Have the people of northern ireland been without a government? the dup withdrew their been without a government? the dup withdrew their first been without a government? the dup withdrew their first minister - been without a government? the dup withdrew their first minister in - withdrew their first minister in february over their objections to the protocol so the government has beenin the protocol so the government has been in caretaker form for the last few months and it looks like it will continue like that for at least the next few weeks. if we go for six months without an executive it would either go back to another election or we could see direct will from london but nobody wants to see that so the pressure is on for the parties to reach agreement, it s why brandon lewis is here today and will meet parties at the longer the stalemate goes on, the longer issues in northern ireland will not get addressed, things like the health service, the cost of living, and although there are