Alliance MLA to host Stormont event calling for EU Parliament vote for Irish passport holders

The event is sponsored by Alliance MLA Kate Nicholl and was co-sponsored by the UUP’s Mike Nesbitt and the SDLP’s Sinead McLaughlin.

It is organised by New Europeans UK, who aims to inform EU citizens here on their voting rights. In an email publicising the Stormont event, it says “over half a million people in NI holding Irish citizenship are excluded from voting”.

Mike Nesbitt says the issue of Irish passport holders is a red herring. He told the News Letter that millions who voted remains “are all excluded from EU elections, that is the outworking of democracy”. He added: “While I may not agree with Brexit and certainly stand against the damage it continues to cause across Northern Ireland, I accept the basic principal of democracy – that the voting majority choose the direction of travel.”

The TUV criticised Mr Nesbitt’s sponsorship of the event, saying “It is, to put it mildly, unwise for a Unionist to facilitate an event which as a goal the promotion of Irish passport holders in Northern Ireland being able to vote in European elections”.

A spokesperson added: “Treating people in Northern Ireland the same as citizens in the Republic because of their passport is fundamentally anti unionist and certainly not something a unionist should be associated with.”

Mr Nesbitt said as a democrat he was happy to support an event looking at the voting rights of EU citizens here.

Ex-MLA Jane Morrice who will speak at the event wants to extend the vote to everyone in NI. She said: “The European rights of all citizens in NI, British, Irish, both or neither, have been denied by Brexit. In the context of the European elections, it is my personal belief that all NI citizens should have the right to vote and stand in the European elections, if they so desire. This is the very reason why I’m campaigning for the UK to rejoin the EU so that all UK citizens will have representation and voting rights in the European Parliament”.

The News Letter asked Alliance whether it supported only Irish passport holders having a vote, or all citizens – it did not respond.