Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour Party’s leader, has stated that a referendum on Irish unification is not a priority. Despite speculation that he may support the idea, he confirmed he would campaign for Northern Ireland to remain a part of the UK. Sir Keir said that the proposal was hypothetical and not on the immediate horizon. The leader has also spoken of renegotiating an improved trade deal with the European Union, leading to speculation such an arrangement may do away with the need for an Irish Sea border.
The trade border, which was a result of Brexit and led to extra checks on goods imported to Northern Ireland from Great Britain, led to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) boycotting the Stormont institutions. This has left Northern Ireland without a devolved government since February 2022. However, Sir Keir flatly ruled out a Swiss-style deal that would see the UK adhering to EU regulations with the oversight of the European Court of Justice.
Some senior members of the DUP are in favour of waiting to see if they may get a better deal from a Labour administration than the current Conservative government. Sir Keir has made it clear he believed the Stormont institutions should be back up and running as soon as possible, saying communities here “absolutely depend on the decisions that have to be made with their interests at heart.”
The leader repeated his intention to repeal the controversial Troubles Legacy Bill after his new shadow Northern Ireland spokesman Hilary Benn said a replacement must be found. Sir Keir thinks a “collaborative approach” is needed that brings people on a journey rather than imposing it. Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar shared their concerns about the continued absence of an executive in Northern Ireland when they met in Spain
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