Speaking on the constitutional crisis in Westminster, ICTU Assistant General Secretary Owen Reidy commented
The inevitable resignation this morning of the NI Secretary of State Brandon Lewis brings together the collapse of normal politics in Westminster with the stalling of normal politics at Stormont since May's NI Assembly election. We in Northern Ireland now have no functioning Executive to address real and worsening problems and not even the cold comfort of Tory direct rule ministers to make decisions if needed.
In the chaos facing Westminster politics, the return to devolved powers through a restored NI Executive cannot happen fast enough. The economic and social storms created by the Cost of Living crisis and Brexit/ NI Protocol are damaging the people of Northern Ireland. None of the problems created by the latter can be resolved in Westminster for a very long time, and are a very low priority there anyway.
Bringing back the NI Executive now is about protecting all of our people.
