Alex Burghart MP is Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, and Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar.
So much remains unknown about the Burnham Government. An area in which it may quickly be tested is Northern Ireland. Stormont is paralysed having failed to agree a Budget for many months. Well-sourced reporting by the Belfast Telegraph now suggests that Sinn Fein may be about to collapse the Assembly as part of a calculated and cynical ploy to lure back nationalist voters to their cause.
That cause will unquestionably have been strengthened by the failure of Burnham’s new Northern Ireland Secretary to advocate for the union in an interview in Belfast. Asked whether he would match Keir Starmer’s previous pledge to campaign for the union should there be a border poll, he declined to do so. There is, of course, absolutely no requirement or need for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to be neutral on the issue of the union. All this will be music to the ears of the nationalists – and a dreadful noise to all who believe that Northern Ireland’s place remains in the United Kingdom.
It thus looks as though Burnham’s government will be even weaker on Northern Ireland than Starmer’s was. Starmer, of course, introduced the hated Northern Ireland Troubles Bill that will, if it becomes law, open the door to ever more vexatious litigation against British soldiers who served in Operation Banner.
The new Northern Ireland Secretary has said that he is considering proposed amendments to the legislation which caused Al Carns to quit the government only a few months ago. Indeed, Carns’ refusal to take a job under Burnham strongly suggests that he was not given reassurances that the bill would be fundamentally altered. In his resignation letter, the former colonel wrote that the legislation ‘remains unfit for purpose’ and that ‘it risks failing the very veterans it claims to protect’.
Whilst it is of some relief that Lord Hermer has left Cabinet, there is no sign of a change of course from Andy Burnham. Burnham has reappointed Jonathan Powell as his National Security Advisor, a man who invited Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to his wedding and suggested in 2015 that the IRA could be ‘legalised’ and that it didn’t matter whether it existed or not. It is unlikely that the victims of their atrocities feel the same. Powell has also played a key role in Labour’s attempts to hand over the Chagos Islands – British sovereign territory – to Mauritius, an ally of China. A defender of our country’s territorial integrity, he is not.
Burnham will not be able to hide from difficult choices for very much longer. It is greatly to be hoped that the madness of the Chagos deal is permanently shelved following the loss of US support. Alas, the same thing probably cannot be said for the Troubles Bill. Hopefully Carns will be prepared to lead opposition to it from within the Labour Party. Mark Francois and I will continue to do all we can to prevent it ever becoming law.
The Conservative Party set out a clear alternative in our Legacy Act. This would have effectively drawn a line under the Troubles and given reassurance to veterans that they would not be hounded through the courts decades after events. As it is, spurious cases continue to be brought. One such is that involving a veteran known as Soldier B who has repeatedly been brought to court despite one judge calling the case against him ‘ludicrous’. Many months after that ruling, he is again being dragged into the dock.
There is growing anxiety amongst the unionist community that Burnham’s government is going to be soft on the union and hand the nationalists just what they want: the chance to prosecute British veterans and a roadmap to a vote on breaking up the union.
Conservatives will never accept any attempt to force Northern Ireland from the rest of our country.
We have fought against Labour’s assault on our veterans from day one, and we will continue for as long as it takes. If their bill passes, the next Conservative government will repeal it. It is legislation that allows for the continuation of the Troubles by other means.
We want a safe and secure Northern Ireland playing its full part in the United Kingdom, one that looks to the future more than the past, one that enjoys ever greater prosperity as part of our family of nations – and that is what the Conservative and Unionist Party will continue to fight for.
Alex Burghart MP is Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, and Conservative MP for Brentwood and Ongar.
So much remains unknown about the Burnham Government. An area in which it may quickly be tested is Northern Ireland. Stormont is paralysed having failed to agree a Budget for many months. Well-sourced reporting by the Belfast Telegraph now suggests that Sinn Fein may be about to collapse the Assembly as part of a calculated and cynical ploy to lure back nationalist voters to their cause.
That cause will unquestionably have been strengthened by the failure of Burnham’s new Northern Ireland Secretary to advocate for the union in an interview in Belfast. Asked whether he would match Keir Starmer’s previous pledge to campaign for the union should there be a border poll, he declined to do so. There is, of course, absolutely no requirement or need for the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to be neutral on the issue of the union. All this will be music to the ears of the nationalists – and a dreadful noise to all who believe that Northern Ireland’s place remains in the United Kingdom.
It thus looks as though Burnham’s government will be even weaker on Northern Ireland than Starmer’s was. Starmer, of course, introduced the hated Northern Ireland Troubles Bill that will, if it becomes law, open the door to ever more vexatious litigation against British soldiers who served in Operation Banner.
The new Northern Ireland Secretary has said that he is considering proposed amendments to the legislation which caused Al Carns to quit the government only a few months ago. Indeed, Carns’ refusal to take a job under Burnham strongly suggests that he was not given reassurances that the bill would be fundamentally altered. In his resignation letter, the former colonel wrote that the legislation ‘remains unfit for purpose’ and that ‘it risks failing the very veterans it claims to protect’.
Whilst it is of some relief that Lord Hermer has left Cabinet, there is no sign of a change of course from Andy Burnham. Burnham has reappointed Jonathan Powell as his National Security Advisor, a man who invited Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to his wedding and suggested in 2015 that the IRA could be ‘legalised’ and that it didn’t matter whether it existed or not. It is unlikely that the victims of their atrocities feel the same. Powell has also played a key role in Labour’s attempts to hand over the Chagos Islands – British sovereign territory – to Mauritius, an ally of China. A defender of our country’s territorial integrity, he is not.
Burnham will not be able to hide from difficult choices for very much longer. It is greatly to be hoped that the madness of the Chagos deal is permanently shelved following the loss of US support. Alas, the same thing probably cannot be said for the Troubles Bill. Hopefully Carns will be prepared to lead opposition to it from within the Labour Party. Mark Francois and I will continue to do all we can to prevent it ever becoming law.
The Conservative Party set out a clear alternative in our Legacy Act. This would have effectively drawn a line under the Troubles and given reassurance to veterans that they would not be hounded through the courts decades after events. As it is, spurious cases continue to be brought. One such is that involving a veteran known as Soldier B who has repeatedly been brought to court despite one judge calling the case against him ‘ludicrous’. Many months after that ruling, he is again being dragged into the dock.
There is growing anxiety amongst the unionist community that Burnham’s government is going to be soft on the union and hand the nationalists just what they want: the chance to prosecute British veterans and a roadmap to a vote on breaking up the union.
Conservatives will never accept any attempt to force Northern Ireland from the rest of our country.
We have fought against Labour’s assault on our veterans from day one, and we will continue for as long as it takes. If their bill passes, the next Conservative government will repeal it. It is legislation that allows for the continuation of the Troubles by other means.
We want a safe and secure Northern Ireland playing its full part in the United Kingdom, one that looks to the future more than the past, one that enjoys ever greater prosperity as part of our family of nations – and that is what the Conservative and Unionist Party will continue to fight for.