Labour Party taking 'cautious steps' towards fielding candidates in Northern Ireland

​In the absence of official Labour candidates, the party’s supporters in Northern Ireland have previously stood for election as members of the Labour Party NI, however, the GB-based main party has traditionally supported the SDLP.

In a joint statement, Sir George Howarth and Luke Akehurst, both members of Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), said the party’s policy on Northern Ireland candidates is currently being reviewed.

The MPs said it was clear there has been a move away from the unionist/nationalist voting blocks.

"We strongly believe that the time is now right for our party to take some cautious steps towards providing voters there the opportunity to vote for Labour Party candidates,” they said.

“There are two compelling reasons why we have arrived at that conclusion. First, there is growing evidence that, post the Good Friday Agreement, there is a sizable group of people in Northern Ireland who, regardless of their religious and constitutional preferences, increasingly want the option to vote for parties not rooted in the sectarianism of the past.

“Secondly, there is a functioning Labour Party (LPNI) in the country which has the appetite and ambition to field candidates in order to provide an option to vote for a non-sectarian centre-left party. Moreover, affiliated trade unions have significant membership there. LPNI, with a membership at its recent peak of 2,000, have made a sensible submission to the review which, we believe, offers a strong rationale for making some modest moves in that direction.”

Welcoming the MPs’ statement, the LPNI said: “The NEC members highlight the growth of the non-sectarian centre ground in NI as evidenced by recent election results. They cite the 2020 NI Life & Times survey that found that 42 per cent of NI residents identify as 'other', rather than nationalist or unionist.

“The results of LPNI's recent LucidTalk opinion poll confirmed there is an appetite for anti-sectarian cross-community Labour politics here”.