UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was to meet his Irish counterpart Simon Harris in Dublin on Saturday, the first visit by a British leader to Ireland in five years, with London looking to reset damaged relations with European Union nations after Brexit.
The visit, described by Downing Street as a “historic moment for UK-Ireland relations”, signals a further warming in bilateral ties that had frayed under the previous Conservative government.
“(It) marks a new era of co-operation and friendship between Britain and Ireland,” Starmer’s office said in a statement announcing the visit across the Irish Sea.
Harris, who became taioseach (prime minister) in April, was the first international leader hosted by Starmer in the UK soon after his landslide election win in July.
The pair chatted over pints of Ireland’s national drink, Guinness, at the British prime minister’s country residence, Chequers, northwest of London, before a larger meeting of European leaders.
After the Chequers meeting, the pair said the “time was right for a reset of the partnership”, noting the “ties which bind both countries span geography and history”.
Ahead of Saturday’s visit, which will focus on boosting economic growth, Starmer said the “UK and Ireland share the strongest of ties” and the two leaders were “in lockstep about our future.”
The UK-Ireland relationship “has never reached its full potential but I want to change that”, Starmer said in comments released by Downing Street.
“We have a clear opportunity to go further and faster to make sure our partnership is fully delivering on behalf of the British and Irish people — driving growth and prosperity in both our countries,” he added.
– Shift in tone –
The focus on “resetting” Anglo-Irish relations marks a notable shift in language after the last few years saw tensions rise between Dublin and London.
Britons narrowly voted to leave the EU in a landmark referendum in 2016 and the country finally left the bloc in 2020 after years of political division and stalemate.
Conservative former prime minister Boris Johnson’s hard break from the EU was widely seen as destabilising relations between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.
Since taking power, Starmer has moved to begin the repeal of a law granting conditional immunity to perpetrators of crimes during the decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.
The move has been fiercely opposed by relatives of those who lost their lives in “The Troubles”.
During Saturday’s trip, the leaders are expected to reaffirm the Good Friday Agreement, the landmark peace accord brokered in 1998, and their commitment to reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Starmer is also scheduled to meet Irish business leaders in Dublin and encourage enhanced bilateral trade and investment.
The two leaders are expected to confirm that they are seeking a more formal post-EU mode of engagement that Harris said “will mean working on a joint plan to bring about a step-change in ambition and engagement”, according to Irish broadcaster RTE.
Starmer and Harris will attend the Ireland versus England Nations’ League football match on Saturday evening.
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