British Conservative politicians are telling Joe Biden to stay out of British politics and are accusing him of ignorance of the Northern Ireland peace process after the Democratic nominee rebuked Prime Minister Boris Johnson for his stance on Brexit.
Biden Wednesday said Washington would only agree to a trade deal if Britain respected the Good Friday Agreement, which in 1998 ended decades of violence in Northern Ireland. The border between Ireland and the British province is at the heart of the latest legal wrangling over Britain’s exit from the European Union.
A slew of Conservatives reacted with anger to his comments.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told the Times: “We don’t need lectures on the Northern Ireland peace deal from Mr. Biden. If I were him I would worry more about the need for a peace deal in the USA to stop the killing and rioting before lecturing other sovereign nations.”
Biden spoke out after British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to reassure her that London was not seeking a hard border between northern and southern Ireland as part of its new Brexit position. The Good Friday Agreement requires a “soft” border between the two, allowing free movement.
Biden tweeted that the Good Friday Agreement could not be a “casualty” of Brexit.
“Any trade deal between the US and UK must be contingent upon respect for the agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period,” he wrote.
We can’t allow the Good Friday Agreement that brought peace to Northern Ireland to become a casualty of Brexit.
Any trade deal between the U.S. and U.K. must be contingent upon respect for the Agreement and preventing the return of a hard border. Period. https://t.co/Ecu9jPrcHL
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 16, 2020
American politicians of all shades have frequently been viewed with suspicion by Conservatives for a romantic view of Ireland and historic support of Irish Republicanism.
Former British trade minister Conor Burns was among those who offered to explain British politics.
“Hey @JoeBiden would you like to discuss the Good Friday agreement? It is also called the Belfast Agreement so it doesn’t offend both traditions,” he said. “Did you actually know that? I was born in NI and I’m a Catholic and a Unionist. Here if you need help.”
Joy Morrisey, a member of Parliament, responded by accusing Biden of pandering to the Irish American vote in a now deleted tweet.
“I guarantee he didn’t know any of that,” she wrote. “Many Americans know next to nothing about the troubles, the bombings & terrorist attacks on the U.K. Biden is shamelessly pandering to the American Irish vote while refusing to engage with the U.K. Government or U.K. Diplomatic channels. Nice.”
In a second deleted tweet, she also demanded Biden climb down from his “moral high horse.”
Brexiteers are counting on a free trade agreement with the United States as London plots its new future outside the European Union.
The Conservative leadership is keen not to alienate either side in Washington ahead of November’s election. Any trade deal will need the support of Congress to come into effect.
