IN a few days' time the general election will be over and the reelected Conservative government will renew its efforts to establish lasting peace and stability in Northern Ireland. For as long as I am Prime Minister this will remain at the very top of the Government's priorities - and for one fundamental reason. The people of Northern Ireland are as entitled as anyone else in the United Kingdom to the maintenance of the rule of law and the defence of our democratic institutions against terrorism.

Terrorism, in all its evil forms, and from whichever side of the community it comes, will never be allowed to succeed. The IRA will never bomb Britain out of Northern Ireland. They will never bomb Northern Ireland out of the United Kingdom. Nor will any government I lead allow them to bully their way into all party negotiations on the future of Northern Ireland.

As the Conservative manifesto spells out: "We seek peace. But we will never be swayed by terrorist violence nor will we ever compromise our principles with those who seek to overthrow the rule of law by force".

For that reason the attempts to disrupt our national life such as we have seen during the election campaign - are ultimately futile. Democracy will always win. So I have this message for the terrorists. You will never succeed in wearing down the resolution of the British nation.

The government remains determined that the terrorists will be pursued with relentless vigour until they are brought to justice. Once convicted they can look forward to long years behind bars.

In the absence of a permanent end to violence we shall maintain the emergency legislation for so long as it is required and will consider all measures - within the rule of law - designed to bring terrorism to an end. We shall seek to build on the close cooperation which has been established with the Irish Government in recent years.

To the security forces - who carry out their responsibilities with bravery, skill and great distinction - we will continue to give our unstinting support and admiration. People throughout the United Kingdom and the Irish Republic owe them an enormous debt of gratitude.

Over the past five years the British government - working with the parties, the Irish Government and the people of Northern Ireland - has achieved more progress than many people would have expected.

The Downing Street Declaration, which I signed with the then Taoiseach in 1993, firmly established the principle that the future of Northern Ireland would be determined solely by democracy and consent. That position is now almost universally supported, with one notable exception - Sinn Fein.

I believe that the Declaration with the British and Irish Governments standing shoulder to shoulders - played a crucial role in the announcement of the ceasefires in 1994. So did the work of others. Those ceasefires brought about the longest sustained absence of violence that Northern Ireland has known since the beginning of the "troubles".

THERE are literally hundreds of people alive today who would otherwise have been the victims of terrorism. Above all, the ceasefires represented hope that the nightmare of violence had ended for good.

Throughout the period of the ceasefires the British government consistently sought to find an acceptable basis for the opening of all party negotiations. I believe that we showed real flexibility and took a number of political risks. A whole raft of security measures were relaxed - though none which could not quickly be reversed. All of this helped to bring about a greater sense of normality to the everyday life of Northern Ireland.

We were prepared to do more. This rested, however, with the terrorists - and in particular Sinn Fein and the IRA, who are so inextricably linked. Despite the rhetoric of Mr Adams and Mr McGuinness, they failed to reciprocate our measures.

The IRA continued to target recruit and train and develop and research new weapons of terror. Punishment beatings increased while people were expelled from their homes. Sinn Fein flatly refused to countenance any decommissioning of illegally held weapons.

There can be no justification for continuing IRA violence. Politicians throughout both our countries are totally united on that and have been unanimous in the demand for a renewed ceasefire. The IRA perpetrate acts of terror while Mr Adams talks peace and demands entry into talks. The two positions are totally incompatible.

By their words and by their deeds Sinn Fein exclude themselves from the Stormont talks. We would like to see them there. But there can be no question of them entering the talks without the restoration of a credible and verifiable ceasefire. That must include an end to all paramilitary activity - including the targeting of victims - and a commitment to the principles of democracy and non violence.

Some decommissioning will also need to take place during the negotiations. There can be no other way forward. We are not interested intactical manoeuvres from Sinn Fein and the IRA, only a genuine end to violence.

The Government is determined to make progress towards a political settlement, with or without Sinn Fein. The multi party talks are set to resume at Stormont on June 3rd. They are the best forum for dialogue and negotiation with and between those Northern Ireland parties committed to constitutional politics. All participants can raise any issue of concern to them and receive a fair hearing. We do not underestimate the difficulties. There are bound to be setbacks. But we shall not be deterred in our efforts to seek a new way forward to a comprehensive political settlement which recognises the rights, traditions and interests of all parts of the community.

Meanwhile, we will continue to pursue social and economic policies based on equality of opportunity and treatment, irrespective of political, cultural or religious affiliation. We support the cultural traditions both communities.

As I have set out repeatedly, there is no question of imposing a settlement over the heads of the people of Northern Ireland. Nothing will be implemented that does not command the consent of the parties, people and parliament. That is our unbreakable triple lock. We want to see peace, stability and reconciliation established by agreement.

Nor in our search for a settlement do we rule out improvements to the way in which Northern Ireland is governed. In the last parliament we established a Select Committee to scrutinise the Northern Ireland Office and the Northern Ireland Departments. We have just upgraded the Northern Ireland Grand Committee, bringing it into line with its Scottish and Welsh counterparts.

CONSERVATIVE policies that are transforming the Northern Ireland economy will continue. Unemployment is tumbling, inward investment is booming, tourism is breaking new records, prosperity is being spread. This is all threatened by pointless terrorist violence. But it would also all be put at risk by Labour and their job destruction package.

All of our policies are under pinned by our constitutional guarantee that there cannot and there will not be any change in the status of Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom without the broad consent of the people of Northern Ireland.

I, and the Conservative Party that I lead, cherish Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom. The Union of all parts of the United Kingdom is a source of strength to us all, that reinforces the stability of the British nation.