Northern Irish parties form new pacts to unseat their enemies

IN NORTHERN IRELAND Brexit has served mainly to harden already uncompromising attitudes. But in the election campaign there are surprising signs that it has inspired a new—though probably temporary—form of pragmatism.

The most remarkable example came on November 4th when Sinn Fein, the largest and most hardline republican party, urged its supporters to vote for a unionist MP. “It sits very comfortably with me,” said Sinn Fein’s leader, Mary Lou McDonald, as she endorsed Lady Sylvia Hermon, the independent MP for North Down, whose late husband was head of Northern Ireland’s police. The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), a more moderate nationalist party, also said it would stand aside.

Their tactical support for Lady Sylvia was due to her opposition to Brexit. Sinn Fein and the SDLP both backed Remain, whereas the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which until recently propped up Boris Johnson’s government, supported Leave. A vote for Lady Sylvia, Ms McDonald declared, was the best way to keep out the DUP. Two days later Lady Sylvia, who is 64, said she would not run, citing family reasons. The DUP is now expected to win the seat. But North Down is not the only constituency seeing such pacts—even if the parties prefer not to use that word.