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