Back in London, Donaldson’s early hours statement was viewed with a touch of caution.
One U.K. official, granted anonymity to discuss internal government thinking, said: “This is obviously good news, but this is only one step and there are about 10 things that could still go wrong. Put it this way, we were expecting a statement at 10.30 p.m. and it didn’t come until nearly 1 a.m. That says something about what the people in the room think about the deal.”
They added: “A lot of people have been wondering if Jeffrey has it in him to show genuine leadership. This shows that he does.”
The breakthrough seemingly clears the way for the DUP to join with Sinn Féin and other local parties, potentially as early as next week, to elect a new neutral speaker for the Northern Ireland Assembly and then immediately nominate a DUP politician to fill the second-highest post of deputy first minister. The DUP has blocked both moves seven times following the May 2022 election that saw Sinn Féin overtake the DUP for the first time.
Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill is slated to become first minister — and the first Irish republican to hold the top position. Donaldson isn’t eligible to be deputy first minister after resigning his assembly seat when the DUP launched its policy of obstruction. Candidates to take on that role include assembly member Emma Little-Pengelly and DUP Director of Elections Gordon Lyons. Both are in Donaldson’s tight inner circle and spent months negotiating alongside the DUP chief and their U.K. counterparts.
In his press conference, a visibly relieved — even occasionally smiling — Donaldson stressed that reviving Stormont was always in the unionists’ interest. “For the union to succeed, we have to make Northern Ireland work. If Northern Ireland works, the union will be secured,” he said.
In his own statement, Heaton-Harris said: “Jeffrey Donaldson has said this is subject to the binding commitments between the Democratic Unionist Party and the U.K. government — I can confirm that we will stick to this agreement. I now believe that all the conditions are in place for the Assembly to return.”
Rosa Prince contributed reporting.
