Government must find ways to bring political parties together, shadow Secretary of State Kyle says

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris must find new ways to end the political stalemate and restore powersharing at Stormont, a trade union conference has been told.

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle said that the region has been bearing the brunt of months of chaos within the Conservative Government.

He told the biennial delegate conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) in Co Fermanagh that that politics in Northern Ireland was "hurting".

The Labour MP said: "The Assembly and Executive lie dormant. The divide between communities widens, progress has stalled.

"This should worry all of us and it would spur any decent government into action. But not this one.

"People in Northern Ireland deserve a government in Westminster that will fight for them, not against them.

"A government that sees problems not as a chance for a row but the chance to solve the challenges that holds us back to create new opportunities and to bring communities together.

"That's what you will get with a Labour government led by Keir Starmer because for us Northern Ireland will never be an afterthought. It will never be a bargaining chip.

"Keir worked in Northern Ireland for five years with the Policing Board implementing aspects of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. His commitment, our commitment to Northern Ireland is unwavering.

"But with this Conservative Government, it's a different story.

"For months after the Northern Ireland Executive collapse, there was no visit from the Tory prime minister, no multi-party talks in Downing Street, not even a single statement to the House of Commons.

"As Tory prime ministers and secretaries come and go, it is Northern Ireland that bears the brunt of their chaos and their neglect."

The Stormont institutions collapsed earlier this year when the DUP withdrew support as part of a protest against the post-Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol, which has led to checks and controls on some goods entering the region from Great Britain.

Mr Kyle said it was an "abject failure" that the Government had not done more to restore Stormont.

He said: "Communities, workers and businesses are facing critical challenges and tackling them requires a functioning political system.

"The Secretary of State must turn a new page and find new ways to bring Northern Ireland parties together and in from the cold because Northern Ireland cannot afford more of the same."

Mr Kyle also told the conference that the collapse of Stormont was affecting public finances and called on the Government to provide clarity on when a £400 energy support payment would be made available to consumers in Northern Ireland.

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