votes and seats won):

choice		1.			2.			3.			4th			5.			6th
meeting		June 25, 1998			November 26, 2003			March 7, 2007			May 5, 2011			5th May 2016			2nd March 2017
Participation		70.0%			63.1%			62.3%			54.5%			54.9%			64.8%
Political party		number	%	Seats	number	%	Seats	number	%	Seats	number	%	Seats	number	%	Seats	number	%	Seats
	DUP	145.917	18.0	20th	177.944	25.7	30th	207,721	30.1	36	198,436	30.0	38	202,567	29.2	38	225,413	28.1	28
	Sinn Féin	142,858	17.7	18th	162,758	23.5	24	180,573	26.2	28	178,224	26.9	29	166,785	24.0	28	224.245	27.9	27
	SDLP	177.963	22.0	24	117,547	17.0	18th	105.164	15.2	16	94.286	14.2	14th	83.364	12.0	12	95,958	11.9	12
	UUP	172.225	21.3	28	156.931	22.7	27	103.145	14.9	18th	87,531	13.2	16	87,302	12.6	16	103.314	12.9	10
	Alliance	52,636	6.5	6th	25,372	3.7	6th	36,139	5.2	7th	50,875	7.7	8th	48,447	7.0	8th	72,717	9.1	8th
	Green	789	0.1	-	2,688	0.4	-	11,985	1.7	1	6,031	0.9	1	18,718	2.7	2	18,527	2.3	2
	TUV	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16,480	2.5	1	23,776	3.4	1	20,523	2.6	1
	PBPA	-	-	-	-	-	-	774	0.1	-	5,438	0.8	-	13,761	2.0	2	14,100	1.8	1
	PUP	20,634	2.6	2	8,032	1.2	1	3,822	0.6	1	1,493	0.2	-	5,955	0.9	-	5,590	0.7	-
	UKIP	-	-	-	-	-	-	1,229	0.2	-	4.152	0.6	-	10,109	1.5	-	1,579	0.2	-
	UKUP	36,541	4.5	5	5,700	0.8	1	10,453	1.5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	NIWC	13,019	1.6	2	5,785	0.8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	other	24.091	3.1	-	18,890	2.7	-	9,715	1.5	-	15,624	2.5	-	10,876	1.5	-	6,942	0.7	-
	Independent	24,339	3.0	3	20,234	2.9	1	19,471	2.8	1	3,003	0.5	1	22,650	3.2	1	14,407	1.8	1
total		786.132	100	108	692.028	100	108	690.191	100	108	661.753	100	108	694.310	100	108	803.315	100	90

Responsibilities

The assembly has legislative powers and is responsible for electing the government. The First Minister and his deputy are elected by concordance. The two largest blocs, i.e. unionists and nationalists, each propose a candidate for one of the two offices. The rest of the ministers are not elected; instead, the larger parties choose a number of government members that corresponds to their strength in parliament.

Legislation distinguishes between three areas: delegated competences lie solely with the assembly; Reserved responsibilities may be transferred to the congregation in the future; Excepted powers continue to be reserved for the UK Parliament. Laws lawfully made by the Assembly are signed by the British Queen. All laws passed illegally are rejected by the Northern Ireland Minister.

Transfer: job education Finances health trade Justice and Police (since 2010) Arts and Culture Agriculture Regional development Social environment

Reserved: education International trade Coast and seabed Post and Telecommunications Consumer protection

Except: International Relations International treaties Order and title Citizenship, Immigration and Asylum State taxes Succession to the throne Defense and Armed Forces Suffrage currency

Web links

• Northern Ireland Assembly (Official Website )
• BBC NI deal struck in historic talks (English)
• BBC: Q&A: Northern Ireland Assembly (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Jayne McCormack: Stormont stalemate - how things stand, in: BBC, June 14, 2019 [1] accessed on October 8, 2019
2. ↑ Alex Kane: Stormont was messy, it looked sneaky ... and it might just have ended up making a difficult situation much, much worse , in: Belfast Telegraph of October 22, 2019 [Alex Kane: Stormont was messy, it looked sneaky ... and it might just have ended up making a difficult situation much, much worse], accessed October 22, 2019
3. ↑ Northern Ireland assembly reopens three years after collapse. The Guardian , accessed January 12, 2020 . 
4. ↑ Assembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016. The National Archives, 2016, accessed on January 18, 2017 . 
5. ↑ Jayne McCormack: Stormont stalemate - how things stand, in: BBC, June 14, 2019 [2] accessed on October 8, 2019
6. ↑ Jack Horgan-Jones: Bishops call for restoration of Stormont to block liberalization of abortion laws , in: The Irish Times , October 4, 2019 [3] accessed October 8, 2019
7. ↑ Suzanne Breen: Nobody has any dignity after pantomime Stormont Assembly recall , in: Moose Gazette , October 21, 2019 [4] accessed on October 22, 2019
8. ↑ BBC News, October 21, 2019: Abortion: NI politicians' bid to halt law changes fails [5], accessed October 22, 2019
9. ↑ Lisa O'Carroll: What are the concerns over Stormont's role in proposed Brexit deal? , in: The Guardian , October 3, 2019 [6]. Retrieved October 8, 2019

Coordinates: 54 ° 36 ′ 18 ″  N , 5 ° 50 ′ 6 ″  W.