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Labour – Federation of Labour Groups

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Labour – Federation of Labour Groups is the formally registered name of a collection of political organisations in Northern Ireland who aspire to become part of the Labour Party of Great Britain.

Background

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The British Labour Party did not organise or allow membership in Northern Ireland from the early 1920s[citation needed] until 2003[1][2] (although one of the earliest Labour Party conferences was held in Belfast in 1907)[3]. For many years this gap was filled by the Northern Ireland Labour Party which had links to the British party and, from 1949 was explicitly in favour of the Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.[4] At the same time the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party had branches in Northern Ireland, the latter being the Ulster Unionists.[5][6]

The Troubles led to a major realignment in the politics of Northern Ireland, with the Ulster Unionists breaking away from the Conservatives,[5] and both Northern Ireland Labour and Liberals declined to virtual electoral insignificance. Many in both Northern Ireland and Great Britain began to campaign for the major British political parties to allow membership, organise and run for election in Northern Ireland, in the hope of bringing a further realignment that would move political discourse away from total domination by The Border Question.[citation needed]

In the case of the British Labour Party this campaign had long run up against the party's former policy that Northern Ireland should be given over to the Republic of Ireland[7][8] and Labour's relations with the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP).[9][10] Labour maintained a ban on residents of Northern Ireland joining the party, despite allowing residents of anywhere else in the world the right to join.[11] Despite this a number of activists formed local groups such as the South Belfast Constituency Labour Party or the Foyle Labour Group.[12][13] These groups contested elections in the province as "Labour".[14][15]

Legislation now requires political parties to formally register in order to use a party description on ballot papers.[16] The local groups are formally registered as "Labour – Federation of Labour Groups".[17][18]

In 2003 the trade unionist Andy McGivern initiated legal proceedings against the Labour Party, contending that the ban on membership breached the 1998 Human Rights Act.[19][20] The Labour National Executive took legal advice and came to the conclusion that the courts would impose a change on the party;[21] to pre-empt this the 2003 Labour Party Conference passed the appropriate rules changes to allow party membership.[22][2][1]

However the Labour Party continued to refuse to organise in Northern Ireland, and so the local Labour groups continued their pressure. With the prospect of further legal action challenging the legality of the national party's decision, the Labour Party established an officially recognised branch in Northern Ireland in 2009.[23][24]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Labour NI ban overturned". BBC News. 1 October 2003. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b McDonald, Henry (5 October 2003). "Now the Irish can join three Labour parties". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Belfast Labour Conference". The Brisbane Courier. 28 January 1907. p. 4. Retrieved 9 April 2025 – via Trove.
  4. ^ Edwards, Aaron (2013). A history of the Northern Ireland Labour Party: Democratic socialism and sectarianism. Critical Labour Movement Studies. Manchester University Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-84779-293-8. JSTOR j.ctt155jfvm. OCLC 1164783924.
  5. ^ a b Melaugh, Martin; Lynn, Brendan; McKenna, Fionnuala (14 August 2024). "Abstracts on Organisations - 'U'". Conflict Archive on the Internet. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  6. ^ Walker, Graham (2004). A History of the Ulster Unionist Party: Protest, Pragmatism and Pessimism. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0719061097.
  7. ^ Marley, Laurence, ed. (2016). The British Labour Party and twentieth-century Ireland: The cause of Ireland, the cause of Labour. Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-1-78499-706-9. JSTOR j.ctt18dzr51.
  8. ^ Bettney, Victoria (4 November 2016). "'The settlement must be for an agreed and united Ireland.' The British Labour Party and its view on the Constitutional Legitimacy of Northern Ireland, 1945 to the present". The York Historian. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  9. ^ McCambridge, Jonathan (25 June 2024). "Tories have wrecked Northern Ireland and destroyed UK's relationship with Dublin, says SDLP leader Colum Eastwood". The News Letter. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  10. ^ "Move to end Labour ban on NI members". The Irish Times. 10 December 2002. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  11. ^ "Labour Party Application Form". Labour Party. 20 April 1999. Retrieved 9 April 2025 – via Wayback Machine. International membership is only available to British subjects resident abroad. Residents of Northern Ireland are not eligible for membership.
  12. ^ Not Nationalist, or Unionist, But Labour: A Reply to Lady Faulkner and Other Opsahl Commissioners on the Future of Northern Ireland. South Belfast Constituency Labour Party. Athol Books. 1993. ISBN 978-0850340693.
  13. ^ McClafferty, Enda (10 February 1998). "DuPont urged to create job fund". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  14. ^ Whyte, Nicholas (16 February 2002) [15 October 2000]. "South Belfast 1998". ARK. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  15. ^ Vaes, Tineke (15 May 2003). "1996 Forum Elections: Candidates in Foyle". ARK. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Electoral Administration Act 2006: Section 49", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 2006 c. 22 (s. 49), retrieved 9 April 2025
  17. ^ "Registration - Labour (Federation of Labour Groups)". The Electoral Commission. 22 February 2006. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  18. ^ Whyte, Nicholas (3 July 2005) [3 December 2000]. "Northern Ireland Political Parties". ARK. Archived from the original on 22 December 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  19. ^ Tempest, Matthew (22 July 2003). "Labour may lift Ulster membership ban". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  20. ^ Morris, Nigel (27 December 2003). "Labour faces legal threat if it fails to organise in North". Irish Independent. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  21. ^ Walker, Brian (30 September 2003). "Labour to drop ban on Ulster citizens". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  22. ^ McGinn, Dan (2 October 2003). "Labour allowed to spread its wings". Irish Independent. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  23. ^ "Our History". Labour Party NI. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  24. ^ "British Labour to become official party in NI". The Irish Times. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
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