Having some time on my hands on Saturday, I went along to the “Labour Party in Norn Iron” Conference. This is best described as a group of fantasists who want …….indeed insist…..that the British Labour Party organises here. Despite feeble protestations, they are essentially unionist. “Normal Politics”……..ie ignoring the consitutional position of Norn Iron…..is a unionist position.

Robin Wilson, leading advocate of “lets get alongerism” thru Platform For Change was at the Conference.

The Norn Iron “Labour” people are essentially people who profess to be involved in politics while making extraordinary efforts to make sure that they remain marginalised. While I must emphasise that the only photograph I took was during the lunch break….and the room almost deserted….the arrangement of the tables …..seemed to indicate a poor attendance. Indeed “Conference” seems a grandiose term for the event. The Minutes from the 2011 “Conference” indicate that only fifty eight members attended that event……and of these seventeen were elected to the Party Executive.

Membership of LPNI stands at (officially) 325. Of these over one-fifth are students at Queens University. It is in the nature of university students that many do not set up permenant residence in their university town. Indeed the LPNI Student Officer resigned during the year and moved to Liverpool.

A reasonable assumption is that some of the QUB members are from England, Scotland and Wales and want to retain a connexion to “British” politics thru a local Labour Party.

Of course, it is a very welcome development that people who move to Norn Iron become involved in our politics. We have the excellent examples (to name but two) of Anna Lo (Alliance Party-Rowntree) and Magdalena Wolska (SDLP). There are of course others. It is a very healthy sign. It is a very unhealthy sign when political parties cannot attract our new people into their ranks. And arguably it is just as unhealthy if their membership is unbalanced by over-representation of an “ethnic” minority such as………er English people.

Although I only stayed for about twenty-five minutes, the arrangement of the room did not indicate a serious Party Conference (and of course it was no such thing). It seemed more likea medium sized wedding reception………although the red balloons on tables did suggest ……a speed dating event.