Peter's Guide To Politics in Northern Ireland

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Small Nationalist Parties

REPUBLICAN SINN FEIN

There are far less Nationalist/Republican parties on the scene then there are Unionists and the smaller Nationalist parties have a lot less support than the smaller Unionist parties. One of the most vocal anti-Agreement Republican parties is Republican Sinn Fein, founded around the time of the negotiations of the GFA they have no seats in the Assembly or in Dublin or London.

Their "aim" or "mission" is to create a United, federal Ireland with each region/province having a certain level of autonomy. They oppose British rule in any part of Ireland "on behalf of ALL the people of Ireland". RSF are more active in the South than they are in the North but most of their activity is about putting up billboards, posters and having "remembrance" days. They're more active when there are crises in the process, for example when Peter Mandelson suspended the institutions for the first tim RSF started a poster campaign attacking the British government.

They may have seen an increase in their numbers when the IRA decommissioned but being such a small party it's hard to find out. The prospects for the next elections are pretty bleak, although they couldn't do worse than they're doing right now. If they're support rises I still don't think it would rise enough to win them any Assembly seats.

IRISH REPUBLICAN SOCIALIST PARTY

I'd be lying if I said I knew a lot about the IRSP but then again I'm not alone! They were founded in 1974, the same year that Sinn Fein re-emerged and consider themselves a voice of Socialism and Nationalism. They consistently speak of "class war" and thats where they see their big war. They see the stuggle for Socialism and a 32 County Workers' Republic as one and the same. They're more Socialist than Sinn Fein and welcome Marxists into their party. They're the political wing of the terrorist group the INLA (Irish National Liberation Army) who've recently made some unsettling speeches about the state of their ceasefire.

While Sinn Fein's support at the ballot box has risen steadily since their inception the IRSP's has remained very stagnant, perhaps because Sinn Fein will have little to do with them, refusing to attend unity conferences organised by the IRSP etc. Or perhaps because of their extreme left wing views and because they have never put any distance between themselves and the INLA unlike Sinn Fein which seem to be more distant from the IRA then they previously were. As I said I know very little about the party, I'm not even sure where they stand on the Agreement but I do know that any success at the elections would be a minor miracle!