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The British Prime Minister has sidestepped questions on whether she would support Sinn F\u00e9in taking their Westminster seats to back her Brexit deal.<\/p>\nThe British Prime Minister has sidestepped questions on whether she would support Sinn F\u00e9in taking their Westminster seats to back her Brexit deal.<\/p>\n
Theresa May, who was pressed on the issue a number of times during her visit to Belfast, insisted it was a matter for the republican party to decide on.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat my job is about is showing those MPs who will be voting on December 11 on this deal why it is a good deal for the UK,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said if Sinn F\u00e9in was not prepared to ditch its abstentionist policy, it should resign its seven seats to allow other MPs to represent its constituents in the House of Commons vote.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in president Mary Lou McDonald, in Belfast on Tuesday to meet Mrs May, rejected the notion as \u201cpolitically illiterate\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIreland won\u2019t be protected at Westminster,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny notion that Sinn F\u00e9in MPs could ride in on their chargers and stop Brexit or save Mrs May are politically fanciful \u2013 I would go so far as to say politically illiterate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are abstentionists, we are Irish republicans, we believe as the nationalist people of this island believe, that our decisions are best taken here in our democratic institutions on this island.\u201d<\/p>\n
The party\u2019s MPs do not take their seats in Westminster because they refuse to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen.<\/p>\n
Mrs McDonald accused Mr Varadkar of \u201cdisrespecting\u201d Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s mandate.<\/p>\n
She further noted that his Fine Gael party had chosen to \u201cabstain\u201d from Northern Ireland, having not run in elections north of the border.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in has been broadly supportive of Theresa May’s draft deal, describing it as the \u201cbottom line\u201d and \u201cleast-worst option\u201d in terms of protecting the economy on the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Mr Varadkar said Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s seven MPs should consider resigning their Westminster seats to give voters in Northern Ireland an opportunity to elect MPs who would take up their seats.<\/p>\n
\u201cSinn F\u00e9in is an unusual party in that it isn\u2019t taking up its seats in Westminster for one reason and not taking its seats in Stormont for another,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally, people who get involved in politics do so because they want to make a difference and they want to use the democratic process to get good outcomes for their citizens.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they are not willing to take up their seats because they feel they can\u2019t because they got elected on the basis of abstention, they do have the option now of resigning their seats and allowing people in those constituencies to decide whether or not they want to have a say when this vote comes to Westminster.<\/p>\n
\u201cBear in mind there are 18 MPs in NI, eight of those are in support of what Theresa May is proposing, but seven are abstaining.\u201d<\/p>\n