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An Open Letter to Tony Blair
Dear Tony
Labour in Northern Ireland (LiNI) offer you our congratulations on the way you have handled the Peace Process, and for securing the Good Friday Agreement. We supported the Agreement in the referendum and we wish you continued success in the future.
We note from your recent Observer article that you are committed to the overriding importance of the political process and that you stress that "our country is built on the values of democracy". Unfortunately, the Agreement does nothing to change the situation where everyone in Northern Ireland Catholic arid Protestant alike, is denied membership of the Labour Party, just because they live in Northern Ireland. This is fundamentally at odds with the values of democracy that you espouse.
It means that everyone in Northern Ireland is denied the right to vote Labour in Assembly, European, local council and Westminster elections. We are effectively disenfranchised in that we cannot participate in, or vote for the Labour Party which will continue to govern us from Westminster even after the Assembly is set up. (The Scots would not tolerate our situation).
This lack of democracy is linked to the workings of the Agreement itself, in which rights are given to communal blocs. With the SDLP now fully signed up to the "Nationalist" sectarian bloc, only the Labour Party can develop the type of non sectarian politics necessary to reduce intercommunal antagonism and enable the Agreement to work more effectively long-term.
The denial of Party membership to people in Northern Ireland is something of a relic of history. As you have said, it is time for Northern Ireland to leave history behind. We agree, but for us to do that you must give us Labour Party membership. The sooner the better.
Yours sincerely
LiNI
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