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Sunningdale Agreement, Sunningdale Agreement and the Power-Sharing…
Sunningdale Agreement
White Paper
- Recommended reintroduction of the NI parliament
- new parliament would be elected through proportional representation
- NI would remain part of the UK
- power-sharing executive would be established (power shared between Nationalists and Unionists
- Dublin, London and Belfast would engage in a 'Council of Ireland' to discuss matters of common interest (such as tourism)
- new parliament could not introduce discriminatory laws, this would ensure equal rights for everyone
- head of the power sharing executive would be Prime Minister
- Proposed resolution by Whitelaw to the NI crisis
Sunningdale Agreement
- Signed on 9 December 1973 in Sunningdale UK
- Irish gov. asked to remove article 2 and 3 of their constitution as it recognised NI as part of ROI, request was refused
- NI could rejoin ROI through consent of the NI population (referendum needed to be held)
- Irish gov. would accept the current status of NI
- Council of Ireland would be confined to NI and ROI representatives ( Council of Ministers, 7 members of both sides and Consultive Assembly, 30 members both sides)
- SLDP and moderate nationalists believed this was the way to peaceful reunification
- Unionists opposed this as they saw it as a threat to their power in NI and feared reunification
Border Poll
- Referendum held 8 March 1973
- Referendum over whether NI should remain part of the UK or rejoin Republic of Ireland
- 400,000 Nationalists boycotted the referendum
- Whitelaw's aim was to reassure unionists
- 99% voted to remain part of the UK, unbalanced vote
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Key figures
- William Whitelaw, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- Sinn Fein, unrecognised political party, most catholic nationalists supported Sinn Fein and were the main voice for catholic nationalists in NI
- Ulster Unionist Party, main voice of unionists in NI, they were split between pro and anti Sunningdale, headed by Brian Faulkner
- Socialist Democratic Labour Party, recognised nationalist party, they were supposedly the voice of nationalists in NI and were pro Sunningdale
Sunningdale Agreement and the Power-Sharing Executive, 1973-1974