Irish border poll ‘off the table’, says Andy Burnham
Prime Minister Andy Burnham ruled out a border poll during his Belfast visit, emphasizing the need to address cost-of-living pressures and the unresolved Stormont budget.
- On Thursday, British Prime Minister Andy Burnham visited Belfast and ruled out an Irish border poll, declaring the prospect "off the table" during his first official visit to Northern Ireland.
- Burnham argued that constitutional debates distract from immediate priorities like cost-of-living pressures, noting past referendums including Brexit caused "rifts" that "take a long time to heal."
- During his first official visit to Northern Ireland, Burnham met with young people at the Oh Yeah Music Centre, then held talks with First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly.
- SNP MP Kirsty Blackman criticized the move, accusing the Prime Minister of "anti-democratic arrogance" and claiming he ignores democratic rights of voters across the UK.
- Burnham plans to convene leaders from Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland in October for a National Economic Council meeting aimed at boosting the UK economy.
34 Articles
34 Articles
Andy Burnham Meets the Standard of Misconstrual
U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said a "border poll" in Northern Ireland was "off the table." He clearly meant it was not part of the current agenda, but that didn't stop the press or political actors and commentators from rushing to denounce him for "violating" a treaty, etc.
Andy Burnham humiliates Sinn Féin over border poll
MATT TREACY: Andy Burnham humiliates Sinn Féin over a 'border poll' that no republican put any credence in when the GFA. And as a former IRA member, I can say that in 1998 nobody ever referred to such a poll as the key instrument leading to unity.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said, in his first visit to Northern Ireland since taking office, that a referendum on the reunification of Ireland is "discussed from the agenda." The statement provoked a vehement reaction from Sinn Fein, who claims that the right to such a referendum is provided for in the Great Friday Agreement, announces Agerpres.
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