British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Irish counterpart Simon Harris met in Dublin, Ireland, signalling a further warming of relations strained under Britain’s previous Conservative government, Downing Street reported.
Harris greeted Starmer in Dublin and they shook hands and posed for photographs before heading off for talks. Harris, who became prime minister in April, was the first international leader Starmer had hosted in the UK since winning July’s election.
Today we’re in Dublin to flesh out what a reset actually looks like… in a practical sense for our citizens on both islands. And I certainly know that it has to be embedded in things like peace, prosperity, mutual respect and friendship.
Starmer added the reset was indeed personal to him and the government. Of particular importance as the reset in British-Irish relations heralds a marked change after tensions between Dublin and London have risen over the past few years.
Primarily following former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s rupture with the European Union, which affected the rift between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland. In 2016, Britons voted by a narrow majority in a referendum to leave the European Union, and the country finally left the bloc in 2020 after years of political division and stalemate. Since then, relations between the two countries have remained extremely strained.
Starmer’s office released a statement following the talks, saying the countries “agreed they wanted to go even further – in particular on trade and investment to help boost growth and deliver on behalf of the British and Irish people. In that vein, they agreed to host the first UK-Ireland summit in March next year, which will take forward co-operation in key areas of mutual interest such as security, climate, trade and culture.”
Downing Street claimed the two leaders judged the recent riots in England and Ireland and agreed to deepen co-operation in tackling online disinformation. Within this context, they stressed the importance of their joint roles as custodians of the Good Friday Agreement. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Starmer introduced measures to repeal a law granting conditional immunity to those who committed offences during decades of religious violence in Northern Ireland.
