The BBC is reporting that British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be attending today’s British-Irish Council meeting in Edinburgh. Starmer’s attendance at the meeting is only the third time a British Prime Minister has been there in seventeen years. He will be meeting with those also attending, which will include current Taoiseach Simon Harris, current Tanaisté Micheál Martin (though those roles may alter in the near future), Scottish First Minister John Swinney, Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan and our own First and Deputy First Ministers Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly.
As the BBC report reminds us, the past few years have not been easy…
“Disputes over Brexit and the Troubles Legacy Act left UK/Irish relations at their lowest ebb for decades during the final days of the Conservative administration.”
Not to mention the fact Stormont collapsed twice for extended periods in the years since 2016!
It might be worthwhile to pause and consider that for the first time in what seems like an eternity, this meeting feels pretty routine. Post-Brexit trading arrangements are in place. Stormont is not currently going through a crisis (as of the writing of this article at least). And Hilary Benn has currently begun the process of repealing the very Legacy Act that so vexed Dublin, to the point they took legal action against the UK over the issue (though of course whether what replaces it is found acceptable is still being debated).
With many controversial issues dealt with perhaps we can all be a little thankful that, for now at least, we are in a season of goodwill.
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