THE SDLP will today call on the British government to change the process for electing an assembly speaker in a move it hopes will break the Stormont logjam.
The party will air its proposal at roundtable talks in Belfast hosted by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris.
The meeting involving Stormont's main parties comes 48 hours after a breakthough in the talks around the Northern Ireland Protocol.
On Monday, Mr Cleverly and European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic announced an agreement that will allow the EU to access UK IT systems, providing detailed detailed information on goods arriving in the north from Britain.
Ahead of today's meeting, the two Tory ministers will meet business groups and visit a plant nursery in Co Down, where the post-Brexit trade arrangements have disrupted the supply of "seed potatoes and other native British plants and trees".
Speaking before today's meeting, Mr Cleverly said his preference for breaking the deadlock around the protocol was a "negotiated solution"..
"But the UK’s priority is protecting the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and preserving political stability in Northern Ireland," he said.
"I am listening to the concerns of people and businesses in Northern Ireland and am keenly aware that the current situation isn’t working – we need to address those issues with the protocol that risk and undermine the place of Northern Ireland in the UK."
Mr Heaton-Harris said resolving difficulties around the protocol was "clearly desired by all across business and in government".
“I am firmly of the belief too that what people in Northern Ireland want most is to see their elected politicians back at work," he said.
"Accountable political leadership is fundamental to secure a sustainable future for all inNorthern Ireland."
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson last night said the protocol "was not, is not and will not be supported by unionists".
"Whilst some may be focused on short-term fixes, that will not work for the people of Northern Ireland," he said.
"The restoration of devolved government is only made sustainable when the protocol is replaced by arrangements that restore Northern Ireland’s constitutional and economic place within the United Kingdom."
The Lagan Valley MP said his party's so-called seven tests remained the "yardstick for any proposed deal".
The SDLP proposal to enable the assembly to sit in the absence of an executive would involve a rule change in the process of electing a speaker.
Rather than allowing the largest party of either a nationalist or unionist designation to veto the vote, the SDLP wants the speaker to be elected with a two-thirds majority.
It says the tweak to the rules, which would need Westminster legislation, would still require the speaker to have nationalist and unionist support.
"Unfortunately, it appears highly likely that the DUP will continue to prioritise its cynical party-political wrecking strategy which has left people here without a functioning Assembly or executive since last year - at least for the foreseeable future," said South Belfast MLA Matthew O'Toole.
"That approach simply isn't good enough when thousands of people can't get a hospital appointment, when families across our communities are struggling to keep the heating on and they need help from their elected representatives."
