I admit that it worked because they had a legitimate political arm as well as blowing things up. The legitimate political arm gave the UK government someone to

I admit that it worked because they had a legitimate political arm as well as blowing things up. The legitimate political arm gave the UK government someone to negotiate with without having to outright obviously negotiate with terrorists. They did negotiate with terrorists, some of whom went on to hold elected office, but were only able to do so because there was a legitimate political arm.