All of the signs are that the Prime Minister, Theresa May, will win a resounding majority in the House of Commons when the votes are counted after the election on 8 June. That means she will have a clear mandate to negotiate the arrangements for the UK’s departure from the European Union by March 2019.
For Northern Ireland, that is far from the end of the story. While the fact that the UK is leaving the EU is clear, the precise terms of our departure remain to be negotiated and agreed.
However, we voted on 23 June, last year, I hope that all of the parties now share a common resolve to get the best deal for Northern Ireland in the negotiations that will come. While many challenges lie ahead, I believe that there is room and reason for optimism. Both the government and the EU in their opening correspondence have reflected the importance of getting a good deal for Northern Ireland.
During the referendum campaign and since, some of those who were on the ‘remain’ side of the argument have argued that the UK’s departure from the EU will result in a hard border on the island of Ireland, but I know of no one who wishes that to be the case.
I was born and raised in a border constituency. I still live there and it's where I am raising my family. That means I am acutely aware of the importance of the ability of people and goods to move freely across the land frontier with the Republic of Ireland.
The fact that geographically Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which will have a land border with the EU does make us different, as does our history and our politics. Who could deny that the situation of Northern Ireland within the UK, and indeed Ireland within the EU, will face different challenges from other areas affected by the UK’s EU exit and will require unique and tailored solutions?
I do not believe that a circular argument about some ill-defined and ill-conceived so-called special status for Northern Ireland is helpful: indeed, it is more likely to be counter productive. However, as I pointed out in my speech to the DUP party conference as far back as last October, any deal must recognise the reality of our geography and of our history.
What we need now is, not a divisive election focussed on fighting battles which have already been fought, but an attempt to find shared solutions to the issues that we all face. By far the best way to achieve this is to get a Stormont Executive up and running as quickly as possible.
We do not need to wait until the end of June or until after the election. We should do this immediately.
The talks process that we have been involved in since early March has been protracted and frustrating but in some areas progress has been made.
A common Northern Ireland position on Brexit is one such area. Building on the letter agreed by the then deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness and myself last August, all the parties have been making a positive contribution to an emerging consensus which can offer the best of all worlds for Northern Ireland.
Now is not the time to retreat into our respective bunkers.
Now is the time to work together and to grasp the opportunities which exist. For those of us who argued for Brexit, that will mean looking for flexible and imaginative solutions to the challenges that face us; just as it will mean for those who argued for remain an acceptance of the decision.
It is a simple and indisputable fact that by far the most important Union for the people of Northern Ireland economically is the Union with Great Britain but that need not come at the cost of accepting the economic and cultural ties that cross the border.
For once, there need not be a winner and a loser. The Republic of Ireland needs a good outcome to these negotiations every bit as much as we do and I believe there is a shared objective between the UK and the Republic to get the right deal.
That right deal will not just be between Northern Ireland and the Republic. It will be between Ireland and the United Kingdom as a whole in terms of transport and trade, and people and goods. I don’t pretend there are easy answers but collectively, if we are all pushing in the one direction, I am confident that they can be resolved. It may take a bit more time and some financial support to get things right but it can be achieved.
Despite our present political difficulties, good will towards Northern Ireland still exists both across these islands and across the wider European Union. The best way, and perhaps the only way, for us to harness and capitalise on that good will is to make sure we get an Executive up and running. Only then can we can sign off on the emerging consensus that exists on the best deal for Northern Ireland between all the parties.
