A GROUP of Swedish politicians from the Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) have been visiting the North where they have been learning about the history of the conflict as well as looking at how communities here have been coping with the loss of European Social Funding.
The politicans, who are members of Sweden’s left-wing socialist Left Party (Vänsterpartiet), are sitting members of the Swedish parliament, or Riksdag.
ST COMGALLS: Gerry McConville told the Swedish MPs about the community's work on cross-community projects
The MPs – Hanna Gunnarsson, Linda Snecker, Håkan Svenneling and senior party analyst and researcher Madeline Nyvall – visited St Comgall’s and spoke to Falls Community Council Director Gerry McConville on the battle fought by the community to redevelop the site as well as future plans for community redevelopment in the Falls and the Shankill.
Nordirland dag 2: Otroligt intressanta möten och diskussioner om olika aspekter på konsekvenserna av Brexit samt frågan om en återförening av Irlands norra och södra delar. Gripande avslutning på Free Derry-museet. pic.twitter.com/OxHuBhCIEn
— Hanna Gunnarsson (@gunnarssonhanna) August 21, 2023
Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan and former MLA Martina Anderson accompanied the group on a visit to Divis’ International Wall and then up to the republican Garden of Remembrance and the Bobby Sands mural in Sevastopol Street. They discussed the legacy of the conflict and how things have changed following the Good Friday Agreement in relation to political and economic development.
DIVIS ST: The MPs visited the International Wall
Later, the MPs visited the Grosvenor Community Centre and spoke with centre manager and former Lord Mayor Councillor Tina Black about the effects currently being felt across the community sector due to the loss of European Social Fund monies. They also discussed the failure of the British Government to provide matching funds through its Levelling Up programme, a move which has seen community budgets slashed across the North.
GROSVENOR: The MPs met Cllr Tina Black to discuss how Brexit has impacted local communities in West Belfast
The impact of Brexit on communities was also on the agenda as was the current political situation as well as the ongoing push to advance a change in Ireland’s constitutional future and how groups on the ground are at the forefront of advocating for a border poll.
The MPs earlier visited Stormont and met MLAs from other parties. They've also been to Derry’s Guildhall where they met members of Derry City and Strabane District Council.
