Northern Ireland matches Belgian record for lack of Government

By David Hunter

After 589 days, Northern Ireland has officially matched Belgium's record of having the longest period without a Government during peacetime. 

The executive collapsed in January of 2017 when the late Martin McGuinness resigned as Deputy First Minister. 

The Sinn Fein veteran blamed the handling of a botched green energy scheme (RHI) and what he described as DUP failures on rights issues. 

The resignation automatically removed Arlene Foster from office as First Minister due to the joint nature of the Executive Office.

That triggered as assembly election with the DUP and Sinn Fein returning as the two largest parties.

Leadership teams have still not been able to form a new Government as rows over issues like the Irish language and same sex marriage continue. 

The 'We Deserve Better' campaign will see protests held across the provence tonight.

Members of the public will gather at various locations demanding that MLA's get back into work at Stormont and end the political deadlock. 

Our matching of Belguim's record won't be placed on the Guinness book of world records, as we can still be ruled by Westminster. 

However, the Secretary of State, Karen Bradley,  has been reluctant to act here.

The Prime Minister says most issues here are for the devolved assembly to legislate on, and that Westminster would not be stepping in yet. 

As a result of the deadlock Civil Servants have been keeping everyday services running, but it's coming more unclear of which decisions they can or cannot make in the absense of a minister. 

Unless there is to be a shock announcement by the two largest parties today, it looks almost certain that Northern Ireland will substantially surpass the Belgian record of 589 days.