The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will visit Northern Ireland on Monday to try to resolve the political crisis.
The Stormont Assembly today failed to elect a speaker, plunging the next few months into uncertainty.
The DUP blocked proposed appointments from the UUP and SDLP, meaning the Northern Irish Parliament cannot conduct any business.
They say they won't change their stance until there has been reform of the Northern Ireland protocol.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie says it's the people who elected them who will suffer as a result.
"People will go cold and hungry in their homes and from this place there will be silence.
"People will die on waiting lists, and from this house there will be silence.
"People will be desperately calling for an ambulance and from this place there will be silence."
