Fury as shadow minister Louise Haigh says Labour should be NEUTRAL in any Irish reunification vote

Fury as shadow minister Louise Haigh says a Labour government should be NEUTRAL and not campaign to keep Northern Ireland within the UK if there is a future border poll on Irish reunification

  • Louise Haigh said that if her party was in Government it should remain ‘neutral’
  • Told GB News Britain ‘should not have any strategic or selfish economic interest’ 
  • Leader Keir Starmer said in July he would campaign against reunification 


Labour’s shadow Northern Ireland secretary sparked fury tonight by suggesting that the party would not fight to keep Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.

Louise Haigh said that if her party was in Government it should remain ‘neutral’ in any referendum on Irish reunification instead of campaigning on behalf of unionists.

The opposition frontbencher told GB News that while Labour is a unionist party, it was an ‘important principle’ that Britain ‘should not have any strategic or selfish economic interest’ in the future of the country. 

The comments put her at odds with her party leader Keir Starmer, who in July said he would campaign against reunification, saying: ‘I believe in the United Kingdom’. 

The Democratic Unionist Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson is due to meet Sir Keir in London tonight. Ahead of the meeting DUP MP Carla Lockhart said: ‘Less than six months ago Sir Keir Starmer was clear that he would campaign for Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom in any future border poll. 

‘The comments of Louise Haigh not only contradict these but demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the principle of consent.’  

Louise Haigh said that if her party was in Government it should remain ‘neutral’ in any referendum on Irish reunification instead of campaigning on behalf of unionists.

The opposition frontbencher told GB News that while Labour is a unionist party, it was an 'important principle' that Britain 'should not have any strategic or selfish economic interest' in the future of the country.

The opposition frontbencher told GB News that while Labour is a unionist party, it was an ‘important principle’ that Britain ‘should not have any strategic or selfish economic interest’ in the future of the country.

DUP MP Carla Lockhart said: 'Less than six months ago Sir Keir Starmer was clear that he would campaign for Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom in any future border poll. 'The comments of Louise Haigh not only contradict these but demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the principle of consent.'

DUP MP Carla Lockhart said: ‘Less than six months ago Sir Keir Starmer was clear that he would campaign for Northern Ireland to remain within the United Kingdom in any future border poll. ‘The comments of Louise Haigh not only contradict these but demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of the principle of consent.’

There are currently no plans for a vote on Irish reunification. Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement the Northern Ireland Secretary can call one at any time and is obliged to if there is majority support for reunification in Ulster. 

However, both Northern Ireland and Ireland have to approve reunification in separate votes for it to go ahead.

Currently there is majority support in Northern Ireland for remaining part of the United Kingdom. 

In the interview with GB News Ms Haigh said: ‘The principal of consent is still very much intact. 

‘It is only for the people of Northern Ireland to determine their own constitutional future and polls still suggest there is still a very firm majority in favour of remaining in the United Kingdom.

‘It’s not my job to be a persuader for the union, that was an important principle that led up to the Good Friday Agreement.

‘One of the important principles was that Britain should not have any strategic or selfish economic interest in the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. It’s up to the people of Northern Ireland to determine their own constitutional future.

Pressed further she added: ‘We are a unionist party in the Labour Party, but if there is a border poll we should remain neutral, I think that is an important principle.’

A Tory source said: ‘Labour’s Unionist identity crisis has never been resolved. With the SDLP as their sister party, and their shadow NI Secretary emphatically saying it is not her role to be a ”persuader for the Union”, how they can claim to be Unionist party with a straight face is beyond belief.’ 

In July Sir Keir told the BBC that he would be ‘very much on the side of Unionists, arguing for Northern Ireland to remain in the UK’ if there was a border plebiscite, even if he was prime minister at the time.

‘I respect the principle that the decision, in the end, is for the people of the island of Ireland,’ he said.

‘I personally, as leader of the Labour Party, believe in the United Kingdom strongly, and would want to make the case for a United Kingdom strongly and will be doing that.’