The general election is a disaster for Northern Ireland

There’s little enthusiasm just about anywhere for this summer’s snap general election, and no more so than in Northern Ireland where voters’ growing apathy is mixed with a feeling of dread. Saying that politics in Northern Ireland is rarely straightforward or smooth is something of an understatement. But the timing of this summer’s election could not be worse for the country: the peace process is currently navigating its way perilously through one of its most difficult periods since 1998’s Good Friday Agreement. While the stasis which is paralysing Stormont shows no signs of ending: four months on since power-sharing collapsed in the region, the parties are yet to resolve their issues and agree to return to government. Attempts at resolution have had next to no success.

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire’s attempts to break the deadlock have all, so far, failed. The snap elections in March offered nothing in the way of a solution, with the same parties returned by the electorate.