27 August 2026

SDLP Leader Claire Hanna MP has said the Prime Minister’s commitment to devolution will be put to the test by whether he is prepared to act to reform the Stormont institutions. She added that the failure to set a Budget, throwing public services into crisis, and summer threats to collapse the institutions, underlined how urgent progress on reform now is.

Speaking ahead of a meeting with the Prime Minister, the SDLP Leader said:

“As a devolutionist, the Prime Minister understands the importance of decisions being taken as close as possible to the people affected by them. The problem in Northern Ireland is that while we have devolution, too often we don’t have decisions. We don’t even have an agreed budget, while our government remains vulnerable to collapse whenever one of the largest parties decides an issue is more important than keeping the institutions working.

“We have all seen this movie before. People are fed a diet of division and fear and told that the safest response is to retreat to the biggest tribe. That politics has failed people here for too long.

“If the Prime Minister is serious about delivery, the immediate priority must be ensuring that the Executive agrees a budget so that public services can continue to function and departments can plan properly.

“But dealing with the immediate crisis cannot be a substitute for addressing some of the underlying issues. We urged the Prime Minister to recognise that reform of the institutions cannot wait any longer and asked him to initiate that process as a matter of urgency.

“With an election nine months away, there is a real risk of instability or collapse before polling day, or another prolonged stand-off afterwards. The people who pay the price for that dysfunction are not politicians, they are people waiting for healthcare, children waiting for special educational support and families waiting for a home.

“The choice for the Prime Minister is whether to begin reform now, in a considered and constructive way, or wait until the next political crisis forces his hand. We are urging him to act now.”