In-depth Profile of Timothy Laurence
Timothy Laurence emigrated to the United Kingdom from the United States in August 2021 starting as a member of the Royalist party. He was heavily involved in the House of Lords and briefly left the country to form Ireland for a brief amount of time. He would return and serve most of his time primarily as First Minister of Northern Ireland. How will he be remembered? BBC Newsnight’s team has been speaking to some of his closest colleagues.
Deputy Prime Minister Harvey Galloway says this of his time as First Minister: “He was quite committed; a quality I respect in the Commonwealth and world leaders I deal with. This however has not left a firm legacy behind.” Laurence briefly served in cabinet roles pertaining to the Commonwealth although almost all of his legacy in this regard was brief meetings with Commonwealth leaders.
The prominent topic recalled most by his colleagues is his unprofessionalism within the country, particularly his involvement in the militant group roleplay. The Deputy Prime Minister in June of 2022 suggested two attacks that did not involve any roleplay of violence but rather damage to buildings. These measures taken to ensure a healthy roleplay similar to ro-nations would be resolved to form an agreement similar to the Good Friday agreement. However, the First Minister diverged from this view, setting fire to Hillsborough Castle and role-playing a near-death experience. The acts of the First Minister received disapproval from those within the community, and government and faced a public backlash.
A legacy remembered by most however will be his sporadic nature regarding his gender. BBC Newsnight has calculated Laurence switched between an estimated 7 times. Under the common nicknames Timothy Laurence, Dolores Umbridge and Elizabeth Laurence. The bizarre patterns that were his staple throughout the community would define his end. After retiring from the community unexpectedly, Laurence had a falling out with Deputy Prime Minister Harvey Galloway. At the time he served as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth and requested that Laurence resign until a successor was properly found instead of what he called a ‘reckless transition.’
Laurence’s final days were engulfed in this dispute, attempting to appoint the president of Cyprus as Taoiseach in a desperate attempt to shake off responsibility, before backpedalling saying it was a suggestion. The political damage by that point was done, with the final nail coming in a public argument between him and the Deputy Prime Minister. An argument in which many came to side against him resulted in an attempt by Laurence to declare Irish independence.
Despite announcing his retirement and having left the United Kingdom before facing charges from the Ministry of Justice, on whether he still considers himself retired. Maintaing an active twitter, Laurence has endorsed the former leader of the Liberal Democrats Liam Brown, and one of his former colleagues Lydia Sinclair in their opposition to the government. An endorsement Labour leader Lydia Sinclair has described as unwanted.
Member of Parliament Ishaan Patel recounts Laurence saying: “He gave me the impression that he was bipolar. A friendly chap at times, but he was quite devious when he didn’t get his way, and I think that was proven towards the end of his time in BUK.” Timothy Laurence will be remembered by some for his commitment, others seeing him as the last holdout of unprofessionalism and for his sporadic personality, the latter of which would define the end of his career.
