It’s been a rocky year for Northern Ireland politics. Against a backdrop of worsening relationships, the Executive has had to cope with the pandemic, the protocol and the legacy of three years without Ministers.

The future of the Northern Ireland protocol hangs in the balance. The EU response to the UK’s proposals for major changes to the Withdrawal Agreement will be the start of an intense period of negotiations. The stakes are high with the UK governments threat to take unilateral measures on the protocol looms large, alongside the DUP’s threat to bring down the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Deal or no deal, the Northern Ireland Assembly is heading for an election in May 2022, if not before. This podcast will explore the view from Northern Ireland – can the UK and EU reach agreement before the end of the year? Will the Assembly survive until May? What are each parties’ prospects? What other challenges will the Executive be facing in the next six months?

To answer these questions the Institute for Government brought together an expert panel for a special IfG Live podcast.

Presented by Jess Sargeant, Senior Researcher at the Institute for Government

Audio Production by Candice McKenzie

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