Republic of Ireland: General Election Results

Lord Lexden Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay]

I thank my noble friend for his words of welcome. I agree: we all appreciate and want to stick by the progress made since the Belfast/Good Friday agreement and the great benefits that it has delivered for peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.

[Lord Lexden (Con)]

Is it not important to remember that the election in Northern Ireland in December represented not progress for Sinn Féin but a setback? Will the Government continue to resist strenuously calls from Sinn Féin and other quarters for a referendum on Northern Ireland’s constitutional position? Is it not clear that a majority of our fellow country men and women in Northern Ireland continue to desire to remain within our country?

[Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay]

My noble friend speaks with, again, considerable experience on these issues and is right to draw the distinction between the results of the general election that we had in December and the general election that Ireland had last month. He is right, and it remains the view of my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland that a majority of people in Northern Ireland continue to support Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom and that that is unlikely to change for the foreseeable future.