Northern Ireland Assembly Election Debate
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Christine Jardine
Main Page: Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat - Edinburgh West)Department Debates - View all Christine Jardine's debates with the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Assembly Election
Christine Jardine Excerpts(5 years, 8 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)
Further to what has been said about the importance of talks to get the Assembly up and running again, and the point made by the hon. Member for Dunfermline and West Fife (Douglas Chapman), does the Secretary of State feel that it will be vital to have an independent facilitator to chair the process, because the UK Government—rightly or wrongly—may appear to be compromised by their current arrangements in this place with the DUP?
Karen Bradley
As Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, I am independent of what happens with regard to relationships on voting—those are a matter for Whips—but I am looking at all the options for how we can have success. When I have seen a willingness and a desire to restore devolution, I do not want to bring the parties together and fail to do so. We need to ensure that we have the best chance of doing it, and I will look at all options to ensure that that happens.