| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Harry Barnes (North-East Derbyshire): It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Upper Bann (Mr. Trimble) in questioning the Secretary of State. I hope that I have some credibility with Ulster Unionists in the House in trying to take a serious interest in the affairs of Northern Ireland. In that, I would like to associate myself entirely with the statement by the Secretary of State.
Is it not the case that there are times for hard bargaining, and some of us have associated ourselves with the hard bargaining that has come from the Unionists over decommissioning, and there are times for reaching agreements, when the opportunities are there, and for making honourable agreements. That has occurred at this particular juncture. It is a case of there being an agreement and Sinn Fein being expected to live up to its side of the agreement. There is a case in negotiating for perhaps grabbing someone's hand, nailing it to the table and saying, "This is the position that we adhere to and that we expect to be delivered."
I therefore hope that, on this occasion, the lead that has been given by the right hon. Member for Upper Bann will be pursued and followed, so that we can get further developments towards peace.
Mr. Mandelson:
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I immediately acknowledge the serious interest that he takes in Northern Ireland's affairs. I agree that there are times for hard bargaining. Heaven knows I have seen a great deal of those times from all those who have been involved in the talks; but equally, people need to know when the negotiations have achieved all that it is possible for them to achieve--and that time was reached last week.
I go some way in echoing my hon. Friend's sentiments about the future. I say merely this. It is not just a question of decommissioning; we are seeking to achieve devolution, too. Everyone has a responsibility to do what
they need to do and to fulfil their part of the bargain to ensure that devolution takes place, as well as decommissioning, so it is to all the parties that we say that they need to fulfil their responsibilities. Our expectations of them all are equally high.
Mr. John Major (Huntingdon):
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that he has taken a gamble this afternoon, but a justifiable gamble, which I wholeheartedly support? After last week's welcome statements from the Ulster Unionist party, Sinn Fein and the IRA, it is now probable that we are coming towards the endgame and drifting slowly but inexorably towards a permanent settlement in Northern Ireland. I fervently hope that that is the case, but he will know that difficulties may still lie ahead. There may still even be violence from fringe groups away from the main parties. We need to prepare ourselves for that possibility from people who, even at this stage, may wish to wreck the prospects of a better life for people in Northern Ireland.
May I make one separate point to the Secretary of State? It is absolutely right now to nominate Ministers to the power sharing Executive, but there will be many who still have doubts about that, perhaps in Northern Ireland, and it is important that disillusion should not set in and that the Executive should be able to make successful advances. I hope that the Government will offer them whatever support they can.
The whole House will be aware that one of the difficulties that has so often underpinned what we have come to know as the troubles has been a form of economic deprivation on which the men of violence have fed so frequently. May I suggest that, in working with the new power sharing Executive, the right hon. Gentleman seek to revive the idea of investment conferences to bring in the wall of money that I, for one, believe is waiting to be invested in Northern Ireland? In that way, the everyday citizen in Northern Ireland, at a time of hope, can see the practical and tangible advantages of co-operation in government and a better life for them and their children in future?
Mr. Mandelson:
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his significant statement and assessment of the situation. His remarks are particularly telling, given his contribution towards bringing us to this point. I am sure that hon. Members would want me to acknowledge that.
The right hon. Gentleman was right to say that we are taking a justifiable gamble--although we shall be careful throughout not to drop our security guard--and that there will be some in both communities who will not want us to succeed. They have the means available to them to be destructive and to try to bring down what the peacemongers among the politicians are achieving. We must be clear that any security changes that might be contemplated in the future will depend entirely on the assessment that the Chief Constable and his colleagues make of the threat posed.
I particularly like the right hon. Gentleman's idea of investment conferences. I agree that there is a wall of money behind the enormous amount of good will that exists towards Northern Ireland. His conference in 1995 led to a major repositioning of Northern Ireland in the
international business community. It was from that initiative that new investments by Fujitsu and Ford came to Belfast. There are no greater salesmen for any locality than the local politicians, who live and work there and represent the people who stand to benefit. We are placing that responsibility in their hands and on their heads as devolution proceeds.
Mr. Lembit Öpik (Montgomeryshire):
Will the Secretary of State accept the good wishes of the Liberal Democrats on the great progress that has been made? Does he agree that Senator Mitchell has proved that if we wait long enough, sometimes pray hard enough and maintain our faith in the process, extraordinary things can be made to happen, even if the moves are not always dramatic and can take some time? The Liberal Democrats have resolutely supported this Government and the previous one in their efforts to secure a lasting peace.
Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that the right hon. Member for Upper Bann (Mr. Trimble) needs a clear run to secure an accord in his party for the proposals? Of course it is right to be tough on compliance, but is it not now essential that the mainland parties back the accord from a safe distance without interfering or providing any distress in the Province? In that context, does he welcome the recent reaffirmation by the official Opposition that they are genuinely committed to the bipartisan agreement? That was evidenced by their recent important meeting with Sinn Fein president Mitchel McLaughlin and other constructive statements from the right hon. Member for Bracknell (Mr. MacKay).
Finally, does the Secretary of State agree that we have got this far thanks not only to the commitment of the Prime Minister, but to that of his predecessor, the right hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr. Major), who initiated the current process? He should be proud of that. As well as those two Prime Ministers, two Taoiseachs, three Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland and, above all, the Northern Ireland politicians have been responsible for the progress made, by showing that they have the capacity to act on the vision of a better future and the courage to work for it. Is it not prudent to remember that the process is not about politics or gaining party political advantage in Westminster or in the Province, but about the people of Ulster?
Mr. Mandelson:
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I endorse his sentiments that we want the right hon. Member for Upper Bann to be given a clear run, not because I think that members of the Ulster Unionist party should simply do what they are told and do the bidding of all who are clamouring at them to agree to the proposals, but because the proposals are right for the people whom they speak for and represent in their constituencies across Northern Ireland.
The hon. Gentleman was right to say that many people have contributed to the process--so far, so good--but none more than the parties themselves, who have negotiated this painstakingly and directly between themselves. The earlier attempts to get us to this position were a bit like shotgun marriages, forced by the two Governments. What we have now is certainly not a marriage, but it is a voluntary accommodation between parties, freely entered into on the basis of a carefully negotiated contract. What we have is all the healthier, in
that the parties have done it through their own free will rather than as a result of the Governments putting them up against a wall and attempting to force them to do it.
Mr. David Winnick (Walsall, North):
Is there not one thing of which we can be certain? Without the Executive being formed and without devolution taking place, there is no chance whatever of decommissioning occurring. If, as we all hope, the Executive is set up and devolution takes place, will there not be the utmost pressure on the IRA--national pressure, but also international pressure from the United States and others--to decommission on time? Should not we work on that basis?
Mr. Mandelson:
I agree. We have good reason to expect movement by the IRA because, for the first time, we have a statement by the IRA. When we were nearly brought to this position in July, the right hon. Member for Upper Bann and his colleagues said that if we had a statement from the IRA, that would clearly transform the situation. For the first time, we now have that statement, and it will potentially transform the situation if it is fulfilled in practice. In addition, we have the IRA's representative, who I confidently expect will work closely, properly and effectively with General de Chastelain.
| Next Section
| Index | Home Page |