30 Years On, Spring Reflects on NI Peace Process Successes and Need for Stable Governance Before Considering Unity
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30 years on from the Downing Street Declaration, former Labour leader Dick Spring reflects on the NI peace process and the challenges that remain.
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He believes the Anglo-Irish Agreement of 1985 was pivotal but underappreciated, while the personal chemistry between Albert Reynolds and John Major helped pave the way for the 1993 Declaration.
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Spring says the 1998 Belfast Agreement may need revising to make powersharing more functional, as governance remains paralyzed. He suggests exploring a more traditional party system.
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He argues that NI first needs a functioning, stable government for a decade or more before unification becomes conceivable, to reassure unionists.
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While sympathetic to younger generations’ lack of memory of the Troubles, he says the IRA campaign worsened problems and hopes Sinn Féin expresses empathy for victims.