Hilary Benn – 2024 Speech at Labour Party Conference

The speech made by Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, on 23 September 2024.

Good afternoon, Conference.

It is an honour to address you today as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland in our new Labour Government, and a privilege to be working with such a great team. Fleur Anderson, Ruth Anderson and our PPS Matt Rodda.

The last Labour holder of this office to make the journey from opposition into government was the late, great, Mo Mowlam.

Just consider what she, what that Government, faced in May 1997.

Northern Ireland was still bitterly divided.

Numerous rounds of multi-party talks had shown promise, but not yet succeeded.

At times, the obstacles seemed insurmountable and the threat of violence ever-present.

And yet 11 months later, in April 1998, the impossible was made possible – in the words of Seamus Heaney ‘Hope and History’ rhymed – as the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

Something few people who had lived through the Troubles thought they would ever see.

Peace.

Today, we stand on the shoulders of those giants whose courageous political leadership made it happen. And be in no doubt. This Government will always uphold the Good Friday Agreement in letter and in spirit.

Northern Ireland has been transformed, but as always new times bring new challenges.

I pay tribute to the First Minister, Michelle O’Neill, and deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, and to the whole Executive at Stormont, for the positive start they have made since devolution was restored in February.

Stability is the foundation of everything, and with itand their Programme for Government, the Executive can make the most of the opportunities and address the challenges. The longest NHS waiting lists anywhere in the United Kingdom, the pressures in education, the lack of affordable childcare and the demands on the Police Service of Northern Ireland, whose officers do so much to keep people safe, not least during the terrible disorder we saw last month.

There are no easy answers. The Executive, like all governments, must live within its means.

We will support the Executive as it seeks to transform Northern Ireland’s public services.

We get that the Executive needs to be able to plan for the future, so we will take forward discussions on a long-term fiscal framework.

We understand the importance of investment in growth, including through City Deals like the one for Belfast which is roaring ahead and the Derry/Londonderry and Strabane Deal that wesigned last week which will bring huge investment to the North West.

And we will work with the Executive to see all parts of Northern Ireland flourish.

Now, let’s be clear. The UK’s departure from the European Union, and the reckless approach of successive Tory governments, has created a problem in Northern Ireland.

So this Government will take all necessary steps to safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market, maintain the open border on the island of Ireland and uphold our international agreements.

We will implement the Windsor Framework – pragmatically and in good faith.

And we want to negotiate an SPS and veterinary agreement with the EU, not least because it would help smooth the flow of goods across the Irish Sea.

Conference, there is another Tory wrong that falls to us to put right.

I have met many families who lost loved ones in the Troubles. I have found it difficult to listen to their stories. Imagine what it is like for them as they recount yet again the sheer brutality of what happened and some tell of the passing of the years without finding answers.

The Tories’ Legacy Act has rightly been rejected by victims and survivors’ groups, all of the Northern Ireland political parties and the Irish Government, and that is why Labour will repeal and replace it.

And, we will of course make sure that the ICRIR – the Independent Commission whose job it is to find those answers for families – is compliant with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

We will consult widely in doing so, recognising that this will involve really difficult conversations, and many will hold different views about the best way forward.

But history teaches us that it is only by coming to terms with the past that we can move forward to the future.

And what a future – what an opportunity now beckons for Northern Ireland – not least because of its integral place in the UK market and its access to the EU Single Market.

It is home to bedrock and cutting-edge industries.

From shipbuilding to agriculture.

Composite aircraft wings to electric and hydrogen buses.

A growing television and film industry, world leadingcompanies in cyber security and artificial intelligence.

Thriving services, great universities and a dynamic voluntary sector.

As I travel around, I am so impressed and inspired by the creativity, skill and enterprise I see in people right across Northern Ireland, and I want others to see that too so that they come and invest in the jobs and prosperity of the future.

Conference, the Agreement reached in April 1998 did not solve everything.

It was, by its very nature, a compromise. As Mo Mowlam said during the negotiations “Everybody is going to get something. No-one is going to get 100% of what they want.”

And in accepting that, everyone involved – and all of us across these islands – got something that was far, far more valuable.

An end to violence and the dawn of a new era.

So, in that spirit and with hope, let this generation show the same determination as those political giants in whose footsteps we follow as, together, we seek to forge a better future for Northern Ireland.

Thank you very much.