Signs of disharmony at British-Irish summit

Friday 08 July 2022

Guernsey hosted the 37th British-Irish Council Summit today at St. Pierre Park, and whilst collaboration was argued to be valuable, several fractures between the jurisdictions surfaced following their meeting.

Heads of government and senior ministers from the Crown Dependencies, United Kingdom and Ireland attended the summit to primarily discuss pressing political developments and spatial planning policy.

Deputy Peter Ferbrache, Guernsey's Chief Minister, and his fellow panelists said the summit provided “invaluable” opportunities for dialogue and idea sharing.

Many of the panelists admitted the recent resignation of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson did have some impact on proceedings, but Deputy Ferbrache said the events were not a “dark cloud over the meetings”. 

He suggested that “Guernsey will work with any administration” in the UK. 

Michael Gove was due to attend the summit but was sacked from his position of Housing Secretary by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday evening. 

Questioning revealed further tensions and disruptions currently playing out between the British and Irish jurisdictions.

Pictured: Deputy Peter Ferbrache (right) sat close to UK Northern Ireland Minister Conor Burns and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (left). Credit: States of Guernsey.

Newly appointed Northern Ireland Minister Conor Burns, a long-time ally of Mr Johnson, acknowledged that they have not “been overwhelmed by the support of parliamentary colleagues.

Scottish First Minister Sturgeon hoped that the events at Westminster do not interrupt “pressing issues such as the cost of living”. 

Welsh leader Mark Drakeford said the UK “deserves a government able to exclusively focus” on the important issues and called for a general election to provide a clarity of purpose to government business. 

First Minister Sturgeon agreed that “it must be better for democracy if Boris Johnson departs immediately… it’s exacerbating the sense of chaos”.

She added that the Scottish National Party would support proposals to hold a parliamentary vote of no confidence in the current Conservative government if one was tabled.  

She also reiterated her government's desire for an independent Scotland but said even in that event the country would remain “a part of the British-Irish Council”.

Pictured: It was the fifth time that Guernsey has hosted the summit. Credit: States of Guernsey.

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin highlighted that whilst the representative jurisdictions had come together for Ukraine, he has “deep regret” there is a lack of alignment in relation to Northern Ireland.

He also said descriptions of Irish relations being at a 25-year low were “accurate,” and that unilateralism “has never worked in Northern Ireland”.

Minister Burns claimed that “warm and frequent dialogue” is required to fix the implementation of Brexit protocols in the region.

Pictured (top): L-R; John Le Fondre, Chief Minister of Jersey; Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon; Conor Burns MP; Deputy Peter Ferbrache, Chief Minister of Guernsey; Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin; Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford; and Alfred Cannan, Chief Minister of the Isle of Man. Credit: States of Guernsey.