{"id":1101863,"date":"2026-07-21T03:58:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T03:58:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1101863\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T03:58:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T03:58:20","slug":"chris-bryant-replaces-hilary-benn-as-northern-ireland-secretary-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1101863\/","title":{"rendered":"Chris Bryant replaces Hilary Benn as Northern Ireland secretary \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chris Bryant replaced Hilary Benn<\/a> as Northern Ireland secretary late on Monday night following a major cabinet reshuffle by new UK prime minister Andy Burnham<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Announcing his departure on X, Benn said it had been \u201ca great privilege to serve as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and to work with the many wonderful people I have met over the last two years\u201d.<\/p>\n

Bryant, an MP since 2001, served as minister of state for trade under now-former UK prime minister Keir Starmer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Benn \u2013 who remains MP for Leeds South \u2013 wished his replacement \u201call the very best in working with the [Northern] executive to protect stability, continuing to generate growth and investment and in taking forward to the Troubles Bill which is so important for so many families\u201d.<\/p>\n

He also pledged his \u201cfull support from the backbenches\u201d to the new prime minister. <\/p>\n

Burnham\u2019s reshuffle continued throughout Monday after he took over from former prime minister Keir Starmer<\/a> earlier in the day. <\/p>\n

Former Labour<\/a> leader Ed Miliband was appointed foreign secretary and Louise Haigh, who had previously served as shadow Northern secretary, was named chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster. <\/p>\n

Benn\u2019s removal was regarded as a surprise in Northern Ireland, where only earlier this month he began a \u201cprogramme of work\u201d with the UK treasury and Northern political parties over the funding crisis facing public services and the Stormont executive\u2019s failure to agree a multiyear budget. <\/p>\n

Appointed by Starmer two years ago, Benn was regarded as a skilled political operator who oversaw improved relations between the Irish and British governments and the replacement of the UK\u2019s discredited Legacy Act with a new joint framework on dealing with the North\u2019s past agreed by Dublin and London in 2025.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Andy Burnham wastes no time in purging his government of Starmer alliesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

But he faced criticism in some quarters for seeking to change the resulting legislation to support British army veterans and over other sticking points such as his decision not to grant a public inquiry into the murder of GAA official Se\u00e1n Brown. <\/p>\n

Paying tribute to Benn following his departure on Monday, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee<\/a> thanked him for his \u201cdeep commitment\u201d to Northern Ireland and Irish-British relations and praised his approach for allowing the two governments to reach agreement on the framework. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe approached his role with purpose and understanding, and with a clear wish to make things better for all the people of Northern Ireland,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI know that whatever he does he will continue to contribute to building a positive relationship across these islands.\u201d <\/p>\n

DUP<\/a> leader Gavin Robinson<\/a> said that while they had \u201csignificant disagreements on a number of important issues, particularly legacy, the Windsor Framework<\/a> and the need for government to act more decisively in Northern Ireland\u2019s interests, those differences were always advanced robustly and respectfully\u201d.<\/p>\n

Wishing Benn well for the future, he said his replacement \u201cmust recognise the importance of working constructively with all parties while working to strengthen Northern Ireland\u2019s place within the United Kingdom<\/a>, and the need to deliver stable, accountable government that delivers the best services and outcomes for our people here\u201d.<\/p>\n

SDLP<\/a> leader Claire Hanna<\/a> said \u201cwhile we did not always agree, I found him to be thoughtful, engaged and willing to listen\u201d which \u201cstood in marked contrast to some previous secretaries of state\u201d.<\/p>\n

She said that while progress had been made, \u201cthere remains significant unfinished business\u201d and warned that the incoming Northern secretary \u201cinherits a full and urgent agenda. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith a budget crisis threatening public services and Assembly elections on the horizon, there is little time to lose,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Chris Bryant replaced Hilary Benn as Northern Ireland secretary late on Monday night following a major cabinet reshuffle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1101864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5011],"tags":[8916,6415,93993,1998,6853,807,1144,293747,16,15,23146],"class_list":["post-1101863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-northern-ireland","tag-andy-burnham","tag-claire-hanna","tag-dup-links","tag-gavin-robinson","tag-hilary-benn","tag-keir-starmer","tag-northern-ireland","tag-social-democratic-and-labour-party","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-windsor-framework"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116955965456566488","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1101863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1101864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1101863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1101863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1101863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}