Ahead of next week’s Labour Party Conference, where she will be speaking at a fringe meeting, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald TD looks at the opportunity presented to Andy Burnham. 

Politics in both Britain and Ireland is changing at a remarkable pace. Old certainties are giving way to new realities. Questions once regarded as distant are now firmly part of the political mainstream.

The arrival of Andy Burnham at 10 Downing Street offers an opportunity to begin a new chapter in relations between Britain and Ireland.

I hope his government will seize that opportunity with the courage and imagination that previous Labour governments brought to the peace process.

The relationship between our countries has been transformed over the last three decades. That transformation was built through political courage, sustained dialogue and a recognition that old conflicts required new thinking.

The Labour Party played an important role in that journey. Labour governments worked alongside the Irish Government, Irish republicans and others to help deliver the Good Friday Agreement. It brought an end to conflict and established peaceful and democratic means by which the Irish people can determine the constitutional future of our country.

The Agreement remains one of the great achievements of progressive politics. Rooted in dialogue, equality and partnership, it created not only peace but a democratic pathway to constitutional change.

Today, that conversation has moved decisively into the mainstream. Irish unity is debated in the Dáil, civic society, universities, businesses, trade unions and communities across the island.

The direction of travel is clear. Ireland is moving towards a referendum on unity. The outcome belongs to the people alone. But governments cannot postpone preparation until a referendum has been called.

Preparation must begin now.

The Irish and British governments should establish structured and inclusive processes to prepare for constitutional change and the referendums provided for in the Good Friday Agreement. Citizens deserve clear information on healthcare, education, pensions, policing, workers’ rights, public services, taxation and the economy, alongside honest engagement with every community, including those who cherish a British identity.

Preparation does not predetermine the outcome. It strengthens democracy. Refusing to prepare would be the reckless course.

For Sinn Féin, Irish unity has always meant far more than removing a border. It is about completing the unfinished work of national self-determination and building a republic founded on equality, social justice and democratic accountability. It is about ensuring that the wealth created on our island serves the interests of working people and families, with strong trade unions, decent wages, quality public services and opportunity for every child.

These are ambitions many across the Labour movement will recognise.

The cause of Irish freedom and the cause of working-class progress in Britain have always been closely connected. For generations, division served those who benefited from inequality, while ordinary working people on both islands paid the price.

Resolving the Irish question democratically offers the opportunity to replace division with partnership, strengthen solidarity between working people in Britain and Ireland, and build a relationship founded on equality, mutual respect and our shared pursuit of social and economic justice.

A united Ireland must belong to everyone who calls our island home. Our vision is of a republic that guarantees equal rights and equal citizenship for all – an Ireland where diversity is a strength, all identities are respected, and those who cherish a British identity are fully at home and play an equal part in shaping our shared future.

Constitutional change must deliver reconciliation, inclusion and a genuine coming together of our people.

It must also create a new relationship between Ireland and Britain – one founded on equality between sovereign nations, mutual respect and genuine partnership. Greater economic cooperation and joint action on climate, energy, workers’ rights and economic fairness will benefit people on both islands.

A united Ireland would not diminish Britain. It would peacefully conclude our long constitutional conflict and lay the foundations for a closer relationship between equal neighbours.

The new British Prime Minister has an opportunity to recognise these new political realities. The question is no longer whether governments should prepare for constitutional change, but whether they will begin that work responsibly or allow events to overtake them.

For Sinn Féin, the destination is clear – a united Ireland at peace with itself and with Britain, confident in its diversity, socially just, prosperous and founded on the equal citizenship of all who share our island.

This is no longer a distant aspiration. It is the practical democratic task of our generation. Now is the time to prepare.

Mary Lou McDonald TD is President of Sinn Féin.

Main image: Mary Lou McDonald. Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/54097310@N08/54194398520/. Author: Houses of the Oireachtas, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.