A Mersey Maritime reflection from Head of Policy, Simon Eardley, on the UK-Ireland Summit and the influence of shifts in American policy across the globe.
In light of St Patrick’s Day, it feels like an appropriate time to share some thoughts on the recent focus on UK-Ireland relationships in our latest ‘policy blog’ – read on to find out more!
It is an old cliché to say that a week is a long time in politics and that a particular event or series of activities by a world leader is ‘historic’. There can be no doubt that the rhetoric associated with political events across the world since mid-January hasn’t been extravagant or exaggerated and, in many respects, will find its way writ large into the history books of the future. Many believe in a period when the United States of America, are redefining their role in the world, that we are on the cusp of fundamental shifts in geopolitical outlooks which will have profound ramifications for us all in the years ahead.
It was no surprise therefore that the themes of national security, growth and energy security were top of the agenda at the first annual UK-Ireland Summit which took place in Cheshire in early March and which saw a number of receptions and visits undertaken in the Liverpool City Region (of which our CEO, Ruth Wood was invited), including to Mersey Maritime partner, Cammell Laird Shipbuilders and Shiprepairers. During his time there, the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, met key representatives of this strategically important company which operates within the defence industry, engaging with employees and apprentices. The visit was also timely in the context of the announcement that UK defence spending will increase to 2.5% of GDP by April 2027, in a sector known to be responsible in 2023/24 for supporting nearly 20,000 jobs in the North West of England alone.
Some of our closest trading relationships are often so familiar that they are taken for granted. The summit highlighted the close bilateral trade relationship between the two countries which was worth some £80 billion last year across sectors including renewable energy, life sciences, the creative industries and tech. Ireland is the UK’s 6th largest trading partner and the UK is Ireland’s second largest trading partner. A firm commitment to build on these deep ties to attract new investment and accelerate economic growth across the two countries was a clear outcome of the discussions between the two leaders and their teams.
Following the summit, a joint statement from the Prime Minister and Irish Taoiseach emphasised:
- The UK and Ireland working together at home and across the globe
- Ensuring a strategic and efficient approach to shared UK-Ireland maritime space to mobilise investment, support a healthy marine environment and provide clean energy for both islands
- Agile, open economies working together to attract investment, innovate from knowledge and accelerate growth
- Developing the deep ties between our people and cultures
The second bullet point will be of particular interest to Mersey Maritime members and the wider ecosystem in the Liverpool City Region. Recognition of the critical importance of the Celtic and Irish Seas – a theme that has been explored closely from a ‘green maritime’ perspective in the region in the last 12 months (find out more here) – was prominent. A commitment to working together to harness the potential of the blue economy, by deepening co-operation on offshore energy and interconnection, was a key outcome with the ambition to help ensure collective energy security for the two countries as part of the green transition to net zero.
Whilst there will no doubt be much more detail to follow, an agreement to undertake new joint initiatives on mapping the sea basin to improve interoperability and resilience in UK and Irish waters, and to deepen existing co-operation on maritime decarbonisation, including on joint efforts to establish green maritime corridors, can only offer optimism for the future. There was also commitment to work together to mobilise investment into strategic infrastructure in the Irish and Celtic Seas by establishing frameworks to guide private investment and removing barriers to trade and investment – critical if ambitious decarbonisation targets are to be met.
Too often politics and bureaucracy ‘gets in the way’ of good business. The announcement of a new data sharing arrangement, may well see the UK and Irish governments lay the groundwork for commercial developers to increase offshore energy by cutting red tape and minimise the burden of maritime and environmental consent processes for developers. Speeding up how developments happen and the ability to mobilise investments in offshore energy infrastructure is a step in the right direction. Maybe we will see this overall theme develop further in respect of onshore planning, with the introduction of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to the Westminster Parliament in mid-March too.
It is impossible to escape the broad context of the challenging geopolitical environment both leaders find themselves in. No surprise then that they gave a strong commitment to the global multilateral system and international law as the foundations on which all international engagement and partnerships are built. Whilst Mersey Maritime is fiercely apolitical in our approach, sometimes you simply cannot avoid the influence politics has on the world in which our members do business and the wider sector in which we operate, particularly the defence industry, which relies so heavily on a vibrant and dynamic maritime sector. In conclusion, it is worth reflecting a little further on the mood music emanating from the White House as President Trump continues his ‘America First’ policy and relationships appear to be strained with traditional Allies.
The second Trump administration has embarked on an agenda which prioritises US interests over multilateral cooperation, and which has sent shockwaves into the broad consensus about ‘how business is done’ across the globe. Revisiting or wholesale revision of trade agreements, military alliances and long-term global partnership appears to be the order of the day. From tariffs on goods to the role of the USA in key organisations such as the UN or NATO, the resulting horizon for the global landscape looks to be on a precipice of radical and profound change. And that’s before you consider withdrawal from global environmental agreements and domestic environmental deregulation which is happening at pace. Regardless of your opinion on the outcomes, President Trump’s stance on climate change, foreign alliances, and global institutions is likely to shake up traditional diplomatic relationships in the years ahead.
The lasting influence of these policy shifts on the global stage will, in part, depend on the reaction of other world leaders and institutions. The UK-Ireland Summit perhaps gives us some indication into how our own leaders will act and respond in the years ahead. Watch out for more interesting weeks in politics coming up!
