Starmer visit ‘raises expectations’ he will act on high fuel costs – Sinn Fein

Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Northern Ireland has “raised expectations” that he will act on the high cost of fuel, the Sinn Fein leader has said.

Mary Lou McDonald said the cost of living was the main topic discussed during a “very forthright” meeting with Sir Keir in Belfast on Thursday.

She and First Minister for Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill said that families were struggling with high costs, as around two-thirds of domestic properties in Northern Ireland use home heating oil.

Sir Keir was meeting with the political leaders at Stormont before attending the UK-Ireland Summit in Cork, along with several senior ministers from his Cabinet.

The meeting comes as Sir Keir faces renewed questioning over making Lord Peter Mandelson the UK’s Washington ambassador after a release of official documents revealed he had been warned of a “general reputational risk” over the appointment.

It also comes as governments are coming under pressure over a spike in the cost of fuel and home heating oil after the US and Israel began bombing Iran over a week ago.

Ms McDonald said in Belfast: “We’ve challenged the Prime Minister now to make an announcement, to come up with something that will actually make a difference to households right across the north that are struggling so badly and who, thus far, have not seen any kind of an adequate response from London, from the Prime Minister or from the Treasury.”

She added: “Keir Starmer has come to Ireland, to Belfast, to Cork.

“He has framed his visit in respect of cost-of-living pressures, and specifically the price gouging, but also the runaway cost of home heating oil, and he needs to come up with an answer for families all across the north.

“I fully expect, and we’ve made this plain to him, that he will have something constructive and meaningful to say in that regard when he comes and speaks to the press.”

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it strikes “a strange chord” that political leaders in Northern Ireland would call on Sir Keir to act on high energy prices when there was funding “waiting to be dispensed”.

He said actions that could be taken on soaring fuel costs and “levers at his disposal” were a particular topic on Sir Keir’s agenda on Thursday.

Mr Robinson said: “He was as aghast as I was to discover that £81 million is sitting there waiting to be dispensed, to assist consumers in Northern Ireland, and yet we have an economy minister that hasn’t started work on a business case, and a party that still seems to be reluctant to agree that that figure is correct.”

He added: “It does strike a strange chord when some political leaders from Northern Ireland today will be saying that this Prime Minister needs to provide financial support, when he can stand back and say, I have done so, and £81 million is available for the people of Northern Ireland, and it’s up to your leaders to determine how best that support should be dispensed at this time of need.”

Northern Ireland First Minister and Sinn Fein vice president Michelle O’Neill said there had been a “bit of messing around” on how Westminster supports are enacted in Northern Ireland.

“The previous announcement of £81 million, that was £150 credit off people’s electricity bills in England, but over here it translates to £30,” Ms O’Neill said.

“So we challenged the Prime Minister today very directly on that point, they need to bring forward a piece of legislation that allows us to actually get that £30, the previous announcement, out into people’s pockets.”

She added: “Every family that we spoke to, every individual that we’re speaking to, are really struggling right now, they were already struggling, and now what’s internationally is having a real life impact on their day to day lives.”

Ms McDonald added: “It’s not good enough, you know, to talk a big game around supporting people in this cost of living crisis and then short change them.

“There’s no sense in Keir Starmer coming here a day late and a dollar short.”

Alliance Party leader and Justice Minister Naomi Long said that their meeting with Sir Keir was “short” but “packed” and he seemed “very open” to the issues raised.

“We are the most reliant region of the UK on home heating oil and it does create real challenges for us,” she said.

“What we need to do is both focus on the transition to better fuel opportunities, and they are out there, and we need to invest in that, but we also need some kind of short-term intervention, that will be properly guided by the evidence, but will ensure that local householders are not put under further pressure.”

Mrs Long said among the issues discussed were the budgetary constraints faced by the Northern Ireland Executive, the stability of and reform of the powersharing institutions, and the cost of living crisis.

UUP leader Jon Burrows said he had a “very frank and constructive conversation” with Sir Keir, also calling for support with costs of home heating oil, as well as for “a greater proportion” of defence expenditure to be spent in Northern Ireland.

He also said the UK Government needs to find “their backbone in dealing with legacy” and should “stand up to the Irish government and ensure that they fully cooperate with trying to get truth and justice for victims of terrorism”.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna joined the Executive parties in calling for support with energy prices, adding that “how that has been handled by the Executive illustrates the dysfunction we’re trying to fix with our reform proposals”.

Mr Robinson said he also discussed the powersharing institutions, the budgetary shortfall in Northern Ireland, and post-Brexit related “nonsensical hangovers” on trade with Great Britain.

Ms McDonald said they raised issues relating to Palestine, Iran and the UK’s arming of Israel, as well as the progress in establishing the Pat Finucane inquiry and the need for an inquiry into the death of Sean Brown, a Catholic father murdered by loyalists in 1997.