Rishi Sunak Tells DUP to do the ‘Right Thing’ and Return to Power-Sharing in Northern Ireland

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (2nd from L) poses with (L to R) former Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair at Hillsborough Castle in County Down, Northern Ireland, on April 19, 2023. (PA Media)

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has told the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) to do the “right thing” and restore the power-sharing executive and assembly at Stormont.

Sunak made the comments on Wednesday night during a speech at Queen’s University in Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.

The DUP is using a veto to prevent the operation of devolution in protest of post-Brexit trading arrangements which it says have weakened Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom.

But Sunak said the Windsor Framework deal he agreed recently with the EU had addressed the DUP concerns over sovereignty and trade.

Sunak told unionists: “I urge you to work with us to get Stormont up and running again. That’s the right thing to do in its own terms. I’m convinced it’s also the right thing to do for our union.”

Sunak: ‘I’m a Proud Unionist’

The prime minister, who was 17 when the Good Friday Agreement was signed, said: “Now, I’m a proud unionist. We passionately believe that Northern Ireland is stronger within the United Kingdom, and the United Kingdom is stronger with Northern Ireland within it.”

“But we must also build support beyond those of us who already identify as unionists. To do that, we have to show that devolved government within the United Kingdom works for Northern Ireland,” he added.

He said it is a “source of profound concern” that power-sharing has not operated for 9 of the 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement.

“Over the long term, that will not bolster the cause of unionism. I believe that deeply. So, we need to get the institutions up and running, and keep them up and running,” added Sunak, who earlier met up with former Prime Minister Tony Blair, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and former Sen. George Mitchell, who were involved with the peace process which ended the Troubles in 1998.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson responded in a statement: “We seek to re-establish the Northern Ireland Assembly by finishing the job of fully restoring Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.”

“We stand ready to work with the prime minister and his government to ensure that stable devolution is delivered through sustainable and balanced outcomes that have solid foundations based on the support of unionists as well as nationalists,” he added.

Donaldson Wants to ‘Get the Foundations Right’

But Donaldson insisted: “We must get the foundations right. Short-term fixes will lead to short-term devolution and will do a disservice to those trying to make the institutions work.”

“We are in the business of finishing the job and ensuring that NI’s position within the union is not continually undermined. Northern Ireland will only ever move forward if we all move forward together,” he added.

Last week President Joe Biden, when he was in Belfast, said: “As a friend, I hope it’s not too presumptuous for me to say that I believe the democratic institutions established by the Good Friday Agreement remain critical for the future of Northern Ireland. So the decision you’re going to make is not for me to make.”

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak listens to U.S. President Joe Biden during their talks in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on April 12, 2023. (PA Media)

He said Northern Ireland needs a devolved government, one accountable to the people and “that works to find ways to solve hard problems together.”

“I hope the assembly and the executive will soon be restored. But that’s a judgment for you to make, not me,” he said.

Ireland’s current Taoiseach or prime minister, Leo Varadkar, also encouraged Northern Ireland’s leaders to show the same kind of leadership which David Trimble—who died last year—had shown when he led the unionist community’s then-biggest party to agree to the Good Friday Agreement.

Varadkar said: “It is incumbent on Northern Ireland’s political leaders today to take the initiative, to see past the shadow of the mountain behind, to seize control of their history, to seize control of their destiny, and to lead their people into the future. And we as co-guarantors of the agreement will be here to help, every step of the way.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her speech on Wednesday: “Today, my grandchildren are toddlers, what Northern Ireland and the whole island of Ireland will look like when they are in their 20s depends on all of us.”

“But the ultimate choice lies with you, the people of Northern Ireland, to shape your history and that of the next generation. The gateway to a bright future is open—all you need to do is walk through it,” she added.

The Windsor Framework mechanism would allow a minority of lawmakers in the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont to formally flag concerns about the imposition of new EU laws in Northern Ireland, a move that could see the UK government veto their introduction in the region.

PA Media contributed to this report.