DUBLIN — Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, resigned Friday after being charged by police — a political shock that could destabilize Northern Ireland’s just-revived government. Donaldson, 61, was arrested Thursday and charged Thursday night. Police provided no detail of the charges beyond describing them as of “a historical nature,” meaning the alleged … Read more
Demands and priorities Britain is providing the executive an extra £3.3 billion to start patching holes in services and pay long-delayed wage hikes that just triggered the biggest public sector strike in Northern Ireland’s history. The trouble is, the head of Northern Ireland’s civil service, Jayne Brady, has already told the new leaders that these eye-watering sums are still … Read more
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 … Read more
Democratic Unionist leader Jeffrey Donaldson says he’s determined to get Northern Ireland’s cross-community government restored — and won’t be deterred by die-hards from his own side of the divide. In the most impassioned speech of his DUP leadership, Donaldson told the House of Commons on Wednesday he’d just received threats from loyalist hard-liners. He said … Read more
DUBLIN — The Democratic Unionists dumped a lump of coal in the British government’s Christmas stocking Monday, declaring that their party will maintain its stubborn blockade of Northern Ireland’s cross-community government into the new year — a deadlock that could take billions in extra U.K. finance to break. Hopes were dashed of a pre-Christmas breakthrough … Read more
