-CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY-

Vernon Coaker MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, speaking to Labour Party Annual Conference 2013 in Brighton, said:

Conference, it’s good to be here in Brighton with my Shadow Northern Ireland team Steve Pound, Tommy McAvoy, Angela Smith, Phil Wilson and Pamela Nash. They are a great team.

And Northern Ireland is a great place.

That’s why it’s a huge privilege to do the job of Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

It is a truly fantastic place. A place transformed over the last two decades by the peace process.

A peace process that we in the Labour Party are so proud of.

Proud to have played our part.

Proud to have had the courage to make difficult decisions.

And proud to have helped Northern Ireland on its journey towards peace, progress and prosperity.

We have made incredible strides forward. Let’s celebrate and, yes, be proud of it.

Who would have thought that we would see a time when the G8 summit could be held in Northern Ireland? The world’s leaders descending on County Fermanagh, and Northern Ireland being in the global spotlight for all the right reasons.

And who would have thought we would see a time when the World Police and Fire Games could be held in Northern Ireland? Thousands of police, fire and prison officers from dozens of countries around the world, coming to Belfast for a spectacular opening ceremony and to take part in a great 10 days of sport.

And Conference, I’m sure you’ll join with me in paying tribute to the Police Service of Northern Ireland for the courageous and dedicated work they do to keep people safe and secure.

Who would have thought that a city in Northern Ireland would shine as the UK’s City of Culture? And what a year it’s been for Derry-Londonderry. Over 400,000 visited for the All-Ireland Fleadh music festival last month. And as I’ve seen for myself, the huge range of events held have been a celebration of all that is good about music, culture, art and drama.

So, in many ways, it’s been a good year for Northern Ireland.

And when I visit, I see such innovation and creativity in the people I meet. And I feel their sense of place and sense of belonging, and their desire to do the best for themselves, their family and their community.

But those same people are being let down by this government.

Families have seen prices rising and wages falling. Working people are an average of £800 a year worse off in Northern Ireland since David Cameron took power. He has cut tax for people on over £150,000 a year while raising it for everyone else.

Ordinary people in Northern Ireland, like the rest of the UK, are paying the most but getting the least from this Tory-led government.

That’s why there will be strong support for Ed Miliband’s pledge that a Labour government will scrap the unfair bedroom tax which adversely affects some 32,000 people in Northern Ireland.

And I’ll continue to work with our partners in Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to campaign for decent living standards and rights and work.

A Labour government will be committed to building an economy that allows the ambition and potential of Northern Ireland and its people to be realised.

Because Conference, our message is clear: you can’t build peace without building prosperity.

Northern Ireland was promised better. It deserves better.

That’s why I say that we in this party should be proud that we helped Northern Ireland start its journey to peace, progress and prosperity.

And that’s where we are. We’re at the beginning, not the end.

Despite the strides forward we have made, there is much more to do.

The disgraceful scenes of rioting we witnessed over flags in the early part of the year and around parades in the summer have shown that very vividly.

Conference, violence can never be condoned. It is wrong, unacceptable and serves no purpose.

And I can’t help but think that to overcome the setbacks, we almost need to establish first principles again, the sort that were enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.

Nationalists and republicans need to show that they accept Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom while the majority of people who live there want it to be. That’s what they signed up for. It doesn’t mean they have to like it, or stop working for a change to it. But they have got to respect it and the Britishness of their neighbours who want it to continue.

And unionists and loyalists need to show that they acknowledge that Northern Ireland is Irish too. It must be shared between everyone. That’s what they signed up for. It doesn’t diminish their place in the United Kingdom, or mean they have to stop supporting the union. But they must respect the equal status and legitimacy of their neighbours’ Irishness.

And there is leadership being shown in this direction.

I commend the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Belfast who is supporting the Royal British Legion’s request to turn the City Hall red for the Poppy Appeal this year.

And I congratulate the DUP Mayor of Ballymoney who last year travelled to Croke Park in Dublin – the home of Gaelic games – to support his local hurling team in an All-Ireland Final. These are small steps. But important steps. Symbolic steps. Welcome steps.

And in that same atmosphere of understanding and sensitivity, we need to find a comprehensive process to deal with the past. It’s a big ask. But we must address the legacy of what happened over four decades of terrible, painful, awful violence. Those who suffered, the victims and survivors, deserve and expect no less.

We can’t get to the shared future we want all to build, without addressing the past that we all want to leave behind.

And I’m worried that the government isn’t paying proper attention to what’s happening in Northern Ireland.

I’m worried that David Cameron and Theresa Villiers don’t understand what needs to happen to resolve some of these critical issues.

And I’m worried that, with their semi-detached approach, they are taking what we have for granted.

They need to understand the job is not finished.

Now is not the time for the government to walk away.

Now is the time for the government to show the people of Northern Ireland it is committed to them and serious about building a shared future with peace, progress and prosperity at its core.

Earlier this year, I met some students at Queen’s University in Belfast. And let’s be clear, these young people – 18, 19 and 20 years of age – were not untouched by sectarianism. I was surprised to hear from one very bright, very articulate student that the first time she had met someone from ‘the other side’, in any real sense, was when she came to university. That can’t be right.

We all have a duty to tackle division and segregation to ensure that future 18, 19 and 20 year olds don’t have to leave home to meet their neighbour.

And I believe the recently begun party talks, facilitated by Richard Haass can help make that a reality. They offer an opportunity to make significant progress on addressing many of the things that divide people in Northern Ireland, particularly on flags, parades and dealing with the past.

These are huge issues.

And let me say again that both the British and Irish governments should be involved in trying to resolve them. Their partnership in working together, and participation in working with others, is crucial.

So I’m disappointed with this UK government’s approach. The Secretary of State hasn’t fully engaged with the talks. And I’m even more surprised that despite this she still wants the final say on what the outcome should be.

I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that in Northern Ireland.

We achieve most when we involve many. From the start, to the end.

That has been the way in which we’ve been able to change Northern Ireland so much for the better in the last twenty years, and that’s how we will build peace, progress and prosperity in the next twenty.

And let me finish on that.

Northern Ireland has changed for the better. And it has a bright future.

We should be proud of that. And optimistic too.

And we owe it to all of the people of Northern Ireland to make sure that everyone – from whatever community, and wherever they are – can share in that bright future together.

I am committed to that. Ed Miliband is committed to that. And the next Labour government will be committed to that.

Because, Conference, we know that now is not the time to walk away from Northern Ireland. Now is the time to walk tall and walk together with Northern Ireland.