Keir Starmer departure 'underscores chaos of Westminster', says O'Neill

3 hours ago

Brendan HughesPolitical reporter, BBC News NI

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's resignation underscores the "chaos of Westminster" since Brexit, Northern Ireland's First Minister Michelle O'Neill has said.

The Sinn Féin vice-president said it showed a need to "seriously engage everybody in the conversation around constitutional change".

Starmer announced on Monday that he is resigning as prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, with a new leader expected to be in place before parliament returns in September.

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson acknowledged Sir Keir's service as prime minister but said his government "do not have a recipe for success".

DUP

Speaking to reporters at Parliament Buildings, the MP urged the prime minister's successor to "work for the strivers" and "rebalance our economy".

"From a political perspective you will know that I don't agree with what the Labour government has done over the last number of years, that they do not have a recipe for success in our country," he said.

The DUP leader said there were "many people asking the question of what Andy Burnham really stands for", when asked about the former Greater Manchester mayor potentially succeeding the prime minister.

"What we heard over the weekend even from his chief proponents is that he stands for hope," he said, adding that while "hope's a wonderful thing" it "doesn't put bread on the table".

Sinn Féin

O'Neill said that Sir Keir's departure "really underlines for all of us the chaos of Westminster" since the EU referendum a decade ago.

"Tomorrow will be the 10-year anniversary since Brexit and what we saw throughout the course of that time has been a revolving door of British prime ministers," she said.

O'Neill said the change of prime minister "yet again" demonstrated that "our interests are never the top of the agenda in Westminster".

"Which is why I think we need now to seriously engage everybody in the conversation around constitutional change and the right to decide our future here at home," she added.

Alliance

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long thanked the prime minister for his "life of public service" both in politics and in the legal system.

But she expressed concern his resignation would mean "another period of instability I think we could well do without".

"My main concern is that this gets resolved quickly and speedily, that we get some semblance of stability in Westminster and that we are able to make progress on the issues that really matter to the people we represent," she added.

UUP

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Jon Burrows said the announcement that Sir Keir was stepping down was "not a shock to anybody".

"He might have had an overwhelming majority but his performance was dismal as opposed to just underwhelming," he added.

Burrows said that "consistently the prime minister took the wrong side" on policy issues ranging from the legacy of the Troubles to taxation.

SDLP

Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Claire Hanna said that Starmer had been "more interested" in Northern Ireland than many of his predecessors.

"I think we should be honest that he was more I suppose engaged and respectful of the island of Ireland and more interested in this region than anything that went in the decade before," she said.

But the MP said the outgoing prime minister had failed to "communicate and connect with his electorate".