Impassioned speech by Sir Jeffrey Donaldson on the Union, House of Commons, January 24, 2024

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00:00 >> Sir Geoffrey Dawes (South Swindon) (Lab) I thank the right hon. Member for South Swindon

00:09 for his comments and wish him well in his ongoing work as Chair of the Northern Ireland

00:16 Affairs Committee, which is very important. I also say to the hon. Member for St Helens

00:26 North, who is not in his place, that we recognise that, with the pressures on our public services

00:35 at this time, we want to get to a place where we will see our political institutions restored

00:43 on a sustainable basis and, as the Shadow Secretary of State reminded us, on a basis

00:51 that unionists as well as nationalists can support. That principle of cross-community

00:58 consensus is at the heart of the Belfast and successor agreements, and it is the key element

01:07 and principle that enables those institutions to operate in what remains a divided society

01:14 in Northern Ireland.

01:17 To be absolutely clear, the Democratic Unionist Party supports devolution. We support the

01:28 concept of the people of Northern Ireland being able to elect their representatives

01:34 and to have good government delivered through those institutions—the Northern Ireland

01:41 Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive. We are therefore very clear that our objective

01:48 is twofold. Firstly, to address the issues and problems created by the Northern Ireland

01:54 protocol as part of the Withdrawal Agreement of 2019-20, and to provide the basis for the

02:03 restoration of our political institutions.

02:09 We are approaching the two-year mark now, since my party took the decision to withdraw

02:14 the First Minister. That precipitated a process that ultimately resulted in the institutions

02:23 not being able to function. That was not a decision we took lightly. For months in advance

02:32 of that decision, I made clear—my party made clear—that we wanted to see a negotiating

02:38 process underway between the Government of the United Kingdom and the European Union

02:43 to address the very real problems created by the protocol. Sadly, those pleas were ignored.

02:53 There was no process. In fact, we were told variously by Irish Government Ministers, EU

03:01 representatives and so on that the protocol would not be renegotiated.

03:07 I stand today and recognise that, as a result of the actions my party has taken, the EU

03:15 was brought back to the table, there were negotiations, changes have occurred and further

03:23 change will come as a result of our actions. As I watched the political discourse back

03:31 home in Northern Ireland, I listened to the commentary of some who share our concerns

03:38 about the protocol and its impact on Northern Ireland, but who at this moment in time are

03:46 talking up that some deal has been done, that clearly they think they know the detail and

03:56 that it falls short of what they need or require.

04:01 But I will say this, Mr Deputy Speaker. My party can stand over its record of the change

04:08 we have delivered and will deliver. I say to those who point the finger at us, "What

04:14 have you delivered?" What has the traditional Unionist Voice party delivered by way of change

04:23 to the protocol? Absolutely nothing. Not a single thing. Nothing. Yet they put up posters

04:33 in the dark of the night before any deal has been done, talking about a sell-out. What

04:42 have they sold? What have they delivered for the people of Northern Ireland? What has been

04:48 their contribution to securing the change that we need to restore our place in the United

04:55 Kingdom and its internal market?

05:00 We read lots of other pearls of wisdom on social media about what is needed and what

05:06 is required. We hear all kinds of speculation from the commentators about what has been

05:13 agreed despite the fact that they have not seen the detail. There is undoubtedly an attempt

05:25 to orchestrate opposition to a deal that has not yet taken place, an agreement that has

05:31 not yet concluded. The very fact that we are sat here today in this House of Commons extending

05:38 legislation reflects the fact and the reality that no agreement has yet been reached. If

05:46 it were, we would not be here. Yet there are some who, for their own narrow purposes, are

05:55 putting it about that certain things have been agreed, that it is all there and they

05:59 know what it is. They are entitled to their view. Everyone is entitled to their perspective.

06:09 But I say this. Wait until an agreement is reached before you make your final verdict.

06:18 Assess the progress that has been made before you reach your conclusion. But I suspect what

06:26 is going on is not about that.

06:31 The truth is that there are some—a tiny minority—who do not want Stormont back,

06:42 who do not want an Assembly in Northern Ireland and who, I quote, "would rather have imperfect

06:47 direct rule than an imperfect Stormont". That is what they say. Yet they are the same

06:53 people who berate the Government of the United Kingdom in this Parliament for selling them

06:58 out constantly. They constantly point the finger at the United Kingdom Government and

07:05 say, "You have sold us short. You have betrayed us. You have let us down." Yet they want

07:10 to hand all the power back to that Government. That is not the view of the vast majority

07:18 of unionists or people in Northern Ireland. We understand that, which is why we are committed

07:25 to getting a solution, to moving things forward, to making progress and to resolving the issues

07:31 that have harmed Northern Ireland—our economy, our businesses and, yes, our place in the

07:36 United Kingdom.

07:38 I am a proud unionist. I am proud to be part of this United Kingdom. I am proud to have

07:45 served my country in this Parliament for almost 27 years. I am proud of the service that I

07:52 have given, unlike some others, to my country when I put on the uniform of the Ulster Defence

07:58 Regiment to protect everyone in the community from terrorism and violence. Yet today, because

08:05 of the stirring up that is going on, I was threatened—threatened—by those who never

08:15 put on a uniform and by those who have not served our country. When I checked out, one

08:23 of the people who threatened me on the register did not vote at the last election. They cannot

08:31 even come out to vote for our future in the union, never mind do anything about it. Yet

08:37 they are threatening people like me, who are working day and night to try to find solutions

08:42 and to move Northern Ireland forward on a basis that the vast majority of people cannot

08:48 support.

08:49 I will say this to those who stir up and those who threaten. The provisional IRA attacked

09:00 me in the past, and it did not deflect me from the task that I and my colleagues have

09:06 to do our job and to get the best that we can for Northern Ireland. I will not be deflected

09:12 now. I will continue on the course. I will continue to engage with the Government until

09:19 we get the progress that is needed to enable us to take a decision about whether it is

09:28 sufficient to restore the political institutions.

09:33 Let us not forget that when we took the decision to come out of the institutions, it was about

09:39 the protocol. It was about restoring Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom and

09:45 its internal market. It was about ensuring that when goods are flowing from Great Britain

09:50 to Northern Ireland and staying within the United Kingdom, they flow freely. It was about

09:57 ensuring that our place in the economic union is respected and protected in law, and it

10:05 is about ensuring that our place in the political union is respected and protected in law. That

10:12 is important. That is what we are striving to achieve, to ensure that Northern Ireland's

10:20 place in the United Kingdom is valued, respected and protected, and that our right to trade

10:27 within our own country is respected and protected. That is what we are aiming to achieve.

10:34 I make no apology that we are also aiming to strengthen our ties across this United

10:41 Kingdom. Devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland has altered the way that

10:48 we govern in this nation. Brexit, our decision to leave the European Union, has altered things.

10:57 That is why, as part of what we are proposing, we want to see a more joined-up and cohesive

11:03 approach across the union, working together on economic issues, trade issues, education

11:09 and health. We are working to make progress on those matters.

11:18 I also want to say something else that I find quite insulting. When the Secretary of State

11:26 convened talks at Hillsborough to discuss the funding of our public services in Northern

11:31 Ireland, I did not ask the Secretary of State to do that. I am very clear that, for me,

11:38 this is not about the money; this is about Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom.

11:45 When we have made the progress that I hope we will make, we will sit down with the Government

11:50 and finalise arrangements in relation to the future sustainability of our political institutions

11:57 and the funding of our public services.

12:01 I echo the comments that have been made by other colleagues in the House this afternoon.

12:09 Our public services are only as effective as the people who work in them. We saw during

12:17 the covid pandemic our healthcare workers on the front line, working hard—our doctors,

12:24 our nurses, our ancillary staff and our care workers—all taking risks and putting themselves

12:32 on the line. In education, our teachers are investing in the future of our young people.

12:41 Many others who work across our public services in Northern Ireland deserve their pay rise.

12:49 They have earned their pay rise. It is essential to the delivery of our public services that

12:54 they get their pay rise. I hope that the Secretary of State, in advance of reaching an agreement

13:02 on the outstanding issues—I believe that we are moving towards finalising those issues—will

13:19 transfer the funding that the Treasury has committed to and enable our public sector

13:24 workers to have the pay rise that they deserve.

13:28 We do not want to see politics played with them, and I urge the Government to do that.

13:35 Today I noted that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Northern Ireland, has come out with

13:40 yet another statement calling on the Secretary of State to act. I echo its comments. It deserves

13:46 the pay rise, and I hope that the Secretary of State will reflect on that.

13:57 Some have said that they hope that this is the last time that we have this type of legislation.

14:04 That requires us to reach agreement. It requires us to resolve and finalise the outstanding

14:10 issues so that we can move forward, assess the progress that has been made and take decisions

14:19 around the restoration of our political institutions if that is the way we are to go.

14:28 I am clear, and my colleagues are clear, that this is not about any price. We have fought

14:35 hard and will continue to fight hard to get the outcomes that we need for everyone in

14:41 Northern Ireland, to restore that cross-community consensus that is essential for the proper

14:48 functioning of our devolved institutions in Northern Ireland. We will work at that.

14:56 I simply say to my fellow unionists in Northern Ireland, whatever their political persuasion

15:01 or background, that the notion that a unionism that turns in on itself is a unionism that

15:09 can deliver for Northern Ireland, to make Northern Ireland work, to secure the union

15:15 for the future, is not the way to go. It is not the way to go.

15:22 We will provide the leadership that is required, because that is what is necessary to make

15:27 Northern Ireland work—to ensure that our place in the union is valued, is respected

15:34 and protected in law and in practice; to remove the barriers to trade that enable us to trade

15:43 in both directions with the rest of the United Kingdom; to ensure that our union is stronger

15:50 and that Northern Ireland's place within it is both respected and protected. That is

15:56 what we are aiming to achieve.

15:58 We will assess the outcome against our seven tests that we have set out very clearly, determine

16:05 the progress that has been made and make our decisions based upon these matters. We will

16:11 do so rationally and clearly, recognising that we are the custodians of Northern Ireland's

16:17 place within the United Kingdom. On our shoulders rests a huge responsibility. We will not shirk

16:25 that responsibility and we will not be found wanting in continuing to defend Northern Ireland's

16:31 place in the union.

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