Andy Burnham in his first visit to Northern Ireland as British prime minister on Thursday has urged Stormont politicians to engage in “problem solving, not points scoring”.
As part of his half-day trip, Burnham is meeting the First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly and other party leaders.
Before meeting the politicians Burnham travelled to the Oh Yeah Music Centre in the Cathedral Quarter of central Belfast where he met young people to discuss the problems and issues confronting them.
“People in Northern Ireland want more breathing space from the cost of living, good, well-paid jobs and opportunities for their children,” he said.
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“Political point-scoring in the past has made this harder, not easier. We need to be better, so I want to work with the Northern Ireland Executive and the main political parties to try to make a real difference to communities here, and that’s the message I’ll be taking into my meetings later.”
This visit is described as part of his “summer tour of the United Kingdom”.
Earlier on Thursday in Wales he announced that in October he would convene the first ministers of Wales and Scotland, and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland, to discuss how “we will drive good growth in every postcode across the UK”.
Finance is expected to be a key issue of the party leaders. Despite a deadline of early April this year the Stormont Executive has failed to agree a budget with politicians, claiming there was a shortfall of £1.6 billion (€1.9 billion).
In advance of the meeting, O’Neill said Burnham needed “to actually deliver in terms of getting a fair budget settlement that actually works for public services”.
“If Andy Burnham wants to make a difference, then he can make a difference by actually changing the funding arrangement. What we have currently does not cut it, does not work,” she said.
Downing Street said Burnham would say to the leaders that he was serious about finding common ground based on collaborative, practical and pragmatic relations with the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver for people across Northern Ireland.
He also is meeting Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party, Alliance, the Ulster Unionist Party and the Social Democratic and Labour Party when he would “reiterate that we should all take a problem-solving, not points-scoring approach, to deliver to the best of our abilities for people in Northern Ireland”.
At the Oh Yeah Music Centre Burnham spoke to young people about their lives and their aspirations for the future. He also visited a recording studio at the centre where he met the Bangor band Florentinas, who recently secured a recording contract.
