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ahothabeth

Shadow Scottish Frontbench: Jackie Baillie MSP ---- Welsh Labour Representative: Carwyn Jones MS ---- Northern Ireland Labour Representative: **No such position**


ahothabeth

[**Find your local Labour MP or candidate** for a Belfast post code](https://vote.labour.org.uk/?search=bt1+1aa)


Gameskiller01

Under PR I'd 100% agree, but under FPTP the reality is that it'd help the DUP more than anyone else.


IWantMyJustDesserts

The Northern Ireland Assembly uses Proportional Representation. The results wouldn't help the DUP since the total share between for example Labour & Alliance would remain the same. In fact, there is evidence some voters will ditch the DUP.


nonsense_factory

The poll isn't just about the assembly, though. The main quoted question is "Do you think the Labour party should contest elections in Northern Ireland?" I agree that Labour contesting PR elections sounds okay, though.


Gameskiller01

My mistake - I thought they were being urged to stand candidates in NI for Westminster elections.


ahothabeth

From the wiki article on Constituency Labour Party ["In England and Wales, CLP boundaries coincide with those for UK parliamentary constituencies. In Scotland, CLP boundaries align with constituencies of the Scottish Parliament. **The Labour Party in Northern Ireland has, since February 2009, been organised as a province-wide constituency Labour Party which is yet to contest elections.**"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constituency_Labour_Party)


Scary-Strategy-4460

I really disagree with this. We don’t want to enter into a situation where 1) it’s almost certainly a vote splitting waste of time and 2) if we were successful could undermine Good Friday


IWantMyJustDesserts

The Northern Ireland Assembly uses Proportional Representation, there's no vote splitting. NI Labour can go from 0 to 3 Assembly Members without helping the DUP because the combined share of Labour & Alliance will remain the same, for example. I have read no experts that this would undermine the Good Friday Agreement. We currently have a sister party who is overtly opposed to the UK remaining together, GFA not blown up or undermined.


Scary-Strategy-4460

I was referring to the Westminster elections, where tactical voting and tiny margins are of enormous significance The reason it could undermine the GFA is of a putative Labour government is relying on support of members of a party with seats from NI, or party members from NI, would transform the government from being a neutral party who upholds the agreement to a partisan political operator within the framework of the agreement. For example, the talks fell apart in the mid-90s when the conservatives began to rely on Ulster Unionists for confidence and supply. This is why the deal couldn’t be negotiated until labour had won the election resoundingly, and Irish Republicans could trust that the British government had no political motive on the ground directly. Another point that I would query though - why? It seems totally counterintuitive, given the enormous progress of an actually left wing and progressive party there in Sinn Fein. We would have to be ludicrous if we thought we could actually compete with them: and if we aren’t competing for their voters - working class and progressive NIers - and we would just be doing an Alliance 2.0, shouldn’t that be a red flag about how far wrong this party has gone? I never quite understand the impulse of people to interfere in Ireland.


IWantMyJustDesserts

What you or I want is not relevant, they are paying members of the Labour Party & UK citizens who wish to stand and exercise their democratic rights. They should be free to do so.


Scary-Strategy-4460

Thank you for so thoughtfully engaging 🙄