Reuters, on UK Politics, 29 October 2026

0.0out of 10Nothing found

DUP to cease cooperation in Northern Ireland power-sharing executive over banned parade

No framing issues found.

Democratic Unionist Party leader Gavin Robinson addresses the media in the Great Hall of Parliament Buildings at Stormont, Belfast, July 8, 2024. Liam McBurney/Pool via REUTERS Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab BELFAST, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party said it would withdraw cooperation with Sinn Fein at the top of the region's ​power-sharing government over the fallout from a banned Protestant parade, ‌but stopped short of collapsing the executive.

The DUP, the region's largest pro-British party, have called for First Minister Michelle O'Neill and other lawmakers from the ​Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party to be prosecuted for blocking the ​contentious parade from marching through a Catholic area. Sign up here. O'Neill and other ⁠Sinn Fein lawmakers have been interviewed by police in relation to ​their investigation into what police have deemed to be an unlawful protest. DUP ​leader Gavin Robinson told a news conference on Thursday that all work between O'Neill and his party colleague, Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, will cease until the ​British government sanctions O'Neill for her role in the protest.

He ​said that while it would be "madness" to collapse the executive with the parties in ‌the ⁠middle of budget talks with London, the DUP would keep that option on the table. O'Neill said the DUP move means she cannot attend a meeting with the British prime minister and first ministers ​of Scotland and ​Wales on Friday, ⁠calling it a "reactive stunt". Britain's Northern Ireland minister stepped in earlier this month to overturn a decision by local ​authorities to grant a permit for the parade ​after protests ⁠triggered a two-week standoff between Catholic residents and Protestant marchers.

The standoff raised political tensions between the two rival parties that share power in a ⁠compulsory ​coalition and has added to the potential ​difficulty in forming a new power-sharing government after elections to the regional assembly next ​May. Reporting by Amanda Ferguson, writing by Padraic Halpin, editing by William James Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab Suggested Topics: United Kingdom X Facebook Linkedin Email Link Purchase Licensing Rights

Read the original article on reuters.com (opens in a new tab)
About this analysis

Reuters reports that the DUP will stop joint work with First Minister Michelle O'Neill over the fallout from a banned Protestant parade, while stopping short of collapsing the executive. It attributes each party's position to the party, gives O'Neill's response, and says plainly that it is the police who call the protest unlawful. Nothing in it misleads the reader.

What it gets right

  • “what police have deemed to be an unlawful protest”

    Reuters attributes the description of the protest as unlawful to the police rather than stating it as its own fact, which matters while no charge has been brought.

  • “calling it a "reactive stunt"”

    The DUP's move and demands are set against O'Neill's own response, so the reader hears both parties to the dispute.

  • “have called for First Minister Michelle O'Neill and other lawmakers from the ​Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party to be prosecuted”

    The demand for prosecution is reported as the DUP's call, not as an established wrongdoing by the named politicians.

Spot something we missed? Report this article

More from Reuters

  1. 29 OctUK will reduce 'unsustainable' welfare costs, Healey says0.0
  2. 28 OctUK budget: Healey accepts smaller fiscal buffer after global shocks hit economy0.0
  3. 28 OctSterling inches lower ahead of highly anticipated UK budget0.0
  4. 27 OctUK watchdog says Reform's Tice breached parliament rules over Israel trip declaration0.0
  5. 27 OctTwo men charged in UK with helping Iran over RAF Fairford incident6.0

Everything we scored from Reuters