The internal machinations of the Labour Party in Britain are a matter for that party but the policies it adopts and advocates in relation to Ireland have for decades adversely impacted on the lives of citizens here.  A month ago the current British Labour Party leader Keir Starmer visited the North and provided a valuable insight into the double-think that has long been at the core of the British Labour Party’s attitude to Ireland. 

During his two day visit Starmer asserted his support for the Good Friday Agreement and the ‘principle that the decision, in the end, is for the people of the island of Ireland.’ On this he is absolutely right. The Agreement specifically states that: “it is for the people of the island of Ireland alone, by agreement between the two parts respectively and without external impediment, to exercise their right of self-determination on the basis of consent, freely and concurrently given …”