LABOUR vowed to do nothing in any future referendum on Northern Ireland — to the horror of unionists last night.
Party leader Sir Keir Starmer backed his Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Louise Haigh after she said: “If there is a border poll, we should remain neutral.”
She continued: “It’s not my job to be a persuader of the Union.”
Following a backlash, Labour said it was their long-standing position — and that the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement outlawed the UK Government taking a side.
But the Northern Ireland Office criticised the claim, hitting back: “There is no stipulation within the Good Friday Agreement that the UK Government must remain neutral.”
Ex-DUP First Minister Arlene Foster said: “Clearly, Labour needs to re-read the Belfast Agreement.”
Last night a Tory source said: “With the SDLP as their sister party, and their shadow NI Secretary saying it is not her role to be a ‘persuader for the Union’, how can they claim to be Unionist party with a straight face?”
