I grew up at a time when every week had a grim story of loss of life from Northern Ireland. I remember being inspired as a 9 year old by the efforts of Mairead Corrigan and Betty Williams, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1976 for their efforts in trying to bring about peace. It was so disappointing when their efforts failed.  I had skin in this game as my favourite Auntie and Uncle lived there – and still do along with my cousins and cousin’s children.

It was another 22 years before we’d see a stable peace there, and it was another woman, the incredible and much missed Secretary of State Mo Mowlam who put her heart and soul into bringing it about.

I remember being on the edge of my seat that Easter weekend, hoping for the breakthrough that eventually came. It was barely a year into Tony Blair’s Labour Government. A lot of the ground work had been laid by the previous administration. I remember Paddy Ashdown paying sincere tribute to John Major’s leadership in getting people talking to each other.

I thought it might be good to look back on the exchanges in the Commons when the agreement was first discussed in Parliament.

Mo Mowlam spoke first, announcing the deal:

This is a unique agreement born of a unique set of negotiations that involved Unionists, nationalists, republicans and loyalists around the same talks table. This is a situation in which, although compromises have been made, everyone can be a winner. Everyone’s political and cultural identity is respected and protected by this deal. Northern Ireland politics, for so long, has been seen as a zero sum game. This agreement demonstrates the potential for the people of Northern Ireland to move beyond that, into a new type of politics in which everyone can gain. This agreement represents a sensible, fair and workable way forward for both communities.

I should like to pay a particular tribute today to the negotiating teams of all the parties involved. I should also like to pay tribute to a group who, though often vilified, have worked for many years to bring about this agreement, often at personal risk to themselves and their families—the civil servants in both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

It is important, when we are talking about all the positive developments, that at the same time we do not lose sight of the terrible price that has been paid by the victims of violence and their families. No amount of progress in the search for lasting peace will bring back those loved ones who have been lost, or take away the pain felt, day in and day out, by their families. I hope that Ken Bloomfield’s victims commission, which we have set up and which I hope will report later this month, will provide us with some practical suggestions as to how we can best recognise the suffering endured by the victims of violence and their families.

Even at such a dramatic moment, she showed her heart and sense of fun. Our then leader Paddy Ashdown opened his comments with:

The Secretary of State will have received enough plaudits, well justified and well deserved, from enough quarters not to need me to add to them.

She responded:

Do, please.

Paddy went on to say:

I suppose that one can never get too many plaudits.

As someone who is proud to call himself a Northern Irishman—born and brought up in the north of a divided family, and having served on the streets of Northern Ireland as a soldier—I can say that the right hon. Lady, the Prime Minister and everyone else who has contributed to the agreement gave me, a week ago last Friday, the best day that I have had since I was elected to this place 15 years ago. It was probably the best day for me for the past 30 years, since the troubles started.

Of course I congratulate the Secretary of State. Her determination to do things differently, even against opposition and criticism, and the Prime Minister’s determination not to accept defeat in the negotiations, were two significant contributions of a great number which the right hon. Lady listed.
There was the vision of the hon. Member for Foyle (Mr. Hume), without which, I suspect, the process would never have started. There was the courage of the right hon. Member for Upper Bann (Mr. Trimble), without which, I suspect, the agreement would not have existed, even today. A tremendous contribution was made by the previous Prime Minister. Also involved were the Taoiseach and Senator Mitchell. All those individuals contributed, and I suspect that without any one of them, the success would not be here to be celebrated today.

I shall make three brief points. Surely it is right, as the right hon. Lady did in her statement, to reiterate that we do not have peace; it is merely the opportunity for peace, or the hope for peace. It is the foundation stone upon which peace can be built, but it is now up to the Northern Irish people to build upon it.

Secondly, is it not the case that the first major building block in the peace process comes with the referendums? All those who wish the process success can assist by obtaining the most decisive yes vote, both in the north of Ireland and in the Republic, in the two key referendums. If—if—it is the case that I or anyone else goes over to the north of Ireland to campaign on that basis and to assist in the process, I shall be happy to play that role. However, that involvement must be determined on whether it is helpful or not. This is an issue not of ceremony but of practical assistance.

Thirdly, in addition to decommissioning, is it not the case that other activity on the part of those who wish to see a success must make sure that words are followed by actions? Actions are necessary to reassure both sides. One of the absolutely crucial actions is the ending of paramilitary beatings. Does the right hon. Lady agree that it would be as unacceptable for them to continue as it would be for the private armies that have done Northern Ireland so much damage in the past to continue?

Politics at the moment seems to be so much about stoking divisions and kicking the most vulnerable people. The Belfast Agreement, reached on Good Friday 1998 shows what can be achieved when people come together to try to heal division. It took a huge national and international effort but they got there. Oh for some of that spirit today.

* Caron Lindsay is Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice and blogs at Caron's Musings