SINN FÉIN LEADER Mary Lou McDonald is attending the Labour conference in the UK and this morning told Sky News that Irish unity would be “right for the British people and the Irish people”. 

The Labour conference in Liverpool is Keir Starmer’s first since becoming UK Prime Minister and McDonald yesterday spoke at a conference fringe event. 

During that event, the Dublin Central TD called on the British government to “make clear its intention to trigger a referendum” on Irish unity and urged Starmer to “walk the final length of the Irish journey”.

While in opposition, Starmer had said a referendum on Irish unification was “not even on the horizon” but McDonald said today that “change was happening” in Northern Ireland and that this should be recognised. 

“What I am saying in summary, is that all parties to the (Good Friday) Agreement now need to recognise the depth of change that’s happening in Ireland,” she told Sky News. 

“The Unionist majority in the north of Ireland, the electoral majority is gone, it’s not coming back. We live in the now, and we have to plan for the future.”

McDonald said there was a “historic opportunity” to hold a referendum, arguing that because the Good Friday Agreement was “a legacy of the British Labour Party” she would like a Labour Prime Minister to “take these next steps with us”.

Asked why she was optimistic about this given Starmer’s previous comments that a unity referendum was not on the horizon, McDonald said that people in public life are “duty bound to be optimistic, but of course, not naive”. 

She added: 

“By the way, this Irish story of finding peace and reunification is great news for all of us. This is right for Ireland, but I would submit that it’s right for Britain as well. It’s right for the British people and the Irish people, for us to live, not just as good neighbours, but I would hope, ultimately, as the very best of friends.” 

The Good Friday Agreement makes provision for a referendum on Irish unity if it is judged by the UK’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland that it is likely that such a referendum would pass.

If one is held, there can’t be another for another seven years.

Pro-unity campaigners in Northern Ireland have campaigned for the British government to provide clarity on what factors would be used to judge the likelihood that a referendum would pass. 

Speaking yesterday in Liverpool, McDonald told the audience that the reunification of Ireland “presents the single greatest opportunity to unlock our potential and to deliver prosperity for all”.

She said: “We’re living in a time when history will be made by the people. That’s why referendums on Irish unity must be held by the end of this decade to allow the people to have their say.

“The moment will come to name the date, but first, the British Government must make clear its intention to trigger a referendum as per the Good Friday Agreement, and set out the threshold for the referendum as they see it – there can’t be any more dodging.

“What is best for Ireland is that Britain end its involvement in our affairs, and that the people of Ireland finally get to decide our future together” she said.

The Sinn Fein leader was asked what she would say if given five minutes with Starmer, to which she replied: “I would say, this is a question of honour. This is a question of keeping your word and of doing the right thing.”

McDonald said her party would make reunification a “key priority” by establishing a reunification and one Ireland unit, appointing a minister and giving all MPs from Northern Ireland speaking rights in the Dail.

She said: “The new Ireland that we seek to build belongs every bit as much to the families of the Shankill as it does to the families of the Falls. Every bit as much to the families of Fermanagh as the families in Dublin and Cork and Galway.”

With reporting by Press Association