Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit TDs split on United Ireland Referendum

ONE TD from the Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit party has distanced themself from comments made by their colleagues Ruth Coppinger and Mick Barry who have announced they will oppose a referendum on Irish unity.

In the Dáil on Monday, the AAA/PBP TD for Cork North Central, Mick Barry, opposed calls for a referendum on a united Ireland vote claiming it would be a “sectarian headcount”. Both he and Dublin West TD Coppinger claimed it would be wrong to “coerce” Protestants into a united Ireland.

AAA/PBP TD Bríd Smith, however, today said in a video released from one wing of the party:

“We are for a Border poll and a united Ireland.”

Smith also claimed it “would not be in my DNA to be in a partitionist party”.

While England and Wales voted to leave the EU, people in the North of Ireland and Scotland voted to remain. The AAA/PBP – along with the DUP, UKIP and hardline right-wing Traditional Unionist Voice – had backed the 'leave' campaign.

Sinn Féin sources told An Phoblacht that it welcomes support for a referendum on Irish unity from Deputy Smith but said it was disappointed that the AAA/PBP is so deeply divided on the issue.

While AAA/PBP was formerly two separate organisations (the AAA emerging from the Socialist Party and PBP from the Socialist Workers’ Party), in October 2015 the two factions announced at a press event in Buswells Hotel that they had merged. The AAA/PBP registered as a single unified party with the Office of the Register of Political Parties.

Explaining the mechanics of the merger in April,

spokesperson Mick Barry TD said:

“We [AAA] were involved in a merger with People Before Profit last year. The conditions we agreed with the Register of the Dáil was that we would deregister and People Before Profit would change their name to ‘Anti Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit’ and we would row in behind that.”