Border poll ‘off the table’, says Andy Burnham on first Northern Ireland visit

A border poll on Irish unification is "off the table", Andy Burnham has said, ruling out a referendum during his first official visit to Northern Ireland as prime minister.

Speaking in Belfast, the Labour leader said the votes on Brexit and Scottish independence had shown the "risks that come from those situations take a long time to heal", and argued the focus should be on public services and cost-of-living pressures. "We need to fix the things right in front of us in the here and now," he told BBC News NI.

Why Burnham says a border poll is off the table

He was asked directly whether he would call a referendum on Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK or joining with the Republic of Ireland, in an exchange filmed by BBC News. "Well obviously I'm here as I said earlier to listen and I will take a collaborative approach, but some issues will be off the table and that is one issue that will be off the table," the prime minister replied.

"Because we've got to focus on bringing people together as best we can," he added.

He cited the 2016 EU referendum and the 2014 Scottish independence vote as the precedents shaping that position.

A budget still not set at Stormont

Burnham met Stormont's first and deputy first ministers and the leaders of the Assembly's main parties. The trip comes with the power-sharing executive pressing the government for more funding: the four-party coalition has still not set a budget nearly five months into the financial year, departments face a shortfall of up to £1.6bn according to a spending watchdog, and public services are running under contingency arrangements.

Burnham said he wanted an "honest exchange", and made clear the money would come with questions attached. "There are things that we would say if we can work together, have a look at where possible savings can be made or where things can be done differently, it's right and proper that I ask for those assurances," he said.

The visit comes weeks into a premiership that has already moved quickly on domestic reform. Joe has charted everything the new PM has done since coming to power, including a plan to hand mayors sweeping new powers over local planning.