The violent disorder in Belfast is a test of leadership and governance

The violent disorder in Northern Ireland is a test of governance and leadership in both Belfast and London. Policing and justice are devolved matters, so responsibility for the response sits primarily with Northern Ireland ministers – Naomi Long as justice minister, alongside the first minister and deputy first minister. Our work on ministerial leadership during a crisis identified six key roles that ministers play. Practically this includes setting the strategic parameters within which responders operate, convening the different agencies and organisations involved, and communicating to the public what government is doing and what people need to know. 

In situations of public disorder, operational responsibility rests with the police. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) is operationally independent and it is for policing leaders to determine operational decisions. But ministers can provide political backing for difficult operational decisions and help to maintain public confidence in these institutions. Our guide for ministers on leading during a crisis includes questions for ministers to ask themselves to ensure can be most effective. 

While Northern Ireland ministers are leading the response – the joint press conference held by Northern Ireland ministers alongside the chief constable demonstrated how the political and operational responses are closely aligned – UK ministers are also closely involved. COBR met earlier this week, and Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn – a UK minister with in-depth knowledge of Northern Ireland politics and strong relationships across the different communities – is playing a key role in supporting his colleagues in Belfast, as well as taking the lead on communicating developments to the UK as a whole.

To play these different roles effectively, ministers – particularly those outside Northern Ireland – need to understand the specific context in which this disorder is taking place. While some scenes in Belfast may seem similar to outbreaks seen elsewhere in the UK the underlying dynamics are not necessarily the same.

Misdiagnosing the problem risks misdirecting the response

Northern Ireland's social and political landscape remains shaped by patterns of division that escalated during the Troubles, and research has repeatedly found connections between sectarian attitudes and hostility towards ethnic minorities and migrants. ¹³ McKee R, ‘Love thy neighbour? Exploring prejudice against ethnic minority groups in a divided society: the case of Northern Ireland’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 42, 2026, www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369183X.2015.1081055  While the two should not be conflated, neither can they be entirely separated. Additionally, the PSNI operates in a different environment to other police forces in the UK. The PSNI need to maintain legitimacy across communities with very different historical experiences of policing and security institutions, while the enduring presence of paramilitary organisations, and the evolution of some paramilitary activity into organised crime, creates a more complex policing environment than exists in most other parts of the UK. This has important implications for how public disorder is managed, and these challenges have real operational consequences. Following the disorder seen across the UK during summer 2024, the PSNI made fewer than 50 arrests ¹⁴ Corscadden J, The number of arrests made after Belfast anti-immigration riots confirmed, Belfast Live, 15 April 2025, www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/number-arrests-made-after-belfast-31428438  (from a total of more than 1,800 arrests) despite Northern Ireland experiencing some of the most serious unrest. ¹⁵ BBC News, Violence needs 'zero tolerance approach' - NI leaders, 5 August 2024, www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9v8887jxn4o  Managing these dynamics is not only a policing challenge, but also a political one. Ministers cannot direct operational decisions, but they can provide the backing, clarity and confidence needed for police leaders to act. 

The challenge for ministers is compounded by the wider pressures facing the Northern Ireland executive. There are longer term challenges of capacity and resourcing in the Executive but there are also recent acute pressures on public finances and public services. Naomi Long only recently warned of cuts to front line services because the executive failed to pass a multi-year budget earlier in the year. ¹⁶ BBC News, Front-line services in 'crisis situation' without a budget - Long, 21 May 2026, www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9q3p3394v5o  Responding to immediate crises while also addressing longer-term social and community tensions is difficult for any government; it is particularly difficult where institutional capacity is already stretched.

The current crisis is a test of leadership and governance

The violent unrest in Belfast exposes the challenges of leading in a divided society, delivering public services under difficult conditions and coordinating responses across different levels of government. While the PSNI will lead the immediate response, it is ministers who need to set the overall direction, bring together the right organisations and communicate clearly with the public. Ministers can also provide much needed leadership and support for communities left traumatised by the violence. But managing the immediate response to the crisis itself is not enough. This current crisis follows similar breakouts of violence in recent years, including in Derry/Londonderry in 2019 when journalist Lyra McKee was shot and killed. While each incident had its own local triggers, the whole of the UK is grappling with questions about immigration, social cohesion and public order. Once the immediate crisis has passed, ministers in both Belfast and London will need to show continued effective leadership as they pick up the pieces and focus on tackling the underlying issues.