The Democratic Unionist Party, the largest party representing the Unionist community, who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom, is refusing to enter the assembly because of the standoff over the part of the Brexit Agreement known as the Northern Ireland protocol. This has left Northern Ireland subject to some European Union trade regulations, to avoid the reintroduction of a hard border between the North, which is part of the UK, and the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU.

But while the Labour Party tears itself apart, with a challenge to its far-left leader, Jeremy Corbyn, there are some real positives to take from what happened. There is still a chance that Britain might not leave the EU. Article 50 notification, the official start of the withdrawal process, has not happened, and will not happen until the autumn at the earliest. Once it does, Britain and our European neighbors then have to come to agreements on the status of Brits abroad and Europeans in the United Kingdom, about contributions to the EU budget, and so on.