Sir, – Alex Kane complains that we have not seen the new voices you would expect to see flow from a peace agreement (“Is the Belfast Agreement worth saving?”, Opinion & Analysis, December 28th).
The reason is simple. The National Executive Committee of the UK Labour Party has ruthlessly suppressed the development of anti-sectarian Labour Party politics in Northern Ireland, with the encouragement of other self-interested actors.
We are not allowed to stand Labour Party candidates in any NI election. As a result we cannot even vote for a Labour government at Westminster in a general election.
This is both undemocratic and discriminatory.
Marty Morrissey gets an A+ in new football rules, even if some pundits aren’t yet sold
Breda O’Brien: Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl isn’t the ‘hottest film this year’. It might be among the most depressing
High noon for developer Paddy Kelly, who faces run-in with the sheriff over unpaid rent arrears
Pat Leahy: Angry Dáil scenes were partly the result of Sinn Féin’s determination to be a more aggressive Opposition
Also, by suppressing the potentially substantial cross-community Labour vote, it exacerbates the communal stalemate Alex Kane bemoans. – Yours, etc,
Dr BOYD BLACK,
Secretary,
Labour Party
in Northern Ireland,
Belfast.
