Northern Ireland Secretary Shailesh Vara has said he is determined to do everything he possibly can to avoid a fresh Stormont election in the autumn.
He stressed he is not afraid to take "tough decisions" and that the option of cutting MLAs' pay remains "on the table".
The new Secretary of State also rejected as "absolute and utter nonsense" reports that he once asked an official if he needed a passport to go to Derry.
Read more: Tory leadership race: What Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss have said about Northern Ireland
Stormont has been in limbo since February when the DUP withdrew its First Minister from the devolved Executive as it called for the UK government to act on Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Assembly will sit on Tuesday to attempt for a third time since May’s election to elect a new Speaker following a recall motion by the SDLP.
But the DUP has made clear it will continue to block the election of a Speaker, preventing further Assembly business including the nomination of new first and deputy first ministers.
If a new power-sharing administration is not in place by October, the UK government assumes a legal responsibility to call a fresh poll within the following three months.
Mr Vara said there is going to have to be "some serious thinking" before the end of October.
"I am determined to do everything I possibly can to make sure that an election is not called,” he told media during a visit to Atlas Women’s Centre in Lisburn, Co Antrim.
“I want to work with all the political parties to make sure that we can move forward, but if tough decisions have to be taken then you will find that this Secretary of State is not afraid to take them.”
But Mr Vara refused to rule out delaying an election if the government's planned legislation to override the Protocol has not been passed by the autumn.
"I'm not going to pre-judge anything that may or may not happen at the end of October," he said.
Asked would he cut MLAs' pay, he said it was "on the table".
"I’m not ruling anything out but I’m very much hoping that very soon we can get heads together and that the Executive will be running, but nothing is being ruled out."
Mr Vara also responded to media reports claiming that when he previously served as a junior minister in the Northern Ireland Office, he had asked an official "whether he needed a passport to go to Derry".
The Secretary of State said he welcomed the opportunity to say it was "nonsense".
"But we now sadly live in a world where people can put out fake news and then it just escalates in the world of social media… I can confirm it is utter and absolute nonsense," he said.
"I am determined not to focus on trivialities like that because my job as Secretary of State is to deal with the real issues that concern the people of Northern Ireland, and that’s where I want to focus my attention. I am somebody who is going to be concentrating on the real issues, and not on the tittle-tattle."
On Wednesday the government’s contentious Protocol Bill moved closer to becoming law.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said that despite "progress" with the legislation, his party was still not prepared to re-engage with the Stormont institutions.
"We want to know if a new prime minister remains committed to taking this legislation forward and we will be engaging with both the leadership contenders and their teams over the next few weeks," he told the BBC.
Speaking about his party’s recall petition, SDLP MLA Matthew O’Toole said: “At a time when working households are facing a real emergency, there is no justification for those continuing to hold our democratic institutions to ransom for their own cheap political games."
He added: "The Protocol Bill has, unfortunately, passed its Commons stages and it is time for Jeffrey Donaldson to make his mind up.
"He cannot keep speaking out of both sides of his mouth when it comes to the restoration of the Assembly and the Executive."
Mr Vara said the UK government was keen to have a negotiated settlement with the European Union over the Protocol.
But he said that after 18 months of negotiations, 300 hours of officials talking, 26 separate meetings between the UK's former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost with his EU counterparts, and 17 separate papers, it is “difficult” when they are told “sorry the deal has been signed up already and that’s it”.
Mr Vara has been in the role for just a number of weeks following the resignation of Brandon Lewis in a Cabinet revolt against Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Asked about the rival Conservative leadership contenders Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, Mr Vara said: "They have made it absolutely clear to me that Northern Ireland is uppermost there and they want to make sure that they get the executive up and running."
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