In mid-November 1990, British prime minister Margaret Thatcher was facing considerable opposition in the parliament and a leadership challenge within her own party. On November 22nd Thatcher stared down a ‘no-confidence motion in the House of Commons, defending the record of her government by claiming that Britain was “no longer the sick man of Europe”. Loyalist MP Ian Paisley responded to Thatcher’s speech later that evening. Thatcher’s record as prime minister was commendable, Paisley noted, but she had a “sad history” with Northern Ireland, imposing the Anglo-Irish Agreement against the wishes of Protestants and Unionists:

Today, we heard a brilliant speech. No matter what anyone thinks of the Prime Minister, she was at her best today. She spoke with passion and with power. The cut and thrust was excellent. She replied to her critics. It was undoubtedly a difficult time for her but she got full marks for her performance. I have many differences with the Prime Minister but I pay tribute to her brilliance today. When history is written and all is revealed, as it will eventually be, her name will undoubtedly be embedded in it because she has been, in her own way, an outstanding Prime Minister. She has won three general elections and made a great change in this United Kingdom. That will never be forgotten.

Alas, Northern Ireland has had a sad history with the Prime Minister. We expected her to be a staunch, loyal Unionist who would never do what she did in the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It was unthinkable, especially when the Irish Forum produced its report the previous year and she said, “Out, out, out”. Yet she took her pen and signed away part of the sovereignty of Northern Ireland in that iniquitous diktat, without any consultation whatever with the ordinary people of Northern Ireland. We were not consulted.

From that day, Margaret Thatcher was on the downhill. After that, she had trouble with her Cabinet and trouble on all sides. Day by day she adopted the attitude that she had adopted in Northern Ireland—that she could ignore the people and get away with it. But we cannot ignore the people.

Today, all those who were so strong in putting forward the Anglo-Irish Agreement have disappeared from politics, except one who is running for office. In the south of Ireland, the initiator of the agreement has gone and his replacement says that the agreement needs to be replaced and that Articles Two and Three of the constitution need to be changed. We have a new president in the south of Ireland who resigned from the Irish Labour party on the issue of the agreement. Slowly but surely, the right of the people to express themselves will prevail. That is what is happening to the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

How can I, at the end of tonight’s debate… say that I have confidence in the government? My conscience would not allow me to do so because I should be flying in the face of the cries of orphans and widows from an agonised Ulster which would never be in its present plight but for that agreement. We have only to look at the figures. The Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed five years ago. That year, there were 54 killings. I remind the House that the number of killings was spiralling downwards before the agreement was signed. The following year, the number of killings increased to 61 and the next year to 93. The year after that, it was 93 again. Then it fell to 62 but this year, even before we are into December, there have been 71 killings…

Some may think that Protestant paramilitaries – so-called and wrongly called so – and the security forces are responsible in large measure for those who are killed. That is not so. Of all the murders of the past five years, 74.5 percent were slaughtered by the Irish Republican Army. One hundred and nineteen, or 41 percent, were Roman Catholics. At a recent conference [John Hume], who is not present, pointed out that the IRA was responsible for killing more of its own people and co-religionists than anyone else in Northern Ireland. Those are the facts…

It was interesting that when the Prime Minister recounted her past achievements she did not mention the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Today, [it has been said] that the government will consider a replacement for the agreement if it is possible. I trust that that policy will be pursued with great eagerness and dedication by all concerned because from the province there comes today a cry for help.”