Also: DUP and Heaton-Harris in staring match over extra funding as Rishi Sunak rules out coalition with the Unionists at Westminster.
Recent polling shows the party well ahead of both the UUP and the TUV, meaning the current deadlock would simply be reproduced.
Eurosceptic MPs could agree that they wanted to be out of the European Union. But now Brexit is done, they are divided on what it should look like – and the ERG’s power has dimmed accordingly.
The Northern Ireland Secretary says the change to applying EU law is not just a delaying mechanism. But adds that he expects Assembly members “would not use the power trivially.”
The Prime Minister has no way of even trying to ensure the dispute is over by April except capitulating to the EU.
Also: having missed his self-imposed deadline of October 28th, Heaton-Harris changes the law to push Stormont vote back to April.
Chris Heaton-Harris will probably call elections sooner rather than later, but another share of his department’s dwindling stock of credibility is lost.
Why has neither he nor Heaton-Harris pushed back against Sinn Fein’s nonsensical claims about ‘joint authority’ with Dublin?
He says claims Johnson “has the numbers” even though he hasn’t hit 100 public backers.