Irish Labour leader Brendan Howlin has called for Sinn Fein to take up their seven seats in Westminster over Brexit.
Northern Ireland’s republican Sinn Fein MPs refuse to sit in Westminster, although they still work on behalf of their constituents, as they see the UK parliament as illegitimate.
But Mr Howlin, who is also party spokesman on foreign affairs and Northern Ireland, appealed for the party to ditch its century-long stance.
Speaking at a Labour conference fringe the View from the EU on Brexit, Mr Howlin said he feared for the future of Northern Ireland.
He said: “I think no issue will have more impact than on the people of Ireland as a whole than the exit of Britain from the EU.
“In those circumstances I think it’s a reasonable ask for Sinn Fein to reconsider their long-standing notion of abstentionism and take up their seats.
“I know how difficult that is but on this issue, with the arithmetic of Westminster how it is, I think it is something I would appeal to Sinn Fein to consider.”
Mr Howlin added the “only way” to avoid a hard border in Ireland was for both countries to remain members of the EU customs union.
He said: “There is no other way, technological or otherwise.”
He also appealed for the UK to be given a second referendum on the Brexit deal and the status quo.
