‘BuT wHy NoT jUsT tAkE yOuR sEaTs?’ The Abstentionist Policy Explained

As a Sinn Féin activist, especially right now canvassing for a British General Election, one question is guaranteed to come up a good few times – “…but I just don’t get why you won’t take your seat?” The quizzical nature of this question is fair, you stand in an election to be elected. If to become an MP you had to go through a standard interview process, then the fact you’re not going to turn up to your workplace every day would hinder the chances of your application becoming successful. That’s an analogy that get’s thrown about time and time again, and if Sinn Féin’s 7 abstentionist MP’s sat at home all day looking out the window then I’d be of the same opinion, but they don’t, so I’m not. An MP’s job is to represent their constituents, and I want my MP representing me in 10 Downing Street directly with the British Taoiseach rather than just shouting at him/her from across a room and simply paying lip service to show their constituents at home that ‘at least they turned up’.

Sinn Féin’s abstentionism from the House of Commons dates right back to the very roots of the party. In order to sit on the green benches of Westminster, an MP must swear an oath of allegiance to the British monarch and as Irish Republicans, it would be completely contradictory to do so. However, I would understand why those who are not republican would not accept this as a valid reason to take their seat if it had been proven that those who do take their seat had achieved so much by doing so, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

The SDLP are the prime example. The SDLP were the voice for Irish Nationalism for decades and Mark Durkan has been my MP for most of my life, but I can safely say that not once has he ever represented myself, my family or friends. Not only did Durkan swear an oath of allegiance to a British Queen (3 times), but in 2012 he signed an EDM motion that stated “That this House salutes the bravery of the armed forces serving in Afghanistan and records with sorrow the deaths of…” before listing the names of British soldiers killed in the country. Mark Durkan signed this motion as the MP for Foyle, as the MP for the residents of the Bogside and the MP for the families of the victims of Bloody Sunday. That motion was one of the nails in the coffin of Mark Durkan’s career.

Margaret Ritchie was South Down’s MP for 7 years and has recently accepted a peerage in the House of Lords, a peerage that meant that she had to resign as an SDLP member on order to accept. Ritchie handed her membership back to Colum Eastwood as quick as she could in order to make the next flight to London to swear her allegiance to the British Queen for the third time. Her actions were enough to make any Irish person sick but highlighted even further how much more she cared for her own interests rather than those she had previously ‘represented’.

Sinn Féin currently have 7 MP’s, all abstentionist, and all elected on an abstentionist basis. They were elected a year after the Brexit referendum and have worked everyday since to combat the worst of Brexit on what should be the collateral damage, Ireland. If it wasn’t for those pesky Republicans, Theresa May could still be in power! No doubt a hard border would have solved most of Mrs May and now Mr Johnson’s problems, but unfortunately the days of England walking over the Irish nation are well and truly over. Along with Martina Anderson, the North’s most formidable MEP ever and all round powerhouse, Sinn Féin secured no hardening of the British border in Ireland; ensuring the next time there are negotiations on the border it will be its entire abolition. Scotland has 59 MP’s, 35 of which are the SNP, and not once was Scotland or a potential Scottish referendum brought up in the newest Brexit deal, despite Scotland also voting to remain. The North has 18 seats, 10 of which belong to the DUP who have a confidence and supply agreement with the Tories, yet it was Sinn Féin that held more influence over the backstop agreement. This was all whilst not once taking their seat, ever. Crazy.

by Amy Hamilton