Andy Burnham rules out Irish unification poll as PM takes veiled swipe at Brexit vote

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The Prime Minister said referendums 'take a long time to heal' on a visit to Belfast

Andy Burnham has said an Irish border poll is "off the table" as he took a swipe at the impact of the Brexit referendum.

The Prime Minister sparked a political row on his first official visit to Northern Ireland since entering No10.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald reacted strongly to the remarks, stating that no prime minister has the right to "high-handedly" remove the provision for a unity referendum from the Good Friday Agreement.

However, DUP leader Gavin Robinson welcomed the comments, stating the Prime Minister had "put to bed the nonsense" speculation over a unity poll.

During his visit to Belfast, the Prime Minister said he is "here to listen" to all sides but added that the "rifts" arising from referendums "take a long time to heal", a reference to the Brexit and the Scottish independence referendums.

Mr Burnham said: "It sets you right back and you can’t focus on what’s right in front of us here and now, the cost-of-living pressures that are hurting people in Northern Ireland, the need to get that budget set so that public services can function as they should.

"These are the things right in front of us and sometimes politicians go to things that they want to see, as opposed to getting the solutions that the public need.

"I think a decade since the Brexit referendum, I think we’ve had too much division, too much arguing, too much backward looking. We need to fix the things right in front of us in the here and now."

Under the terms of the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, the Secretary of State can decide to hold a border poll.

It also places a duty on the office holder to call one if it appears likely a majority would vote for Irish unification.

The people of the Republic of Ireland must also vote in favour to effect constitutional change.

However, the most recent polling from June of 1,534 Northern Ireland electors by the University of Liverpool found 49.7 per cent did not support unification, compared to 35.8 per cent were in favour, while 4.7 per cent "do not know" and 9.8 per cent "neither agree/disagree".

Speaking following a meeting with the Prime Minister, Ms McDonald said: "At the core of our discussion with him has been the Good Friday Agreement and the provision for a referendum on Irish unity.

"We have made it very clear to the British Prime Minister that the right to referendum, the right for Irish people to decide our future, is one that is contained within the Good Friday Agreement.

"[It] is a commitment entered into and a matter of international law, and he simply does not have the right to dismiss or disregard that commitment. He accepts that as a matter of fact.”

The Sinn Féin leader said she had had a “very direct exchange” with the Prime Minister on the matter, adding: "Nobody, not the British Prime Minister or anybody else, has the authority to high-handedly remove any provision of the Good Friday Agreement, including and especially the provision for a referendum."

Mr Robinson welcomed the Prime Minister’s remarks, telling reporters: "It’s particularly encouraging to hear his comments today, putting to bed the nonsense that has been mentioned over many months now around a border poll.

"I shared with you my view of the Secretary of State’s position back in July in Hillsborough Castle, and it’s good to hear the Prime Minister put that issue beyond doubt.

"He will hear from us about our desire to see Northern Ireland play its full and integral part within United Kingdom national politics, constitutionally and economically. Clearly, there are issues around budget resettlement in Northern Ireland.

"People at home are familiar with those and the challenges that creates in public service, so that will form a key part, not only of our discussion about what we can do collectively and politically in Northern Ireland to reach agreement around a budget, but what assistance is required from our UK national parliament and from this Prime Minister to support us in that endeavour.

Meanwhile, First Minister and Sinn Féin Vice President Michelle O’Neill called on Mr Burnham to bring in a "proper funding model" for public services in Northern Ireland.

She said: "We underlined very, very clearly that for decades now we’ve been underfunded, and that we need to get an adequate budget in place.

"We want to agree a budget, but it must be the right budget, a budget that allows us actually to invest in public services to give our nurses the pay that they deserve.

"We’re now apparently about to start on a process, process that will start over the coming week, where we’re going to get into the nitty gritty of the budget itself.

"But if Andy Burnham does the same thing as all of his predecessors and comes in at a crisis point and puts a few pounds on the table and then walks away again, we’ll be in that vicious circle again.

"So I made the point to him today, what we need is proper funding, a funding model that reflects the needs of our people here, a funding model that matches what they get in Scotland and Wales."