This week has seen historic events in Northern Ireland.
The power-sharing agreement, signed up to by all sides of the political and community divide, is the culmination of over a decade of work.
The process was started by John Major’s government and was taken over by Tony Blair.
His personal involvement over a 10-year period has been the single biggest factor in this historic achievement.
Over this 10-year period, there have been many ups and downs; too many false dawns and times when patience ran very thin. However, it is all worth it now.
Over the last two years I have been closely involved in Northern Ireland matters, firstly as parliamentary aide to the Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain and for the last year as Government whip for Northern Ireland business.
I have seen at first hand how the peace process has transformed Northern Ireland, and how its people are seeing the benefits. Belfast city centre these days is just like any other city, gone are the bombs and countless security threats.
But there is always a reminder of the bloody history of conflict between two communities.
As part of the confidence building that has gone on over the last couple of years, I have held discussions with individuals I never thought likely to meet.
When you sit down for a cup of tea with a former terrorist, turned politician – someone who has turned their back on violence – it puts local political differences in Worcester into perspective.
“Peace in our time” turned out to be a false dawn once in our history, but thanks to the leadership of Tony Blair and the contribution of many others, the Labour Government has just delivered a peaceful solution to one of the biggest challenges that has faced governments for decades.
And for that, Tony Blair deserves our credit and our thanks.
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