Relief for Sunak amid Stormont power sharing deal - but it may not be smooth sailing

Rishi Sunak is to face several tricky meetings today in Belfast as leaders are to press for more money from Westminster for Northern Ireland's crumbling public services, as ITV News' Romilly Weeks explains

For so long there has been no progress in Northern Ireland’s politics - now it’s all happening at breakneck speed.

The announcement of a deal that brought the DUP back into power sharing, the confirmation of Michelle O’Neill as the first Sinn Féin First Minister and today the prime minster has flown in for a share of the credit.

Rishi Sunak is a prime minister in need of some good news to trumpet.

Unable to make a dent in Labour’s lead in the polls, his fractious party baying for blood; progress in the previously intractable issue of Northern Ireland’s place in post Brexit UK is some rare good news. It eluded Theresa May, Boris Johnson’s "oven ready deal" attempted to gloss over the problem, and now finally after months of painstaking negotiations, there is an agreement that even the DUP can accept.

For Mr Sunak there will be relief that his form of quiet, detailed diplomacy has paid off.

However, it’s unlikely to be all backslapping and congratulations in Belfast today.

First Minister O’Neill has said when she meets Mr Sunak she will bring up the delicate issue of a border poll on Irish unity. She is insisting she can perform the balancing act of working for all communities in Northern Ireland, whilst simultaneously advocating for Sinn Féin’s goal of a united Ireland.

Then there’s the question of money. £3.3 billion is on the table for Northern Ireland with this deal. The region’s public services have been racked by strikes and pay is lagging behind the rest of the UK, Sinn Féin, the DUP and other parties are united in saying that is not enough.

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar is also in Belfast today. He is having a bilateral meeting with Mr Sunak, however unusually they will not appear in a joint press conference together. A sign that their vision of what this moment means for Northern Ireland is rather different.

As he arrived in Belfast the prime minister said: “In the past few days we have made significant progress towards a brighter future for people here.”

Today the new Stormont Executive, with ministers from Northern Ireland’s largest parties, will get down to business.

They have to prove they can harden the glimmers of optimism into some concrete improvements to weary voters’ lives.

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