The Shadow Secretary of State has visited Lanark Way in West Belfast following recent unrest across the city.
 
Labour MP Louise Haigh was accompanied by Sinn Féin Councillor Claire Canavan, West Belfast SDLP rep Paul Doherty and North Belfast MLA Nichola Mallon as she met with a range of local community representatives.
 
Following her visit Ms Haigh praised the “courage” of community leaders who have helped de-escalate recent violence.
 
“Politicians and political leaders have a profound responsibility now to match the courage that I’ve seen in communities here, because I’ve also seen and heard that a deep feeling of deprivation and disregard is fuelling disillusionment,” she said.

“Concerns must be heard, and they must be heard by the Prime Minister. People in communities here need to feel that politics works for them, and every moment of instability in Northern Ireland must by met by engagement, dialogue and people coming together to find solutions.
 
“We need to see leadership. The British Government are a co-guarantor to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, and the Prime Minister bears a profound responsibility to step in, convene multi-party talks, and show that leadership now.”
 
Sinn Féin Cllr Claire Canavan told Ms Haigh that political unionism needs to step up to the plate and demonstrate leadership to bring this violence to an end.
 
“I made it clear that we need to see unionist political representatives calling for an end to the illegal protests, which are fuelling community tensions. They have a responsibility to unite with the rest of us in bringing this violence to an end.
 
“We also discussed the need for the Tory government and unionist leaders to be honest with the public about the hard Brexit they delivered and the consequences for people’s jobs and the disruption which has followed.”
 
SDLP representative Paul Doherty said Ms Haigh was “keen” to find out about work happening “on the ground”.
 
“That day we were quite active working between both communities at the interface,” he said.
 
“We were trying to engage with young people, talk them down from this (violence), and trying to calm the situation.
 
“I think there is a role there for political leaders, community representatives and otherwise to calm the situation and try to move forward and work through the issues that currently exist. That extends to the political situation where you need people to get round the table and find a resolution.”
 
He added: “From our perspective, seeing the Shadow Secretary of State being on the ground was a positive thing, but I think you’re highly unlikely to see her counterpart doing the same”