Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
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| United Kingdom Secretary of State for Northern Ireland | |
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| Style | Northern Ireland Secretary (informal) The Right Honourable (within the UK and Commonwealth) |
| Type | Minister of the Crown |
| Status | Secretary of State |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | The Prime Minister |
| Residence | Hillsborough Castle |
| Seat | Westminster |
| Nominator | The Prime Minister |
| Appointer | The Monarch (on the advice of thePrime Minister) |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Precursor | Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Governor of Northern Ireland |
| Formation | 24 March 1972 |
| First holder | William Whitelaw |
| Deputy | Minister of State for Northern Ireland |
| Salary | £159,038 per annum(2022)[1] (including £86,584MPsalary)[2] |
| Website | www |
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The office ofSecretary of State for Northern Ireland(Irish:Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann;Scots:Secretar o State for Norlin Airlan),[3][4]also referred to asNorthern Ireland SecretaryorSoSNI,is asecretary of statein theGovernment of the United Kingdom,with overall responsibility for theNorthern Ireland Office.[5]The officeholder is a member of theCabinet of the United Kingdom.The incumbent secretary of state for Northern Ireland isHilary Benn.
The officeholder works alongside the otherNorthern Ireland Office ministers.The correspondingshadow ministeris theshadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland.
History
[edit]Historically, the principal ministers for Irish (and subsequentlyNorthern Ireland) affairs in theUK Governmentand its predecessors were:
- theLord Lieutenant of Ireland(c.1171–1922);
- theChief Secretary for Ireland(1560–1922); and
- theHome Secretary(1922–1972).[6]
In August 1969, for example,Home SecretaryJames Callaghanapproved the sending ofBritish Armysoldiers to Northern Ireland.[7]Scotland and Wales were represented by the roles ofSecretary of State for ScotlandandSecretary of State for Walesfrom 1885 and 1964 respectively, but Northern Ireland remained separate, owing to the devolvedGovernment of Northern IrelandandParliament of Northern Ireland.
The office of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland was created after the Northern Ireland government (atStormont) was first suspended and then abolished following widespread civil strife. The British government was increasingly concerned that Stormont was losing control of the situation. On 30 March 1972, direct rule fromWestminsterwas introduced.[8]The secretary of state filled three roles which existed under the previous Stormont regime:[9]
- thegovernor of Northern Ireland(the nominal head of the executive and representative of theBritish monarch)
- theprime minister of Northern Ireland(in the present day, a role filled by thefirst minister of Northern Irelandanddeputy first minister of Northern Irelandacting jointly)
- theminister of home affairs(in the present day, a role filled by theminister of justice).
Direct rule was seen as a temporary measure, with a power-sharing devolution preferred as the solution, and was annually renewed by a vote in Parliament.
TheSunningdale Agreementin 1973 resulted in the brief existence of a power-sharingNorthern Ireland Executivefrom 1 January 1974, which was ended by theloyalistUlster Workers' Council strikeon 28 May 1974. The strikers opposed the power-sharing andall-Irelandaspects of the new administration.
TheNorthern Ireland Constitutional Convention(1975–1976) andNorthern Ireland Assembly(1982–1986) were unsuccessful in restoring devolved government. After theAnglo-Irish Agreementon 15 November 1985, the UK Government and Irish Government co-operated more closely on security and political matters.
Following theBelfast Agreement(also known as the Good Friday Agreement) on 10 April 1998, devolution returned to Northern Ireland on 2 December 1999. This removed many of the duties of the secretary of state and his Northern Ireland Office colleagues and devolved them to those locally elected politicians who constitute theNorthern Ireland Executive.
Formerly holding a large portfolio overhome affairsin Northern Ireland, the currentdevolution settlementhas lessened the secretary of state's role, granting many of the former powers to theNorthern Ireland Assemblyand Northern Ireland Executive. The secretary of state is now generally limited to representing Northern Ireland in theUK cabinet,overseeing the operation of the devolved administration and a number ofreserved and excepted matterswhich remain the sole competence of the UK Government e.g.security,human rights,certain public inquiries and the administration of elections.[10]
Created in 1972, the position has switched between members of Parliament from theConservative PartyandLabour Party.As Labour has not fielded candidates in Northern Ireland, and the Conservatives have not had candidates elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly or forHouse of Commonsseats in the region, those appointed as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland have not represented a constituency in Northern Ireland. This contrasts with the secretaries of state for Scotland and Wales.
The secretary of state officially resides inHillsborough Castle,which was previously the official residence of thegovernor of Northern Ireland,and remains theroyal residenceof themonarchin Northern Ireland. The secretary of state exercises their duties through, and is administratively supported by, theNorthern Ireland Office(NIO).
The devolved administration was suspended several times (especially between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007) because theUlster Unionist PartyandDemocratic Unionist Partywere uncomfortable being in government withSinn Féinwhen theProvisional Irish Republican Armyhad failed to decommission its arms fully and continued its criminal activities. On each of these occasions, the responsibilities of the ministers in the Executive then returned to the secretary of state and his ministers. During these periods, in addition to administration of the region, the secretary of state was also heavily involved in the negotiations with all parties to restore devolved government.
Power was again devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly on 8 May 2007. The secretary of state retained responsibility for policing and justice until most of those powers were devolved on 12 April 2010.[11]Robert Hazell has suggested merging the offices of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, for Scotland and for Wales into one secretary of state for the Union,[12]in a department into whichRodney Brazierhas suggested adding a minister of state for England with responsibility forEnglish local government.[13]
List of secretaries of state for Northern Ireland
[edit]Colour key
Conservative
Labour
Timeline
[edit]
See also
[edit]- First Minister of Northern Ireland
- Great Seal of Northern Ireland
- Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- Secretary of State (United Kingdom)
- Secretary of State for Scotland
- Secretary of State for Wales
- Chief Secretary for Ireland,office that existed until 1922
- Governor of Northern Ireland,office that existed from 1922 to 1973
Notes
[edit]- ^"Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23"(PDF).15 December 2022.
- ^"Pay and expenses for MPs".parliament.uk.Retrieved15 December2022.
- ^"2008 ANNUAL REPORT North South Council o Ministers"(PDF).Archived(PDF)from the original on 11 December 2020.Retrieved18 September2021.
- ^"Buaileann an Tánaiste le Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann - Buaileann an Tánaiste le Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann, an Feisire Theresa Villiers – Department of Foreign Affairs".www.dfa.ie.Archivedfrom the original on 11 October 2020.Retrieved18 September2021.
- ^"Secretary of State for Northern Ireland".gov.uk.Archivedfrom the original on 1 November 2020.Retrieved30 June2021.
- ^"Home Office".National Archives Catalogue.National Archives.Archivedfrom the original on 3 July 2011.Retrieved15 October2011.
- ^Melaugh, Martin."The Deployment of British Troops – 14 August 1969".Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).University of Ulster.Archivedfrom the original on 27 August 2011.Retrieved15 October2011.
- ^Melaugh, Martin."A Chronology of the Conflict – 1972".Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN).University of Ulster.Archivedfrom the original on 5 March 2011.Retrieved15 October2011.
- ^"Northern Ireland (Temporary Provisions) Act 1972"(PDF).legislation.gov.uk.Archived(PDF)from the original on 2 December 2011.Retrieved16 October2011.
- ^"Northern Ireland Office // About the NIO".Archived fromthe originalon 17 September 2010.Retrieved19 June2010.
- ^Simpson, Mark (12 April 2010)."New era for policing and justice in Northern Ireland".BBC News.Archivedfrom the original on 15 April 2010.Retrieved11 April2010.
- ^"Times letters: Mark Sedwill's call for a cull of the cabinet".The Times.30 July 2020.ISSN0140-0460.Archivedfrom the original on 9 August 2020.Retrieved30 November2020.
- ^"Rodney Brazier: Why is Her Majesty's Government so big?".UK Constitutional Law Association. 7 September 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 29 November 2020.Retrieved30 November2020.
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