As someone whose job means I’ve read a lot of party manifestos, Sinn Féin’s is both the shortest and blandest I’ve ever encountered.
It’s a document which implicitly says much about Sinn Féin.
This is the biggest, and the wealthiest, party on the island of Ireland. It employs people to follow its leaders around to film and edit slick social media videos, but producing a serious manifesto has been deemed unnecessary to winning votes.
Indeed, this publication wasn’t even invited to the launch.
Normally political parties are pressing journalists to attend their manifesto launches.
The DUP once made a furious high-level complaint to the chief executive of the newspaper where I then worked when I failed to show up for one many years ago.
But Sinn Féin appears to have wanted to slip out this manifesto without much scrutiny. After looking at it, I can see why.
The entire document is just 10 pages. When you subtract the front and back covers, the contents page and messages by Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill, just five pages are left for commitments.
In fact, it’s even less than that because much of those five pages trumpet what Sinn Féin did in the past, rather than telling us what its MPs will do if elected.
To put that in context, the last Alliance manifesto for a General Election was 44 pages; the last SDLP one was 29 pages; the last DUP one was light at 21 pages.
Partly, the absence of policies from Sinn Féin is a reflection of reality: Its MPs won’t take their seats, much less be anywhere near government, even if there was a hung Parliament, so how could the party credibly make promises about how it would legislate?
Yet in 2017 it had a 28-page manifesto; two years later it was 19 pages.
This time it’s hard to analyse because there’s so little to examine.
From the first substantive section, it’s suffused with vague promises such as “Sinn Féin is asking you to endorse strong leadership and positive change”.
Parts of it read like they were written by AI.
“Sinn Féin MPs will continue to prioritise the interests of people and communities,” it says.
That’s so unobjectionable that it could be drawn from the Conservative, TUV or Fine Gael manifestos. What does it actually mean?
Other sections — such as the statement: “Sinn Féin Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald allocated £688 million to prioritise public sector pay awards on the restoration of the Executive” — present uncontroversial Executive policy as Sinn Féin’s achievement. The party restates further fiscal powers should be transferred from Westminster to Stormont, saying it would use tax-raising powers to deliver “progressive taxation” and wants “the power to raise the minimum wage”.
There is a serious case to be made for devolving more tax-raising powers, as has happened in Scotland. But Sinn Féin gives no explanation for why Stormont has refused to use the powers it has to raise additional money, such as from the wealthiest homeowners, who under Stormont’s policies are subsidised by the poorest homeowners.
Thus, when the manifesto says “we need to see an end to the chronic underfunding of our public services”, it leaves out that under a Sinn Féin Finance Minister, Stormont has chosen not to raise more money to fund those public services.
The call for more fiscal devolution is part of a wider Sinn Féin argument that “decisions should be taken here by locally accountable Executive ministers and not by ministers in London who have repeatedly shown their disdain for our public services and workers”.
After years of anarchic Tory rule, that will resonate with some people far beyond republicanism.
One page is given to a united Ireland; in most manifestos that would be a modest mention, but here it equates to a fifth of the manifesto.
Unfortunately for anyone passionate about how Irish unity might happen, there’s little to get excited about.
The party again calls for a Citizens’ Assembly, which could “engage in a dialogue addressing all the practical and positive possibilities that constitutional change can bring”.
That conveniently means Sinn Féin isn’t putting forward its own ideas; all of that is outsourced to a body which doesn’t exist.
The tone, however, is significant. The party wants “a process that facilitates generous engagement with those from all our communities on this island” and says there is “an opportunity to create an efficient all-Ireland national health service”.
These aspirations are clear, but how they’d be achieved isn’t spelt out.
One of the most striking aspects of this document is what it doesn’t mention.
After local and European elections which saw Sinn Fein’s support collapse in significant part due to its confused shifting positions on immigration, there isn’t a single mention of migration.
On Monday, Michelle O’Neill told UTV that she opposed the Garda stopping buses after they crossed the border to search for illegal migrants.
But that’s not mentioned here, even though borders and migration policy are reserved matters for Westminster.
If you don’t like reading, this is the manifesto for you.
Whatever your politics, if you want to know how government might change your life, it’s not.
by TeoKajLibroj
17 comments
The bit about “change” on their posters baffles me. Change what?
Sinn Fein the Vapid party.
To be fair, no one votes for Sinn Fein at a Westminster election expecting them to fix shit other than showing discontent at the Westminster system.
Sinn Fein are trying to play both sides with their immigration policy thankfully people in the south have seen right through it
Open Borders on one doorstep and anti immigration on a different doorstep
Why SF even stand for Westminster is beyond me they don’t deliver real representation or have any impact
Is more a nice wee money making scheme for there mp”s
Do you honestly think anyone here decides who to vote for on what is in the manifesto?
Unfortunately there is still a very heavily ingrained Green and Orange psyche and that’s what drives the elections.
Orla begley has ” change” written on her election posters down here in west Tyrone yet SF have held the seat since 2001.
Aside from McBride sounding like he stubbed his toe, a party putting such little effort into a manifesto in any other country would be a writeoff. One of many symbols things need to change here
Turns out it’s harder to have good ideas and the ability to implement them than being intellectually stunted “activists” for single issues.
I’ll be voting Sinn Fein because a United Ireland means both Ireland and the UK will have better control of their borders.
Surprised our main parties don’t sell merch yet, that’s essentially the level we’re at voting for leaders.
Sam once again grasping at whatever straws he can find.
when will journos realise articles like these are far more instructive as an insight into the journalists personal politics and agenda, than they are about their subject?
This place is all about ‘themmuns’ and the constitutional question. Everything else is pretty much irrelevant. SF’s vote will hold here regardless of their manifesto, what happens over the border or what they put on their posters.
Sam hitting the nail on the head there!
That ‘article’ was even more boring than the Sinn Féin manifesto.
I didn’t realise needing Sam to be excited about a manifesto is article worthy
what does op think of this?
They refer to having ‘little against Protestants” so they are dividing people into religious sectarian groups – that’s sectarian. And your comment about ‘playing the victim’ is just bizarre there is nothing in my post about being a victim.
So we get rid of sectarianism in a UI? Do we? Or does this part of a UI continue to be a disgrace because a change in administration doesn’t change anything here really. You can’t be anti sectarian and vote SF or DUP so large sections of both sides remain sectarian with perhaps an increase in sectarian violence as the old cycles remain. One side feels aggrieved and the other responds. You cannot see the future and when did anything ever go as expected.