The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn MP pictured at the Ulster University in Belfast where he made a keynote speech marking the first anniversary of the restoration of the Stormont Executive, and devolved government in Northern Ireland.
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00:00The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Right Honourable Philip E. Benn MP.
00:12Well, Paul, thank you so much for that kind introduction. Thank you all for coming.
00:19I am delighted to be speaking here today in these wonderful surroundings.
00:24My thanks to Ulster University, indeed the Times University of the Year, no less.
00:30And this institution does so much fantastic work and is truly a force for good in fostering peace, prosperity and cohesion
00:39as the judges of the illustrious award so eloquently described to you.
00:44And it's been a privilege for me this morning to meet some of your remarkable students.
00:51Now, this week, of course, we are marking the one year anniversary of the return of devolved government in Northern Ireland.
01:00But before I come to that, I just want to say this about Storm Ailden.
01:05At its peak, over 280,000 properties were without electricity, including acute hospitals and other essential services.
01:15Since the winds abated, there has been an extraordinary effort to deal with the damage, to clear fallen trees and to get electricity supplies up and running again.
01:26And I know that lots of people have worked really hard over long hours to restore services.
01:34And I'm glad to say that NIE Networks is now very nearly there with the last electricity reconnections.
01:43There's been a long time for some people to wait.
01:46It's been a team effort which shows the strength of the United Kingdom in offering practical support.
01:53Because when trouble strikes, we come to the aid of each other.
01:58Now, the restoration of power sharing a year ago was a significant moment.
02:04And it followed yet another unacceptably long time without a functioning government.
02:11When I was first appointed as Shadow Secretary of State in September 2023, I said to Chris Heaton-Harris that my priority was to see the executive restored.
02:24And I want to pay tribute to Chris for the pivotal role he played in bringing back the institutions,
02:30to the leadership of the DUP for deciding to go back in to power sharing,
02:36and to them and the leadership of Sinn Féin, the Alliance Party and the UUP for the great start that the executive has made.
02:46We all hope that its restoration is for good.
02:51The good of the people of Northern Ireland.
02:55Now, by its very nature, power sharing is difficult.
03:01It's very difficult.
03:04But just over a quarter of a century ago, we saw extraordinary political leadership make it possible.
03:12Courage and compromise triumphed over bitter stalemate as political leaders agreed the principles of power sharing would endure to this day.