Ireland : Sinn Féin’s political rivals have claimed its Westminster abstentionist policy has dealt a damaging blow to Ireland by handing Commons victories to hardline Brexiteers.
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil &ndash and the SDLP in Northern Ireland are among those blaming the republican MPs for the outcome of Monday night’s razor-edge votes on the UK Government’s Customs Bill.
They claim amendments secured by Brexiteers undermine agreements between the UK and EU aimed at avoiding a hard border in Ireland post-Brexit.
Sinn Féin has seven MPs at Westminster. None of them take their seats due to the party’s century-old policy of abstentionism.
At last year’s general election, three pro-Remain SDLP MPs – Mark Durkan, Alastair McDonnell and Margaret Ritchie – all lost their seats.
In Northern Ireland, 56% of the electorate voted to Remain. However, in Westminster 10 of the 11 MPs from the region who take their seats are Democratic Unionist Brexiteers.
Sinn Féin has dismissed the criticism about not taking its seats, insisting its MPs were specifically elected on an abstentionist policy, indicating that the republican/nationalist community in Northern Ireland reject Westminster politics.
The republican party has accused its rivals of trying to score cheap political points on the issue.
