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Kavanagh et al: British Politics 5e

Endgame in Northern Ireland?

Tony Blair famously felt "the hand of history" on his shoulder while negotiating the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. It was perhaps no surprise therefore that the announcements made by Ian Paisley and Gerry Adams on the 26th March 2007 that their parties would participate in a new power sharing executive were welcomed by the media as heralding a new epoch in Northern Irish politics.

The Northern Ireland Assembly had been suspended since October 2002 when allegations arose of a Republican 'spy-ring' operating in Stormont. Since then the obstacle posed by IRA decommissioning had been removed, principally by the IRA's statement of 28 July 2005 which formally ordered an end to its armed campaign and instructed all IRA units to dump their arms. The further obstacle of Sinn Féin's support for the rule of law and the Police Service of Northern Ireland took longer to address. Nevertheless in January 2007 a Sinn Féin special conference took the unprecedented step of supporting the criminal justice system, albeit only once devolution was restored and a power-sharing executive created.

Yet as the parties campaigned for votes in the Assembly election held on 7th March 2007 it was unclear whether devolution would be restored by the deadline of 26th March issued by the British and Irish governments. The DUP refused to explicitly state that they would participate in an executive with Sinn Féin throughout the campaign. Yet polls revealed that the electorate for their part were chiefly exercised by the rather more prosaic issue of whether water charges would be imposed in Northern Ireland than such issues of constitutional principle.

With the DUP and Sinn Féin extending their support at the expense of the UUP and SDLP respectively, the Assembly election results confirmed that these historic antagonists would need to reach an agreement to govern in partnership if the British and Irish government's threats to take responsibility for the governance of Northern Ireland were not to be implemented. 

In common with the Good Friday Agreement, a deal was struck at the eleventh hour. On the 24th of March the DUP executive approved participation in a power sharing executive with Sinn Féin if devolution was restored in May and following negotiations, the British government agreed to emergency legislation to restore devolution on the 8th of May. In anticipation of the restoration of devolution the political parties have now announced the allocation of ministerial portfolios and Sinn Féin have held their first meeting with the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

Nevertheless, significant challenges still lie ahead for the new executive and Assembly. A programme for government will need to be agreed and the new Assembly will have to avoid the cycle of suspension and restoration which plagued previous attempts to implement the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement.

Critical thinking questions

1) Assess the prospects for the new power sharing executive and Assembly. What problems are the executive and Assembly likely to encounter once devolution is restored? How might these problems be resolved or circumvented?

2) How has Northern Irish politics changed since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement? What do these changes imply for the success or otherwise of the peace process?

3) Commentators have suggested that the Northern Ireland peace process will form a key part of Tony Blair's 'legacy'. Do you agree and to what extent has the Labour government hindered or assisted the peace process in Northern Ireland?