Northern Ireland

Gavin Robinson Excerpts

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Brandon Lewis]

Absolutely. We now see a vibrant, exciting economy. Whether it is FinTech, renewable energy, cyber, the creative arts or advanced engineering and manufacturing, wherever people go in Northern Ireland, they will see entrepreneurship and opportunity, which is a testament to the phenomenal success of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement. I want that to continue to live on. I am absolutely passionate about ensuring that we deliver on that for the people of Northern Ireland. We do so by respecting, delivering on and working with everything and every part of the Good Friday agreement.

[Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP) [V]]

May I convey my thoughts for those PSNI officers who have been injured in the last week? They serve our community valiantly and often become the casualty when politics does not work. I also commend the leadership shown by my colleagues in my constituency of Belfast East and community leaders who have ensured that our part of the city has remained calm.

The Secretary of State is right to caution against legitimising violence. It should not happen. Violence is wrong. But when we talk of dialogue, I hope he will agree that the serious issues that have been raised should not be ignored. I hope he will appreciate that there are still too many politicians in Northern Ireland who not only dismiss the concerns but denigrate those in our community who voice them. If we want to see politics work, and I do, and we want to see constitutional politics work, and it should, we need to see the tangible results of all the flexibilities and resolutions for the injurious imposition we are facing in Northern Ireland.

[Brandon Lewis]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I commend him and his colleagues in the area who have been working closely with their communities and giving the support that the community groups, communities themselves and indeed the PSNI have benefited from. He is also right that we all need to ensure that we are engaging properly across the entire community of Northern Ireland. We should be engaging with anybody looking to find a peaceful solution and to use dialogue to condemn violence, and wanting to be part of taking Northern Ireland forward in a positive way. It is absolutely right that we take the time to have those difficult conversations sometimes, when they are there, even on issues where we disagree, to ensure that we can understand and look at how we can deliver on things in a way that works for everybody. In short, he is absolutely right.