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ANALYSIS: When Stormont runs out of process there's nothing else left

Reducing MLAs' pay is one of the few incentives available to James Brokenshire. Picture by Mal McCann
Reducing MLAs' pay is one of the few incentives available to James Brokenshire. Picture by Mal McCann Reducing MLAs' pay is one of the few incentives available to James Brokenshire. Picture by Mal McCann

GIVEN that there was never a firm deadline for concluding the Stormont talks, it's perhaps best to refer to yesterday as a juncture that marks the passing from one phase to the next.

So far this year, we've had a number of similar junctures as negotiations have petered out with no obvious consequences.

The situation we find ourselves in today is no different than that of six months ago – we have no executive, no assembly and no democratic accountability, with the eight regional departments run by civil servants.

Since the summer Secretary of State James Brokenshire has been reminding the DUP and Sinn Féin that in the absence of an executive he would have to put a budget in place to provide the permanent secretaries with the spending certainty they require.

Initially, we were told this process had to begin in mid-October but it now seems there was always room for flexibility and that the budget bill won't be presented to Westminster until Monday week at the earliest.

On one hand, allowing more time for the negotiations to continue is a good thing but on the other, the credibility of the process is not helped by deadlines that are vague or continually extended, along with threats that are never fulfilled.

Do we need reminding that back at the end of June, after another so-called deadline lapsed, Mr Brokenshire warned of "profound and serious" consequences if an executive was not put in place?

If there is to be a next phase to this process, it's difficult to see how it can differ from what's come before.

In all likelihood, after a brief hiatus that will cover the two biggest parties' annual conferences, they will again be urged to get round the table, with the obligatory warnings from the secretary of state about what might happen if they don't strike a deal.

Mr Brokenshire said yesterday that he intends to seek advice on the steps he should take to "reflect the current circumstances in MLA pay".

This is one of the few incentives left in his armoury, though he doesn't seem especially determined to cut assembly members' salaries unless it coincides with the imposition of direct rule, whereby Stormont may be mothballed entirely.

Previously, when direct rule was introduced under his predeccessor John Reid in the wake of the 2002's 'Stormontgate' affair, MLAs' salaries were reduced by 30 per cent – the same figure suggested by Alliance's Naomi Long earlier this week.

While the secretary of state's oversight of the lacklustre, prolonged process has drawn criticism, he isn't solely responsible for 10 months of inertia.

The DUP and Sinn Féin must too share the blame for the lack of progress, though this is unlikely to translate into any loss of support.

It has often been said that Stormont is addicted to process and the drama of negotiations, followed by self-congratulatory compromise.

The unfortunate thing about that approach is that when the process can't go any further, there's nothing else left.