J M Andrews, NI's second prime minister, got the job a decade too late

Ahead of the 75th anniversary of J M Andrews' resignation as Northern Ireland's second prime minister, historian GORDON LUCY looks at the long political career of the man tasked with succeeding Lord Craigavon
J M Andrews resigned as prime minister on May 1, 1943 after a ministerial career that had lasted 22 yearsJ M Andrews resigned as prime minister on May 1, 1943 after a ministerial career that had lasted 22 years
J M Andrews resigned as prime minister on May 1, 1943 after a ministerial career that had lasted 22 years

The salient facts of J M Andrews’ political career may be easily summarised.

He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Parliament from its inception in 1921 until 1953, representing County Down between 1921 and 1929 and, with the abolition of proportional representation, Mid Down thereafter.

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He was also a member of the first Northern Ireland cabinet, being minister for labour between 1921 and 1937.

He was minister for finance from 1937 until he succeeded Lord Craigavon as prime minister on November 25 1940.

His ministerial career lasted a remarkable 22 years. For many years he was father (i.e. the longest serving member) of the Northern Ireland House of Commons.

Andrews was an extremely able and conscientious Cabinet minister.

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In the late 1930s Wilfrid Spender, the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, regarded Andrews and Sir Basil Brooke as the best ministers in Viscount Craigavon’s government. Spender viewed Andrews as the administration’s ‘most overworked and under consulted’ minister.

Of Andrews, the historian Patrick Buckland has observed: “His ministerial career was characterised by tolerance, humanity and dedication. Unlike some of his colleagues he did not allow his recreations, such as hunting, yachting, and golf, to interfere with his ministerial duties.”

It is fashionable these days to accuse unionists of ‘not doing enough for the working class’ but this is not a charge which can be seriously levelled at Andrews.

A founder member of the Ulster Unionist Labour Association, as Buckland has carefully noted, Andrews championed the “step-by-step policy which ensured the automatic adoption of the main British cash social services”.

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He was “determined that the people of Northern Ireland should enjoy the same standard of living as those in the rest of the United Kingdom”. Through Andrews’ efforts Northern Ireland’s working class enjoyed a higher standard of living than the South’s working class.

Unionist leaders often hang on to office and/or the leadership 10 years too long, as the careers of Saunderson, Craigavon and Brookeborough more than amply demonstrate.

In truth, Craigavon had given Ulster his best by 1930, possibly even as early as 1925.

Ulster might have benefited considerably from an Andrews premiership in the 1930s.

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Unfortunately, Andrews succeeded to the premiership when he was almost 70 and by that stage he was exhibiting signs of physical frailty.

He was conscious that he might be regarded as ‘too old’ by the party but Spender was rather more concerned about his health.

Andrews inherited a difficult legacy, a fact underscored by the loss of Lord Craigavon’s North Down seat at Stormont in the by-election held on March 27 1941.

Lord Craigavon had been insufficiently energetic in mobilising the Northern Ireland economy for the war effort.

Industrial relations in Northern Ireland were appalling.

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The German air raids of April and May 1941 greatly damaged the government’s prestige.

With some justification, the government was widely accused of being out of touch.

Some ministers, but by no means all, were out of touch. Comparatively little thought was being given to post-war planning.

The loss of the Willowfield by-election on December 3 1941 and the loss of the West Belfast seat at Westminster on February 9 1943 unnerved many Unionist MPs.

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Andrews had made life unnecessarily difficult for himself by failing to remodel his cabinet radically.

Andrews was excessively loyal to old cabinet colleagues – often termed the ‘old guard’ – who were not up to the job.

The promotion of Milne Barbour from commerce to finance and the retention of Dawson Bates at home affairs appear to have been glaring errors of judgment. Dawson Bates did not even have the decency to reciprocate Andrews’ loyalty.

Spender regarded Milne Barbour’s promotion to finance as the first example of a minister being promoted for incompetence.

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Another unnamed cabinet minister is reported as saying that he did “not intend to retire ... except by the hand of God”.

Spender was also highly critical of the abilities of J F Gordon at labour and Lord Glentoran at agriculture.

Glentoran’s hold on Andrews stemmed from his reputation as a fixer or, as one critic put it, as “a notorious ‘twister’”.

An exasperated Spender observed that Andrews “seems to regard loyalty to his colleagues as being more important than that the destinies of the state are guided by those who are able to do so”.

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On Andrews’ resignation as prime minister, Spender noted: “It is a pity that Mr Andrews allowed his friendship for colleagues to cause him to hesitate in making changes.”

Backbench dissent, a revolt by a number of junior ministers and Andrews’ refusal to overhaul his administration forced him from office on May 1 1943.

Andrews was made a Companion of Honour and had a private audience with the King but Winston Churchill’s message, handsomely acknowledging the strategic importance of Northern Ireland to the security of the United Kingdom, provided J M Andrews with great satisfaction.

Although no longer prime minister, Andrews continued as leader of the Unionist Party until 1946, perhaps suggesting that whereas he had lost the confidence of the Unionist Parliamentary Party he retained the confidence of the wider Unionist Party.

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He continued to represent Mid Down conscientiously as a backbench MP until 1953 and mounted a spirited but ultimately unsuccessful campaign to save the Belfast and the County Down Railway. In 1948 he became the grand master of the Orange Order and in 1949 he was elected imperial grand master of the Orange Council of the World. He died on August 5 1956.