Breaking all UK trade union barriers in campaigning for Irish unity

SEPTEMBER 11, 2025

Austin Harney reports on an important fringe meeting at TUC Conference.

On Monday evening, 8th September 2025, we had our fringe meeting at the TUC Conference, titled “Trade Unionists and Irish Unity.” I have organised these fringe meetings for the last four years at TUC Conferences with support from a group called Labour for Irish Unity that was established when Jeremy Corbyn was the leader of the Labour Party. But since Keir Starmer has been leader since 2019 and has declared his support for Northern Ireland to stay in the United Kingdom, Labour for Irish Unity has ended its links with the British Labour Party and renamed itself Labour Movement for Irish Unity.

This fringe meeting was chaired by Dorothy Macedo, the local UNITE representative in Brighton. The guest speakers were Daire Hughes, Sinn Fein MP for Newry and Armagh, Eddie Dempsey, RMT General Secretary, Lynda Rooke from Equity (speaking in a personal capacity) and John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington. The fringe meeting had a good attendance of at least forty people.

Daire Hughes emphasised Sinn Fein’s Good Jobs Bill that provides sweeping changes to workers’ rights, including collective bargaining as well as tackling ‘fire and rehire’ practices. He was delighted to share this Bill with trade unionists from across Britain. Daire added that we are witnessing a new generation in Ireland who have adopted the culture from the new music band Kneecap in striving for Irish unity. It helps to explain the need for calling for a Border Poll which the current Labour government is refusing to advocate.

Lynda Rooke spoke of the need to build for Irish unity through theatre, film entertainment, arts and music. Equity has close links with its sister unions in Ireland and there is a need to work in solidarity in building support for Irish Unity.

Eddie Dempsey reflected on the desire for workers in both the North and South of Ireland to build for a United Socialist Republic of Ireland. He criticised Kier Starmer’s government for deciding to advocate for Northern Ireland to stay in the United Kingdom in any forthcoming Border Poll. Eddie added that all trade unions and politicians in Britain must be strictly neutral during any Border Poll for Irish Unity. It is for the people of Ireland to decide their future.

John McDonnell echoed all the comments from the other speakers. He said that we must re– engage with the Irish and all communities in building for unity in Ireland. He mentioned that Jeremy Corbyn would never turn his back on striving for Irish unity in Your Party. But John warned everybody about the rise of Reform UK, which could be a threat to all ethnicities, including the Irish, and even the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 which we must endeavour to protect.

The mood of the meeting was very constructive and extremely supportive of Irish unity, backing for which we must build in every trade union. For more than 100 years since partition in 1921, the attitude towards Irish unity has been more than hesitant and even negative amongst many io the British left, both inside and outside the Labour Party. This fact is well explained in Geoff Bell’s book, Hesitant Comrades and he is also active in the Labour Movement for Irish Unity.

In addition, a united Ireland has been at the back of many Irish people’s minds since the 1920s, after both parts of Ireland were ruined by civil wars causing economic catastrophe in the South, as a result of the British Imperialist policy of ‘divide and conquer’ during partition. But the Republic of Ireland’s economy has advanced since the Good Friday Agreement, while Northern Ireland’s economy has declined considerably.

Since 2021, as Catholics have become the majority in the North of Ireland, now is the time to seize the opportunity and convince most people in these two isles that Irish unity must be at the forefront of everybody’s minds. We must convince many from Loyalist and Unionist backgrounds of the huge advantage of a 32-County Ireland that would be beneficial to all, especially in terms of workers’ rights. This fact is strongly argued by Frank Connolly, from a growing organisation across the Irish Sea called Trade Unionists for a New and United Ireland, in his book United Nation. Frank was one of the guest speakers at our second fringe meeting at the TUC Conference, in Liverpool in 2023.

Let us build the movement for Irish unity in every trade union in Britain by submitting motions to every annual conferences and organising more fringe events. The more that we advocate for unity amongst all workers in Ireland, the sooner that governments on both these isles will call for a Border Poll for Irish Unity!

Austin Harney is Trade Union Liaison Officer for Labour Movement for Irish Unity.

Image c/o the author