Rishi Sunak has insisted the priority in Northern Ireland is day-to-day governing rather than “constitutional change”.
The prime minister was in Northern Ireland to celebrate the restoration of power sharing in the nation.
This came after changes were made to the post-Brexit settlement, reducing the checks on goods travelling between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.
Follow live: PM meets Northern Ireland’s leaders
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) had held up the formation of an executive since 2022 due to their opposition to the situation.
This executive is the first to feature a nationalist as first minister, with Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill taking that role.
The deputy first minister – the DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly – holds equal responsibility and power to Ms O’Neill under the Good Friday Agreement.
Mr Sunak said: “I had very constructive meetings this morning with the executive, with political leaders across Stormont, and it is a historic and important day for the country, because Northern Ireland’s politicians are back in charge, making decisions on behalf of their people, which is exactly how it should be.
“Now, our new deal gives them more funding and more powers than they have ever had, so they can deliver for families and businesses across Northern Ireland. And that’s what everyone’s priority is now.
“It is not constitutional change, it is delivering on the day-to-day things that matter to people.”
Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, was also in Stormont today.
He and Mr Sunak met, after which a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The prime minister began by congratulating the Ireland rugby team for their emphatic win against France in the Six Nations on Friday.
“The prime minister turned to the day’s events and thanked the Taoiseach for the Irish government’s support for the UK government efforts to see restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland.
“This had been a challenging time, but patience had proved key to a…
