New Prime Minister to make first visit to Stormont

Sir Keir Starmer meets the First and Deputy First Ministers at Stormont Castle as part of his first visit to Northern Ireland as Prime Minister.

The Labour leader is touring the UK after becoming prime minister on Friday and visiting Scotland on Sunday.

He was accompanied by the new Northern Ireland Secretary, Hilary Benn, and her chief of staff and former senior Stormont civil servant, Sue Gray.

He is also expected to meet with representatives of the executive and opposition parties.

Ahead of the meetings, Sir Keir said “stability and certainty” would be at the heart of what his government does for Northern Ireland.

“We are the party of the Good Friday Agreement and the stability it brought,” he said.

“Together, as we take steps towards a decade of national renewal, we will harness Northern Ireland’s vast economic assets, rebuilding strong public services and delivering real, tangible economic growth for working people.

“We must turn the page and ensure investment, prosperity and stability for future generations.”

Alliance minister Andrew Muir said the party’s meeting with the Prime Minister was a “significant moment for Northern Ireland” as it reflected a “reset” in the relationship.

“We need stability in terms of public services, we need to be able to invest in them and that is absolutely essential,” he told BBC News NI’s Good Morning Ulster programme.

The Minister for Agriculture and the Environment said the party would also stress the need for reform of political institutions in Northern Ireland.

“People are fed up with authoritarian and ruthless governments and we need to be able to ensure that institutions are there to last,” he added.

Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Doug Beattie said he would bring Health Minister Mike Nesbitt, as well as former Health Minister and newly elected South Antrim MP Robin Swann, to the meeting with Sir Keir to send a message.

“The Prime Minister has said that our health service is broken. Our health service in Northern Ireland is in a state of emergency and I will press him to take direct action to help us with this most basic of services,” he said.

He specifically said he would ask that all money from the Barnett Consequential – funding given to devolved institutions for public spending – be earmarked for the Northern Ireland health service.

New Secretary of State Hilary Benn arrived in Northern Ireland on Saturday and held talks with most of the main political parties.

Political parties and sports organisations have urged Labour to commit to funding the stadium’s redevelopment in time for Euro 2028.

Casement Park, a Gaelic games stadium, has not hosted a match since 2013 but is expected to be the only venue for the tournament in Northern Ireland if it can be redeveloped in time.

There have been plans to build a new stadium since 2011 at an initial cost of around £76 million, with £61 million coming from the Northern Ireland power-sharing government and £15 million from the GAA.

But delays and rising construction costs mean it has now been suggested the project could cost more than £300m.

Mr Benn said he would not be pushed to say Casement Park would be built in time for Euro 2028, but said: “As soon as I am in a position to make that decision, I will.”

He had previously said a Labour government could not write a “blank cheque” for redevelopment.

With Keir Starmer set to deliver Friday’s electric election results, there is no time to lose.

The last time the Labour leader visited Stormont he promised to repeal the controversial inheritance law if his party won power.

The Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers and other parties have already held talks with Hilary Benn, the sixth Secretary of State in five years. Labour also inherited from the Conservatives the issue of funding for the redevelopment of Casement Park.

The government has previously said it cannot write a blank cheque, but the question of whether Keir Starmer, as prime minister, is prepared to restore funding will be raised in many of his conversations today.