Former shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Louise Haigh expected to be key player under an Andy Burnham Labour leadership
Labour MP Louise Haigh is being touted as a possible major figure if Andy Burnham wrests control from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
She is the former shadow Northern Ireland Secretary in 2020/21, and her current partner is SDLP MP and former party leader Colum Eastwood.
In 2021, she spoken to GB News about how she would campaign in the event of a border poll.
She was reported as telling the network: “It's not my job to be a persuader for the Union, that was an important principle that led up to the Good Friday Agreement.
"We are a unionist party in the Labour party, but if there is a border poll then we should remain neutral."
Meanwhile Keir Starmer had been quoted as saying at the time: “I personally, as leader of the Labour Party, believe in the United Kingdom strongly, and would want to make the case for a United Kingdom strongly and will be doing that.”
She has been closely associated with Mr Burnham’s push to win the Makerfield by-election in recent weeks, and is expected to be rewarded with some kind of cabinet post if Mr Burnham takes over the leadership from Mr Starmer; for example, a piece in the Daily Telegraph late last month was headlined: ‘Burnham allies urge him to make Louise Haigh chancellor’.
As for Mr Burnham himself, he had spoken at the Alliance Party’s conference in Belfast in March.
He spoke of his ancestors “who left Drogheda for Liverpool in the late 1800s”.
He also went on to tell his audience: “The divide-and-rule politics of Westminster, combined with the London-based media, portrayed this place [Northern Ireland] to anyone born in England in the 60s, 70s or 80s in such a way to make us think we’re so different. It created a distance between us.”
Over a decade ago, he had been quoted as favouring the idea of letting the Labour Party stand candidates in Northern Ireland.
Then just a few weeks ago, he was quoted as telling The House magazine that this “would obviously require careful conversations with our sister party, the SDLP, and with other political parties in Northern Ireland – I wouldn't want to blunder in and create an issue”.
Meanwhile in Scotland on Friday, the Tories surged forward to win a by-election in Aberdeen South, winning the seat with 13,300 votes to the SNP’s 8,300.
Party leader Kemi Badenoch said: "Aberdeen has sent a message to the Labour government and the SNP that we will not be ignored.”