The Northern Ireland Secretary’s suggestion that Stormont’s impasse could be solved by the return of London rule is dangerous and wrong

Northern Ireland’s politics are in the midst of a crisis fuelled by the UK government’s austerity programme, and continued tensions over the presence of paramilitary forces linked to Sinn Fein. The Conservative Government’s Theresa Villiers has suggested that the reimposition of direct rule from Westminster could be a way out of the impasse. Sean Swan argues that this approach is misguided in the extreme, and potentially very dangerous indeed.