The winding-up of the ill-fated Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention of 1975-76 is detailed in this year's release of previously confidential Cabinet files in Belfast.
On March 4, 1976 the Secretary of State, Merlyn Rees, wrote formally to the Chairman of the Convention, Sir Robert Lowry on the failure of the body to reach agreement on a cross-community administration. Despite the decision of the Unionist majority in the Convention to produce a report demanding old-style Stormont majority rule in October 1975, Rees had recalled the body for a four week period in February 1976 to consider whether a system of cross-community government was still a possibility.
The Secretary of State told Lowry: 'The report of the inter-party talks and of the debates which have taken place have made it plain that no progress has been made, or is likely to be made, in the Convention on reaching agreement on proposals which would command sufficiently widespread acceptance throughout the community in Northern Ireland to provide stable and effective government.' In this circumstances, Rees wrote, he had advised Queen Elizabeth to dissolve the Convention under the powers contained in the Northern Ireland Act of 1974.
Rees took the opportunity to express the Labour government's appreciation of Sir Robert's 'impartiality and independence' as chairman of the Convention.
In a detailed report sent to Rees on March 4, 1976 Sir Robert Lowry noted the dissolution of the Convention and outlined its failure to reach a consensus. He recalled holding thirteen meetings with the separate parties before the first meeting of the reconvened Convention on February 3, 1976. In all these discussions the UUUC had acted as a group and their three leaders, Harry West (Ulster Unionist Party), William Craig (Vanguard Unionist Party) and Rev Ian Paisley (Democratic Unionist Party) as a single team. The background to the inter-party talks had been extremely difficult, Lowry told Rees: 'The talks were carried on in the midst of mounting violence. Forty six people died in the month of January and violence continued unabated in February. In common with the community at large, Members suffered attacks on their lives and property.
'At the same time the parties were meeting against the background of growing economic crisis in the UK as a whole. Unemployment increased daily with factory closures in their local areas. Despite these handicaps, the talks were conducted in a dignified and courteous atmosphere in which, however, the existence of substantial agreement on many aspects of the Report could not conceal the extent of disagreement on a fundamental issue.'
After three weeks of talks, on February 23, 1976 the party leaders had informed the Chairman that further discussions 'would be of no avail'.
Sir Robert paid tribute to the dignity of the parties and said the talks had been 'devoid of acrimony'. That they failed to reach agreement reflected 'the intractability of the problem rather than any lack of concern or commitment on their part.'