Irish Republican political party Sinn Fein has for 100 years refused to take seats at the House of Commons in Westminster .
Its main goal is to unite Ireland but, despite having seven MPs, you won’t see them on Prime Minister’s Question Time or in debates – and they don’t even accept Westminster’s wages.
This is because Sinn Fein abstains from Parliament, meaning its MPs work for their constituents and lobby the government on key issues but refuse to acknowledge Westminster as a legitimate institution.
In March this year, Sinn Fein MP Paul Maskey wrote in the Guardian : “Westminster does not now act – and never has acted – other than in the interests of Britain.
“As our difficult and troubled history tells us, the interests of the Irish people have rarely been the concern of the British government or parliament.
“In fact, these institutions have often acted against the interests of the Irish people – not just in the past, but as we are seeing now, through the efforts to drag us out of Europe against the democratically expressed wishes of the people in the north of Ireland.”
Sinn Fein believes the interests of the Irish people can only be served by a democratic body on the island or Ireland.
