2026 marks the centenary of the reinsurance agreement - a significant milestone and the first steps to parity

There had been intense debate within the new government and with the Treasury since the foundation of the Northern Ireland state in 1921 on a financial settlement for the new state and over dominion status vs parity within the UK. This agreement was the first of many stages in achieving parity after five years of Treasury resistance and was an important milestone in securing the foundations of the fledgling Northern Ireland state as a devolved region of the UK.

In 1921 following the Government of Ireland Act, Northern Ireland as a fledgling state was not predicted to survive, the security situation was perilous, the border was in doubt with the boundary subject to review by the Boundary Commission and financial security within the UK was uncertain.

Within a few years the new government had largely stabilised the security situation and the border was largely secured following the report of the Boundary Commission.

The financial situation however remained very uncertain, with heated debates in cabinet mainly between JM Andrews who promoted parity and HM Pollock, minister of finance, who favoured dominion status like Canada and Australia.

The Reinsurance Agreement of 1926 was a result of deliberations of the Northern Ireland Special Arbitration Committee, and the report of the Colwyn Committee, which was established in 1923 by the United Kingdom government under prime minister Andrew Bonar Law. The committee was set up to examine the financial relations between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.

As a result of this agreement and consolidated by further agreements in 1928 and 1938, Northern Ireland was now firmly part of the UK and received financial support from the UK for unemployment benefits, with contributions and benefits matching those in Great Britain.

Churchill as the new chancellor had helped break the deadlock. JM Andrews as minister of labour was the key minister pushing for agreement under the principle of parity with UK with equal welfare benefits based on equal taxation within the UK. This was to prove important in ensuring Northern Ireland was included in the developing welfare provisions including pensions and health later in the post war welfare state.

The negotiation of the 1926 Reinsurance Agreement marked the climax of Andrews' first five years at the ministry of labour, and he regarded it as a fairly satisfactory solution to the mounting problem of deficit on the unemployment fund. Throughout the early years of the administration, he consistently defended the principle of parity with United Kingdom social security spending.

The Unemployment Reinsurance Agreement of 1926 was due to expire in 1930. Craigavon assisted in renewed negotiations with an appeal to Churchill and a new agreement was eventually concluded in December 1928, to continue indefinitely.

The Treasury finally seem to have realised that the problem of unemployment in the province would not go away, and that a permanent reinsurance agreement was the best solution to maintain Ulster benefits and rates at the British level; to do otherwise would be 'unjust' .

It appeared as if Andrews' persistent efforts in the cause of parity were bearing fruit, as the negotiations for this agreement involved much less wrangling than the previous one; the principle was becoming accepted.

The 1938 'Simon Declaration' represented another milestone in Andrews' decades-long campaign to achieve equality with the rest of the UK when the chancellor Sir John Simon agreed that the £1 million threshold to the reinsurance agreement was finally shelved.

The most significant part of this declaration however was when he gave the Northern Ireland government an assurance that 'Northern Ireland should be in a financial position to enjoy the same social services and have the same standards as Great Britain', even if unable to afford it.

This statement went considerably further than the Colwyn Committee Report concerning the province's equal taxation and standards and set the tone for further deliberations between the Andrews government (1940-43) and the Treasury and representation through the Beveridge Report leading to NI’s inclusion in the welfare state after World War II.

That policy remains his enduring legacy and the transformation of Northern Ireland’s social welfare provision from 1945 onwards rests solidly on the foundations he established.

Johnny Andrews is the great grandson of JM Andrews, Minister of Labour 1921-37, Minister of Finance 1937-40 and Prime Minister, 1940-43. He is an ex deputy chairman of NI Conservatives and parliamentary candidate for Strangford