Kris Ballance, a local Labour Party activist, has had a very useful post published over on the Labour blog site Labour Uncut…
During the last election, Cameron tried to seize an opportunity that no other party in Westminster has publicly tried to do before – he wanted to have a government that would represent the whole of the United Kingdom and would contest every Westminster seat to ensure that that happened.
Granted, it was on many levels a disaster for them. Instead of fielding their own candidates, the Tories linked up with the Ulster Unionists to agree 18 candidates between them, many of whom had grave misgivings about the arrangement and none of whom won.
He argues, however, that the new Labour leader should take a leaf out of Cameron’s book and that whoever wins the Labour leadership race should be seeking to represent the whole UK.
The Conservative pact with the UUP was a disaster – largely because the Conservative Party linked with an incompetent, and rudderless, and sectarian, UUP. But at least the road to hell was paved with some good intentions on the part of David Cameron.
All the prospective Labour leaders have a moral and ethical responsibility to help Northern Ireland rid itself of sectarian defined politics. Our turnout at the general election was the lowest in the UK – largely because voters could not choose between one useless sectarian party and another. The bickering over ‘nationalism’ or ‘unionism’ is circular and pointless.
It’s about time that the Labour Party contested elections in Northern Ireland. If it seeks to govern the United Kingdom it has a moral imperative to seek a mandate of govern every part of the UK. And the new Labour Party leader should be arguing that.
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It would be quite normal for the Labour party to take 12/14 seats in Norn iron if we had normal politics her. But i wont hold my breath.
Jeff – why don’t you write something for the Union 2021 series?
Or would that be sectarian?
Jeff seeing as you are a Tory and an admirer of Hayekesian economics would it be accurate to describe you as a Thatcherite?
Damien, yes. Although with the caveat that I disagreed with Thatcher’s education policies and probably wouldn’t have seen eye to eye with her on some of her social positions.
In other words you would have disageed with her on homosexuality!
Why do you care so much about what I think Damien? Start your own blog and express your own views.
I am curious that’s all!
Apart from Section 28, I think Thatcher was relatively socially liberal. She voted in favour of decriminalizing homosexuality, and legalizing abortion. The original Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act was passed during her term in office.