Nigel Farage has said that Northern Ireland will “not be at the forefront” of a Reform UK government’s actions on immigration, following criticism of his earlier remarks about renegotiating the Good Friday Agreement to remove references to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Speaking in Broxburn, West Lothian, the Reform leader acknowledged that the Northern Ireland situation is “deeply complex” and that anything to do with Northern Irish or Irish politics “takes years and years to solve”.
Mr Farage had previously stated that the Good Friday Agreement could be “renegotiated” to remove references to the ECHR, a convention he has long supported leaving. He reiterated his party’s plans to leave the ECHR and replace the Human Rights Act with a British Bill of Rights applicable only to British citizens and legal residents. However, he stressed that changes to the agreement would not be a priority for his government.
SDLP leader Claire Hanna criticised Mr Farage’s comments as “empty slogans”, arguing that the ECHR underpins the Good Friday Agreement. She accused him of having “never had any interest in Northern Ireland” and warned that he would “drop Northern Ireland in a heartbeat” when faced with difficulties. She also called for greater urgency in preparing for a “new Ireland”.
In contrast, DUP MP Sammy Wilson described Mr Farage’s plans regarding the ECHR as “essential” for the UK. He claimed that the previous Conservative government had already “tossed aside” elements of the Good Friday Agreement in post-Brexit trading arrangements, and argued that a government with a sufficient majority could “do whatever it wants”.
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn has labelled any plans to change the Good Friday Agreement as “dangerously irresponsible”. The 1998 Agreement, which largely ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland and established the Stormont powersharing Assembly, was backed by referendums on both sides of the Irish border.
