Latest updates as prime minister meets leaders of devolved governments for first time since taking role
Yesterday Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, announced that he would be cutting the pay of members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) in Northern Ireland by 27.5% because the assembly has not been sitting, because of the DUP boycott. If this goes ahead, that means their pay will be cut from around £51,000 to £37,000.
This was part of Heaton-Harris’s announcement putting back the deadline for a new election to the assembly, to allow more time for talks to resolve the deadlock.
There has been legal opinion taken in the past by former secretaries of state that demonstrate it would be unbelievably difficult and judicially reviewed if I didn’t do it in a fair and proportionate way, which is what this is.
He said there was a very, very big budget black hole in Northern Ireland’s finances.
He defended his decision to delay the election when previously he had said it would not be delayed. He did that because people did not want an election, he said.
I was talking to all the political parties, I was talking to business representative groups, I was talking to community groups, I was talking to people on the street, and I did clock that people were saying that no-one wants an election before Christmas, so forgive me for being a politician that listens.
He said that the absence of an executive in Northern Ireland made it harder to pass on the £400 energy bill discount to people in the region. But he said hoped to announce “very, very soon” how the money would be paid to people.
Clearly industrial action is a challenge for the health service and NHS leaders.
We’re already coping with the gap that exists between the demand that is currently on the health service from the public. We’ve got to meet that demand, and we all know that we are heading into what already is a very difficult winter.
