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Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland, and Policy Making During the Conflict, in the Thatcher Years

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Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland, and Policy Making During the Conflict, in the Thatcher Years Ministers advise, Prime Ministers decide? Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland, and policy making during the conflict, in the Thatcher years. A thesis submitted to The University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2016 Emma Kilheeney School of Social Sciences 2 Table of Contents ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... 5 DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................... 6 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ............................................................................................................... 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 8 RESEARCH QUESTION ........................................................................................................................... 9 CONTRIBUTION TO KNOWLEDGE ........................................................................................................... 10 Contribution to knowledge: Northern Ireland .......................................................................... 10 Contribution to knowledge: Margaret Thatcher ...................................................................... 19 RESEARCH METHODS .......................................................................................................................... 25 Archival research ...................................................................................................................... 26 Elite Interviews ......................................................................................................................... 27 STRUCTURE OF THESIS ........................................................................................................................ 30 CHAPTER 2: MARGARET THATCHER ............................................................................................ 33 THATCHER’S VIEWS ON NORTHERN IRELAND ........................................................................................... 34 Core executive .......................................................................................................................... 37 Thatcher as a leader ................................................................................................................ 38 Prime Ministerial dominance ................................................................................................... 40 Cabinet ..................................................................................................................................... 41 NORTHERN IRELAND DEPARTMENT ....................................................................................................... 46 Ministerial autonomy ............................................................................................................... 47 The Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee ....................................................................... 49 ADVISORS ........................................................................................................................................ 50 CONCLUSION: THATCHER, NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE SECRETARIES OF STATE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND ......... 53 CHAPTER 3: HUMPHREY ATKINS: SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND MAY 1979- SEPTEMBER 1981 ........................................................................................................................ 56 SECTION I: HUMPHREY ATKINS AND BACKGROUND TO THE NIO ................................................................. 59 The uniqueness of the Northern Ireland Office ........................................................................ 62 The creation of the NIO: a path to path dependant policy? ..................................................... 65 Atkins and Thatcher in Northern Ireland – no change in policy? ............................................. 67 SECTION II: KEY ACTORS ..................................................................................................................... 68 Key government ministers: a cabinet committee in all but name............................................ 69 Civil servants advise, ministers decide? ................................................................................... 71 The significance of Robert Armstrong ...................................................................................... 75 Two premiers: Thatcher and the Taoiseach ............................................................................. 79 Anglo-Irish relations deteriorate .............................................................................................. 83 SECTION III: THE THATCHER – ATKINS RELATIONSHIP ............................................................................... 85 Thatcher keeps Atkins in the dark ............................................................................................ 88 Hunger strikes .......................................................................................................................... 90 Background to the ‘back channel’ or ‘link’ ............................................................................... 90 1980: the first hunger strike and use of the ‘link’ .................................................................... 92 1981: the second hunger strike ................................................................................................ 94 Thatcher authorises communication with the Provisional IRA ................................................ 96 International aspect: pressure from the United States ............................................................ 99 Cabinet ................................................................................................................................... 101 Opposition .............................................................................................................................. 102 Atkins’ demise as SSNI ........................................................................................................... 103 3 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 104 CHAPTER 4: JIM PRIOR: SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND SEPTEMBER 1981- SEPTEMBER 1984 ...................................................................................................................... 106 SECTION I: JIM PRIOR, HIS BACKGROUND AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE 1983 ELECTION .............................. 109 Prior’s tenure as SSNI: unprecedented autonomy.................................................................. 112 Prior’s tenure as SSNI comes to an end .................................................................................. 115 Prior’s tenure as SSNI: the significance of the 1983 general election .................................... 116 SECTION II: KEY ACTORS ................................................................................................................... 122 Robert Armstrong: more important than Jim Prior? .............................................................. 125 Two Premiers: Thatcher and the Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald .............................................. 131 Two Premiers: PM and Taoiseach relations deteriorate ........................................................ 136 PART III: THE THATCHER – PRIOR RELATIONSHIP ................................................................................... 137 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................................. 142 CHAPTER 5: DOUGLAS HURD: SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NORTHERN IRELAND SEPTEMBER 1984- SEPTEMBER 1985 ...................................................................................................................... 144 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................... 144 SECTION I: THE HURD YEARS ............................................................................................................. 147 The significance of the Brighton bomb .................................................................................. 150 Thatcher becomes more involved in Northern Ireland policy ................................................ 155 The signing of the Anglo-Irish agreement .............................................................................. 159 SECTION II: KEY ACTORS ................................................................................................................... 160 The Armstrong and Nally relationship ................................................................................... 161 Ministers decide, civil servants advise? .................................................................................. 163 The NIO and FO are excluded ................................................................................................. 169 The role of the Cabinet ........................................................................................................... 171 The significance of Sir Geoffrey Howe
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