Northern Ireland: Political Developments Debate
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Lord Dubs
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Northern Ireland: Political Developments
Lord Dubs Excerpts(7 years, 7 months ago)
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Lord Dunlop
Under the Belfast agreement, arrangements are set out for the circumstances in which a border poll could be held. However, the Secretary of State has made it clear that the conditions for such a poll are not currently satisfied.
Lord Dubs (Lab)
My Lords, will the Minister remind us how long the Secretary of State has to go on negotiating, as is highly desirable? Is there a point at which he is obliged to bring that to a halt and go for one of the other options?
Lord Dunlop
The Secretary of State has made it clear that there is a period between now and Easter—when obviously the House of Commons will be in recess. What determines the timescale is the very clear statement that, if we can get agreement, when the House returns legislation can then be introduced, as set out in the Statement.