UK PM Starmer meets with leaders of Northern Ireland

On Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer paid his first visit to Northern Ireland, raising hopes that after years of turbulence over Brexit, ties might improve on both sides of the political divide.

Early on Monday, Starmer, whose center-left Labour party won the UK general election last week, had a quick meeting with the heads of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing executive in the Stormont parliament buildings.

As he continues his whistlestop tour of the UK, he met with First Minister Michelle O’Neill of the pro-Irish reunification Sinn Fein party and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly of the pro-British Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Later on Monday, the leader of Labour was scheduled to arrive in Cardiff, where he is expected to meet with party allies who oversee the devolved administration.

Both major parties in Northern Ireland anticipate that Starmer will improve relations with Dublin and bring about more stability and engagement.

“There’s cautious optimism about the new government across the board, but for different reasons,” James Pow, a politics lecturer at Queen’s University Belfast, told AFP.

Sinn Fein maintained its seven seats in the most recent election, making it the largest party from Northern Ireland in the UK parliament in London.

It surpassed its principal opponent, the DUP, which saw three of its eight seats disappear, two of them to other loyalist parties.

AFP