Opinion

ANALYSIS: We'll remember James Brokenshire for being instantly forgettable

James Brokenshire said talks between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin had failed to reach agreement to establish an executive Picture Mal McCann.
James Brokenshire said talks between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin had failed to reach agreement to establish an executive Picture Mal McCann. James Brokenshire said talks between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin had failed to reach agreement to establish an executive Picture Mal McCann.

The first impression you got of James Brokenshire on his arrival in Northern Ireland was of an uncharismatic career politician with little understanding of how politics in the region worked.

That initial reading of the former secretary of state prevailed for the remainder of his 18 month tenure and is likely how he'll be remembered in these parts.

Old Bexley and Sidcup MP Mr Brokenshire, a married father of three, arrived at the Northern Ireland Office after six years at the Home Office, where he held a number of posts, including immigration minister.

Unlike his predecessor Theresa Villiers, he is an ally of Tory leader Theresa May but beyond his loyalty to the prime minister, there was nothing obvious in his past to suggest particular suitability for the job.

Perhaps the north was designed to be a testing ground ahead of a post with greater responsibility? But given the circumstances of his resignation, we may never know.

As secretary of state, Mr Brokenshire oversaw the most prolonged period of political instability for a decade and while the crisis was not of his making, there's a strong sense among nationalists that he could have done so much more to help secure agreement between the DUP and Sinn Féin.

Instead he appeared happy to let matters drift, defending his record with typically bland and elusive language.

Clearly there is plenty of merit in the accusation that Mr Brokenshire was far from neutral in the negotiating process.

While a committed Remainer in the EU referendum campaign, he was typical among the Tory ranks in quickly accepting the result and suddenly claiming there could be a positive outcome to Brexit.

His stance proved unpopular with many across a region that voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, while to some his Damascene conversion to Euroscepticism demonstrated new depths of political expediency.

Also key in alienating nationalists was platform piece in the Sunday Telegraph a year ago that coincided with the anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

The former secretary of state used the article to say that the legacy process wasn't working, while erroneously claiming there was an "imbalance" in the number of inquiries involving the British armed forces and that a disproportionate number of ex-soldiers were being investigated.

Weeks later he again faced criticism from nationalists after taking his seat at a GAA game in Newry subsequent to the playing of the Irish national anthem.

The situation for nationalists was further exacerbated in the wake of last June's election when the DUP signed a confidence and supply deal with the DUP.

If there had been doubts about his impartiality beforehand, the DUP's agreement with the Tories put the secretary of state firmly in the unionist camp and made the prospects of extracting any compromise from the DUP remote.

When we look back on James Brokenshire's time in Northern Ireland it will be remembered as period of inertia when very little actually happened yet the region's politics were never far away from the headlines.

While everybody across the north will quite rightly wish him a speedy and successful recovery from his health problems, it's difficult not to conclude that he failed to get devolution restored but also failed to convince us that he'd try his damnedest.