British Labour party leaders were today accused of ignoring their own rhetoric about opening politics up to the people in a document to be presented at their party conference next week.
Belfast-based trade unionist Mr Andy McGivern attacked the party leadership over its refusal to allow members in Northern Ireland to set up branches in the province's 18 Westminster constituencies.
The GMB member, who this week instructed his lawyers to press ahead with a race discrimination case against the party over its constituency association ban in the province, claimed Labour's National Policy Forum Report for the annual conference in Brighton proved members in Northern Ireland were second-class citizens.
"The National Policy Forum Report contains a section which says the party has since 1997 undertaken massive constitutional reform in the UK aimed at bringing government closer to the people and making Parliament more transparent and accountable," Mr McGivern said.
"That's fine if you are in England, Wales and Scotland, but in Northern Ireland there is no opportunity for Labour supporters to have MPs who are part of the Government or part of the Labour team in the House of Commons.
"The document says Labour has sought to boost democracy and citizen involvement and improve the quality of decision-making."
"But how does it boost democracy and citizen involvement to refuse Labour members in Northern Ireland to set up their own constituency parties, thus denying them the right to send their own delegates to the party conference or contest elections?" he said.
Mr McGivern hopes to raise the ban on constituency associations in Northern Ireland on the conference floor next week in Brighton.
At last year's conference in Bournemouth, he succeeded in overturning a 79-year ban on people in Northern Ireland becoming members after initiating race discrimination proceedings against the party.
PA