DUBLIN/LONDON (Reuters) – Keir Starmer will go to Dublin on Saturday, the first visit to the Republic of Ireland by a British Prime Minister for five years, as his new government seeks to improve relations with its nearest neighbour and other members of the European Union.
After his Labour Party won a July election to return to power for the first time since 2010, Starmer has sought better co-operation with EU countries, looking to improve diplomatic ties and trading relations without revisiting the fundamental basis of Britain’s departure from the bloc.
Britain’s 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU put particular strain on Anglo-Irish relations, as trading rules governing Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom and has a land border with Ireland, became the major sticking point for a deal.
Starmer hosted his Irish counterpart Simon Harris in July, shortly after an election result which has also been seen in Dublin as the opportunity for a reset in relations.
“Our relationship has never reached its full potential, but I want to change that. We have a clear opportunity to go further and faster to make sure our partnership is fully delivering,” Starmer said in a statement ahead of the visit.
“(Harris) and I are in lockstep about our future, and we look forward to deepening our collaboration further.”
The two will meet businesses before watching a soccer match between the Republic of Ireland and England later in the day.
A match between the two sides in Dublin in 1995 – played three years before the Good Friday Agreement which largely ended three decades of violence in Northern Ireland – was abandoned due to a riot. However, a 2015 fixture between the teams passed off without significant incident.
(Reporting by Conor Humphries in Dublin and Alistair Smout in London; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
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