We show you our most important and recent visitors news details Burnham rules out referendum on Irish unification, drawing Sinn Fein anger in the following article
Hind Al Soulia - Riyadh - BELFAST — British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Thursday a referendum on Irish unification was “off the table,” drawing a sharp response from pro-unity party Sinn Fein during his first visit to Northern Ireland since taking office.
“I will take a collaborative approach but some issues will be off the table, and that is one issue that will be off the table,” Burnham told reporters in Belfast.
The Labour leader said votes on Brexit and Scottish independence showed the "risks that come from those situations take a long time to heal".
Speaking during his first official visit to Northern Ireland, he said the focus should instead be on public services and tackling cost-of-living pressures.
"We need to fix the things right in front of us in the here and now," he told BBC News.
Burnham met Stormont's first and deputy first ministers, and the leaders of the Northern Ireland Assembly's main parties.
His visit comes amid calls from the power-sharing executive for increased funding from the government to ease budget pressures.
Northern Ireland’s constitutional status remains deeply divisive, nearly three decades after the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement largely ended three decades of conflict over British rule.
The accord provides for a referendum — commonly known as a border poll — if the British government’s Northern Ireland minister believes a majority is likely to favor joining the Republic of Ireland.
Sinn Fein, which campaigns for a united Ireland and is the largest party in Northern Ireland’s devolved assembly, challenged Burnham’s remarks after meeting him.
Party leader Mary Lou McDonald said the prime minister had no authority to “remove any provision of the Good Friday Agreement.”
“The right for Irish people to decide our future is one that is contained within the Good Friday Agreement,” she said.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Northern Ireland’s largest pro-UK party, welcomed Burnham’s comments.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the prime minister had put speculation over a referendum “beyond doubt.”
Burnham said he wanted to have "an honest exchange" with political leaders in Northern Ireland.
"There are things that we would say if we can work together, have a look at where possible savings can be made or where things can be done differently, it's right and proper that I ask for those assurances," he added.
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