Mixed reaction from peers as NI Bill debated in Lords
AN UUP peer has warned of “disillusionment with the political process in Northern Ireland” and said that people “deserve so much better.”
In a debate on laws to give civil servants more scope to make decisions in the absence of local ministers, Lord Rogan reminded peers it was the 20th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement.
He said he felt angry about the situation in which Northern Ireland had found itself, adding that, at times, “it also leaves me feeling a little embarrassed”.
MPs, in a free Commons vote last week, passed an amendment to legislation which would require ministers to issue guidance to civil servants to ensure compliance with UK abortion and same-sex marriage legislation.
While the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill is designed to partly address the governance vacuum created by the collapse of power-sharing, Labour MPs Stella Creasy and Conor McGinn wanted to use it as a vehicle to deliver wider social change.
As the Bill arrived in the Lords for consideration, peers reacted with a mixture of approval and concern over the implications for the devolution settlement.
Former Lib Dem leader David Steel, now Lord Steel of Aikwood, offered support for Ms Creasy’s amendment and said the current situation in Northern Ireland was “untenable”.
He added: “The fact is that during the Brexit negotiations we’ve been told we cannot have a line down the middle of the Irish Sea, affecting trade from one part of the United Kingdom to the other, and yet we have a line down the middle of the Irish sea affecting human rights.”
Former Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay told peers that the government had no power to alter abortion law in the region.
He said: “Abortion has been made a devolved subject and therefore the only statutory authority with authority to alter the statues and statutory instruments are the legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland.” Top: MP Stella Creasy and, below, DUP’s Lord Morrow
Later, DUP peer Lord Morrow warned against selecting issues for London to legislate on. He said: “We will strongly oppose any attempt to cherry pick and decide what should or should not happen in Northern Ireland.”
Lib Dem frontbencher Lord Bruce countered by saying there was a “huge amount of public support” for abortion reform in Northern Ireland as he told peers he supported the amendment.
Northern Ireland minister Lord Duncan, opening the second reading debate of the Bill, told peers he wished “the Bill itself was not necessary”, adding: “We will not be waiting until March to bring the Northern Ireland parties together.” He said the Creasy amendment doesn’t alter the law, adding: “These issues are devolved and should rightly be determined by an incoming Assembly, but as I stated this clause does change the law in respect of the wider legal framework in respect of either.”