Andy Burnham UK Labour leader hopeful: I would fight elections in NI.

[Garza]

Andy Burnham is coming to Belfast today to visit the Labour Party of NI to accept their nomination for his leadership of the Labour Party.

I would trust our members here to decide whether to put forward candidates for election, although I would always expect such a decision to be sensitive to the politics of Northern Ireland.

I believe passionately in the United Kingdom - Belfast Today

It was rumoured that Dawn Purvis has had extensive discussions with the LPNI the past week.

Would be great to see the main UK parties competing here imo.

[st333ve]

Didn't one already try?
They won 0 seats here, yet cleaned up in England.
Two different places.

The less silly English Kingdom Unionist parties in Ireland the better.

They haven't a clue and the voters know it.

We're dictated to enough by these fools, why hand them more power over us?

How is that good?

[dv-drummer]

Well good luck to em cos they aren't going anywhere with this . The unionists tend to be conservatives and unionism has a history with that party . Labour had SDLP support but I bet that would stop if it eats into their vote with both parties being social democrats .

Also , would someone like Dawn Purvis be able to attract cross community vote considering the party she was alligned to ?

It's a nice idea but I don't see NI moving beyond perpetual tribalism in regards to voting patterns .

[Sync]

So in Garza's mind "I would trust our members here to decide whether to put forward candidates for election, although I would always expect such a decision to be sensitive to the politics of Northern Ireland. " = "I would fight elections in NI"

Do you write sports headlines for the Sun or something?

[Rossa]

Is this the Andy Burnham who has feck all chance of winning the Labour leader election?

[sandar]

labour are semi-alligned to sdlp...the alliance are allugned to the Lib Dems..there is no room on the middle ground

[dv-drummer]

Imagine Labour and Conservatives battling it out two weeks before an election for unionist votes and Fianna Fail and Fine Gael for nationalist votes in NI .

[SevenStars]

The Labour Party used to have the silly policy of a "United Ireland by consent" but thats gone the of Clause Four...What is their relationship of the SDLP with the Labour Party now? Didnt they used to be quite close?

Anyway a brillant strategic move by Unionism if they can pull it off.

[SevenStars]

labour are semi-alligned to sdlp...the alliance are allugned to the Lib Dems..there is no room on the middle ground

The Alliance Party and the Lib Dems just like the UUP and the Tories have formal links...I dont think any formal links ever existed between the SDLP and the Labour Party.

[Keith-M]

Anyway a brillant strategic move by Unionism if they can pull it off.

Absolutly, it will mean all three main UK partties fighting directly or by proxy in all parts of the UK. No longer will NI be seem as a semi-detached part of the country politically.