Sinn Féin Seats Up For Grabs in Rare Tactical Vote
Strange times, strange politics.
Those with little knowledge of Northern Irish politics may be aware of the seven seats in Parliament won by Sinn Féin but never occupied — but they may not understand why Sinn Féin will not deviate from this policy. I know these people exist because I see them all over Twitter with their “but what if…” and “but they might change their mind for [insert pet policy here]”. No. Sinn Féin will not back down on this one. They will not swear allegiance to the monarch of a nation they see as an occupying power. This has the weight of politics, history and thousands of deaths behind it, and their abstentionist policy is non-negotiable.
As I write, I am sat in the beautiful lounge of a hostel in Budapest, and I am thinking about Brexit. We are all thinking about Brexit. I’ve passed through two airports to get here, walked streets with many shop signs in English, and met a hostel worker from the same county I grew up in. Britain has a strong influence here, as it does in many countries, even though the British don’t appreciate it. To withdraw further from our neighbours would be disastrous. In spite of the UK’s bad behaviour, there is no animosity towards us here. The older generation voted to deny the young the rights to live and work here that they had, and they’re destroying our nation…
