Owen Polley: Unionists will need to be wary about the naivete of Labour Party leaders

To begin with, Mr Benn told journalists that the redevelopment of Casement Park was “probably the most urgent issue” on his desk. That judgment will have caused some sharp intakes of breath, given the problems Northern Ireland faces when it comes to government funding, unreformed public services and the economy.

To be fair, the new secretary of state was careful not to say that Labour would provide a blank cheque for the project, or that it would be completed in time for the European football Championships in 2028. Indeed, he admitted that, where money was concerned, “There is a certain amount in the pot, but not enough to cover the increased cost.”

At the same time, he pledged that, “One way or another, Casement Park will have to be built.” That may have been a tactful way of saying that the GAA should lower its expectations, but critics will point out that there are many issues that are equally, if not more, urgent than an expensive stadium for west Belfast.

One of these is the Irish Sea border.

Benn’s boss, the prime minister, was less than convincing when he spoke about resolving problems with that frontier, on his trip to Stormont. Sir Keir said that he hoped to get a better deal from the EU than Boris Johnson’s ‘botched’ agreement. But he declined to say that he wanted Northern Ireland to have the same arrangements as the rest of the UK and he pledged to fully implement the protocol and framework in the meantime.

The University of Ulster economist, Dr Esmond Birnie, argued that Starmer’s negotiating position amounted to granting “the EU everything it wishes”, in the hope that Brussels might return the favour, “through an act of goodwill”. Dr Birnie suggested tactfully that the prime minister, “should not be very hopeful of a favourable outcome.”

In other words, we could yet see the sea border becoming harder, rather than checks and paperwork being removed. That analysis is supported by the fact that more aspects of the Windsor Framework will be implemented this autumn, with further workings due to be put in place by 2025, when border posts between Great Britain and Northern Ireland become fully operational.

It’s worth pointing out, too, that we do not yet know if Labour feels bound by the DUP’s Safeguarding the Union deal, or whether it plans to abandon pledges that the previous government made but did not deliver.

To add to that uncertainty, Starmer was ambiguous about his support for the Union last week, having previously expressed firm unionist sentiments as leader of the opposition.

Back then, he claimed that he would campaign for Northern Ireland to remain in the UK, if a referendum took place on our constitutional position. But, at a press conference at Stormont, the new PM told journalists that the UK government’s role in enforcing the Belfast Agreement was, “as the honest broker”.

That almost implied that Starmer thought it would be inappropriate to advocate Northern Ireland retaining its British status.

To put that in context, even a report from UCL’s Constitution Unit, whose authors included a swathe of nationalist academics, concluded there were no rules that would, “prevent politicians or parties in the governments from campaigning (in a border poll)”.

On a similar theme, in the run up to the election, Labour included proposed constitutional reforms in its manifesto that were first recommended by Gordon Brown. Many of these suggestions involved devolving more power from Westminster to regional bodies, to the point that he was accused of producing a blueprint for federalism.

Often, parties include sweeping constitutional plans in their manifestos that are quietly dropped after they come to power. Unionists must hope that the same thing happens now.

It was the previous Labour government, of which Brown was a key part, that launched the original devolution experiment in 1997, and that weakened the United Kingdom in ways that we are still trying to recover from.

The idea was that Westminster would kill nationalism ‘stone dead’ by giving powers to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect, and even Tony Blair later expressed regret about the policies he pursued.

In contrast, Brown has consistently claimed that even more devolution can help stabilise the country today, but his arguments have always been unconvincing. They seem particularly silly viewed from Northern Ireland, where the executive has proved itself consistently incapable of taking difficult decisions, reforming public services or raising its own revenue.

To add to these concerns about the new government’s approach to Northern Ireland, the News Letter last week raised its attitude to the Troubles and, specifically, the Republic’s court case over the previous government’s Legacy Act. The obsequious talk about resetting the relationship with Dublin does not imply that Starmer intends to push-back on Irish slights against Britain.

All these issues with the new administration require vigilance from unionists in the months ahead. To be fair, Starmer and Benn do not seem instinctively sympathetic to Irish separatism, unlike some figures in Labour.

That does not mean that their approach to Northern Ireland will not occasionally be damaging, misguided or naive.