NI Conservatives spokesman, Bill Manwaring, has accused Labour of abandoning people in Northern Ireland and failing to support the Union.
“It’s pretty rich for Vernon Coaker to pontificate about how the government should respond to disorder in Northern Ireland when his party is not even prepared to stand candidates in elections here”, Bill observed. “In fact the Labour Party prefers to support the SDLP, a party committed to a united Ireland, rather than offer voters here a UK, centre-left platform.”
“Should we infer that Mr Coaker and Ed Miliband support decisions to name a play-park after a convicted IRA man and to prevent the Union Flag flying on designated days in Limavady? If so, Labour is damaging the prospects of a shared future in Northern Ireland, which will be another blow to local activists, who already find themselves at odds with their party’s stance on Corporation Tax.”
“Labour is opting out of engaging with Northern Ireland voters and the problems they face. Conservatives remain the only mainstream national party who are committed to normalising politics in Northern Ireland and who believe people here deserve a say in who forms the government at Westminster.”