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Article: Was my family a victim of the Labour Party's racism?
- Article from:
- The Sunday Telegraph London
- Article date:
- October 5, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2003 The Sunday Telegraph London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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A mighty blow was struck for democracy last week, although its
impact was muffled among down-page newspaper reports of the drearier
motions passed at the Labour Party conference. In case you missed it,
the conference voted by a resounding majority to allow people in
Northern Ireland to join the Labour Party for the first time since
1924.
Formerly, one could join the British Labour Party if one lived in
Bangkok or Bologna, but not Belfast. No matter that Labour governs
and taxes the people of Belfast, and not Bologna. The consensus among
the party apparatchiks was that Northern Ireland was a dangerously
volatile little colony: democracy need not apply.
Since no one from Northern Ireland could ...