201-516: Inactive Defunct Sinn Féin ( / ʃ ɪ n ˈ f eɪ n / shin FAYN , Irish: [ˌʃɪn̠ʲ ˈfʲeːnʲ] ; lit. ' [We] Ourselves ' ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith . Its members founded
402-459: A Slip 'N Slide , while drawing attention to deteriorating mental health among children. On 23 May, Sunak said that before the election there would be no flights to Rwanda for those seeking asylum . Immigration figures were published for 2023 showing immigration remained at historically high levels, but had fallen compared to 2022. Nigel Farage announced that he would not be standing in the general election, preferring to focus on campaigning for
603-557: A distinct set of political parties , Sinn Féin retained its seven seats and therefore became the largest party; this was the first election in which an Irish nationalist party won the most seats in Northern Ireland. The Democratic Unionist Party won five seats, a reduction from eight at the 2019 general election . The Social Democratic and Labour Party won two seats, and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland ,
804-737: A hunger strike demanding release from prison, and reinstatement of their status as political prisoners ( 1920 Cork hunger strike ). Three men died during this time including the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork Terence MacSwiney . Among the most infamous of the Black and Tans actions were the Bloody Sunday massacre in November 1920 and the burning of half the city of Cork in December that same year. These actions, together with
1005-821: A voter identification requirement in Great Britain. These changes were included in the Elections Act 2022 . The Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies , which proposed reducing the number of constituencies from 650 to 600, commenced in 2011 but temporarily stopped in January 2013. Following the 2015 general election , each of the four parliamentary boundary commissions of the United Kingdom recommenced their review process in April 2016. The four commissions submitted their final recommendations to
1206-576: A "Coalition Panel" of Sinn Féin candidates to stand in the 1922 general election . After the election, anti-Treaty members walked out of the Dáil, and pro- and anti-Treaty members took opposite sides in the ensuing Civil War . Pro-Treaty Dáil deputies and other Treaty supporters formed a new party, Cumann na nGaedheal , on 27 April 1923 at a meeting in Dublin, where delegates agreed on a constitution and political programme. Cumann na nGaedheal went on to govern
1407-625: A "Kingdom and Republic of Ireland" and that "the earls should be called Captains General of the said Republic and one could exercise his office on land and the other at sea." These proposals were approved by Philip IV and forwarded to Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia in Brussels. As the Anglo-Spanish War became more tepid, the plans were never put into practice. A decade later, the Irish Rebellion of 1641 began. This consisted of
1608-536: A "nuclear deterrent triple lock", including building four new nuclear submarines. A YouGov poll conducted on the same day put Labour on course for the party's biggest election victory in history, beating Tony Blair 's 1997 landslide . On 4 June, Farage launched his campaign in Clacton. He predicted the previous day that Reform UK would be the Official Opposition following the election as opposed to
1809-475: A (minor) political party in its own right. On 2 September 2006, Martin McGuinness publicly stated that Sinn Féin would refuse to participate in a shadow assembly at Stormont, asserting that his party would only take part in negotiations that were aimed at restoring a power-sharing government. This development followed a decision on the part of members of Sinn Féin to refrain from participating in debates since
2010-513: A 18-week NHS waiting target within five years of a Labour government. Labour also pledged to double the number of NHS scanners in England. On the same day Starmer denied that Diane Abbott had been blocked as a candidate amid differing reports. Abbott had been elected as a Labour MP, but had been suspended from the parliamentary party for a brief period. There was controversy about further Labour Party candidate selections, with several candidates on
2211-476: A Caretaker Executive with Ruairí Ó Brádaigh as chairman. The Caretaker Executive's first act was to pass a resolution pledging allegiance to the 32-county Irish Republic and the Provisional Army Council. It also declared itself opposed to the ending of abstentionism, the drift towards "extreme forms of socialism", the failure of the leadership to defend the nationalist people of Belfast during
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#17327730590492412-449: A Young Irelander, addressing the peace resolutions, delivered his 'Sword Speech', in which he stated, "I do not abhor the use of arms in the vindication of national rights ... Be it for the defence, or be it for the assertion of a nation's liberty, I look upon the sword as a sacred weapon." John O'Connell , Daniel O'Connell's son, was present at the proceedings and interrupted Meagher's speech, claiming that Meagher could no longer be part of
2613-571: A ballot paper in this hand and an Armalite in the other, we take power in Ireland? This was the origin of what became known as the Armalite and ballot box strategy . Ó Brádaigh's chief policy, a plan for a federalised Irish state dubbed Éire Nua , was dropped in 1982, and the following year Ó Brádaigh stepped down as president, and was replaced by Adams. Under Adams' leadership electoral politics became increasingly important. In 1983 Alex Maskey
2814-500: A basis for the movement, with groups forming across the island in hopes of independence. Parliamentary defeats provoked uprisings and armed campaigns, quashed by British forces. A rising , amidst World War I, that ended in execution provided the basis for success, including electorally. An Irish republic was declared in 1919 and officialized following the Irish War of Independence . The Irish Civil War , beginning in 1922 and spurred by
3015-575: A ceasefire in August 1994. Sinn Féin then joined the talks, but the Conservative government under John Major soon came to depend on unionist votes to remain in power. It suspended Sinn Féin from the talks, and began to insist that the IRA decommission all of their weapons before Sinn Féin be re-admitted to the talks; this led to the IRA calling off its ceasefire. The new Labour government of Tony Blair
3216-732: A claim disputed by the British government. Donaldson was found fatally shot in his home in County Donegal on 4 April 2006, and a murder inquiry was launched. In April 2009, the Real IRA released a statement taking responsibility for the killing. When Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) became the largest parties, by the terms of the Good Friday Agreement no deal could be made without
3417-787: A coalition between the Irish Gaels and the Old English (descendants of the Anglo-Norman settlers who settled during the Norman Invasion) rebelling against the English rulers. While some ideas from the 1627 proposals were carried on, the attempt to rally both Gaels and Old English to the banner, mean't trying to find common ground and one of these concessions was support for the Stuart monarchy under Charles I of England whom
3618-575: A decrease in their popularity in opinion polling, with multiple party leaders and First Ministers ( Nicola Sturgeon , Humza Yousaf and John Swinney ) and the Operation Branchform police investigation. Sturgeon claimed occupational burnout was the reason for her resignation, while Yousaf resigned amid a government crisis following his termination of a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens . When Swinney assumed
3819-417: A disproven claim that Labour would cost households £2000 more in tax. Keir Starmer used the word "change" as his campaign slogan and offered voters the chance to "turn the page" by voting Labour. The Liberal Democrat campaign led by Ed Davey was dominated by his campaign stunts, which were used to bring attention to campaign topics. When asked about these stunts, Davey said: "Politicians need to take
4020-523: A draft Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (Repeal) Bill, later retitled the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 . This entered into force on 24 March 2022. Thus, the prime minister can again request the monarch to dissolve Parliament and call an early election with 25 working days' notice. Section 4 of the Act provided: "If it has not been dissolved earlier, a Parliament dissolves at the beginning of
4221-616: A dynamite campaign in Britain. A total of twenty-five major explosions beset Irish nationalism's perception and dictated Britain's approach towards Ireland and the " Irish question ". In 1865 the Fenian Brotherhood in America had split into two factions. One was led by O'Mahony with Stephens' support. The other, which was more powerful, was led by William R. Roberts . The Fenians had always planned an armed rebellion, but there
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#17327730590494422-516: A green society, a wealth tax , a carbon tax, and a windfall tax on the profit of banks. The manifesto promises quicker access to NHS dentistry and GPs and reductions in the hospital waiting list. They would also reach net zero by 2040 and introduce rent controls. On 12 June, Conservative minister Grant Shapps said in a radio interview that voters should support the Conservatives so as to prevent Labour winning "a super-majority", meaning
4623-678: A large majority (the UK Parliament does not have any formal supermajority rules). This was interpreted by journalists as a possible and surprising admission of defeat. It paralleled social media advertising by the Conservatives that also focused on urging votes not to give Starmer a large majority. On 13 June, Starmer released the Labour Party manifesto Change , which focused on economic growth, planning system reforms, infrastructure, clean energy, healthcare, education, childcare, crime, and strengthening workers' rights. It pledged
4824-564: A large majority at the 2019 general election and the new government passed the Brexit withdrawal agreement . The COVID-19 pandemic saw the government institute public-health restrictions , including limitations on social interaction, that Johnson and some of his staff were later found to have broken . The resulting political scandal ( Partygate ), one of many in a string of controversies that characterised Johnson's premiership , damaged his personal reputation. The situation escalated with
5025-606: A long time arguably still better than in the Republic of Ireland. 2024 United Kingdom general election Rishi Sunak Conservative Keir Starmer Labour The 2024 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024, to elect 650 members of Parliament to the House of Commons , the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . The opposition Labour Party , led by Keir Starmer , defeated
5226-472: A majority of the anti-treaty Sinn Féin of these views and the movement split again. In 1926, he formed a new party called Fianna Fáil ("Soldiers of Destiny"), taking most of Sinn Féin's TDs with him. In 1931, following the enactment of the Statute of Westminster , the country became a sovereign state along with the other Dominions and the United Kingdom. The following year, De Valera was appointed President of
5427-476: A meeting of the Privy Council on 15 November 2023 and came into force on 29 November 2023, meaning that the election was contested on these new boundaries. The election was contested under new constituency boundaries established by the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies . Consequently, media outlets reported seat gains and losses as compared to notional results . These are estimates of
5628-476: A member of the Commonwealth. As a result of this – and also because continuing struggle against the Dublin government was futile – the republican movement decided to focus on Northern Ireland from then on. The decision was announced by the IRA in its Easter statement of 1949. The area that was to become Northern Ireland amounted to six of the nine counties of Ulster, in spite of
5829-630: A new publicly owned energy company ( Great British Energy ) and National Wealth Fund , a ''Green Prosperity Plan", rebuilding the NHS and reducing patient waiting times, free breakfast clubs in primary schools, investing in green infrastructure, innovation, training and skills across the UK to boost economic growth, and renationalisation of the railway network ( Great British Railways ). It includes wealth creation and "pro-business and pro-worker" policies. The manifesto also pledged to give votes to 16-year olds, reform
6030-587: A pejorative term for Irish Catholics. Public support for the Fenian movement in Ireland grew in November 1861 with the funeral of Terence MacManus , a member of the Irish Confederation, which Stephens and the Fenians had organised – having "recognized the potential of street parades for mobilizing supporters and influencing onlookers". The popularity endowed by the procession and oration established
6231-583: A premature explosion at an arms depot attracted the attention of police, they were unaware of the United Irishmen activities at the time and did not have any information regarding the planned rebellion. Emmet had hoped to avoid the complications of the previous rebellion and chose not to organise the county outside of Dublin to a large extent. It was expected that the areas surrounding Dublin were sufficiently prepared for an uprising should one be announced, and Thomas Russell had been sent to northern areas of
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6432-705: A pro-Treaty general. The new government , responding to this provocation and to intensified British pressure following the assassination by an anti-treaty IRA unit in London of Henry Wilson , ordered the regular army to take the Four Courts , thereby beginning the Irish Civil War . It is believed that Collins continued to fund and supply the IRA in Northern Ireland throughout the civil war, but, after his death, W. T. Cosgrave (the new President of
6633-462: A protest movement after the introduction of internment in August 1971, organising marches and pickets. The party launched its platform, Éire Nua ("a New Ireland") at the 1971 Ard Fheis . In general, however, the party lacked a distinct political philosophy. In the words of Brian Feeney, "Ó Brádaigh would use Sinn Féin ard fheiseanna (party conferences) to announce republican policy, which was, in effect, IRA policy, namely that Britain should leave
6834-499: A qualified mental health counsellor, boosting preventative mental health services, transforming NHS dentistry, legislating for a progressive ban on smoking (a bill proposed by the Conservative government which had not passed before Parliament was prorogued ), banning junk food advertising to children, and banning energy drinks for under 16s. Labour released its plan for small business on 8 June, which included pledges to replace
7035-400: A reappraisal of the policy of abstention from the Dáil. At the 1983 Ard Fheis the constitution was amended to remove the ban on the discussion of abstentionism to allow Sinn Féin to run a candidate in the forthcoming European elections. However, in his address, Adams said, "We are an abstentionist party. It is not my intention to advocate change in this situation." A motion to permit entry into
7236-547: A record 42.6% of the vote in the election: the Liberal Democrats , led by Ed Davey , made the most significant gains, of seventy-two seats, with a total of 3.5 million votes; like Labour, this represented a decline in their vote from 2019. It was the party's best-ever result and made it the third-largest party in the Commons, a status it had previously held but lost at the 2015 general election . Reform UK achieved
7437-450: A referendum on Irish unification. This information did not become publicly known until 2022 and the move was criticised in some quarters on the basis that it would be wrong for Sinn Féin to work with dissident republican groups which do not repudiate violence by paramilitaries. Sinn Féin retorted that engaging with dissident republicans draws them into the democratic process and political solutions instead of violent ones. Sinn Féin won 29% of
7638-617: A republic of Ireland independent from connections to England dates from 1627. Summaries of these plans are held in the Archives générales du Royaume in Belgium and were made familiar to Irish historians by the work of Fr. Brendan Jennings, a Franciscan historian, with his work Wild Geese in Spanish Flanders, 1582–1700 (1964). This early republican spirit was not ecumenical and was formed by exiled Irish Catholic Gaels with
7839-442: A stance later reiterated by McDonald as a way of resolving the border issues raised by Brexit . Sinn Féin's first elections under McDonald resulted in the party performing well under its own expectations during the 2018 Irish presidential election that October, and similarly, the party's performance was labelled "disastrous" during the concurrent May 2019 European Parliament election in Ireland and 2019 Irish local elections . In
8040-611: A term intended as a pejorative . Sinn Féin was founded on 28 November 1905, when, at the first annual Convention of the National Council, Arthur Griffith outlined the Sinn Féin policy, "to establish in Ireland's capital a national legislature endowed with the moral authority of the Irish nation". Its initial political platform was both conservative and monarchist , advocating for an Anglo-Irish dual monarchy unified with
8241-680: A tutoring guarantee for children from low-income families), increased funding for public services, tax reforms, reaching net zero by 2045 (5 years before the current government target of 2050), investing in green infrastructure, innovation, training and skills across the UK to boost economic growth, and removing the two-child limit on tax and benefits . The Liberal Democrats also offered a lifelong skills grant, giving adults £5,000 to spend on improving their skills. The party wants electoral reform, and pledged to introduce proportional representation for electing MPs, and local councillors in England, and cap donations to political parties. Sunak released
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8442-497: Is already incorporated in the 2023 and 2024 budget . Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay released the Green Party's manifesto Real Hope. Real Change. on 12 June, which pledged more taxes on the highest earners, generating £70 billion a year to help tackle climate change and the NHS. They also pledged increased spending for public services, free personal care in England, renationalisation of railway, water and energy,
8643-592: Is an assertion of Irish national sovereignty and self-determination, i.e., the Irish people governing themselves, rather than being part of a political union with Great Britain under the Westminster Parliament . A split in January 1970, mirroring a split in the IRA, led to the emergence of two groups calling themselves Sinn Féin. One, under the continued leadership of Tomás Mac Giolla , became known as "Sinn Féin (Gardiner Place)", or "Official Sinn Féin";
8844-453: Is the main opposition, having won the largest share of first-preference votes in the 2020 election . The current president of Sinn Féin is Mary Lou McDonald , who succeeded Gerry Adams in 2018. The phrase "Sinn Féin" is Irish for "Ourselves" or "We Ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone" (from " Sinn Féin Amháin ", an early-20th-century slogan). The name
9045-551: Is to establish a free and independent republic in Ireland: that the pursuit of this object we will relinquish only with our lives ... We war against no religious sect ... We war against English dominion. However, failed communications and arrangements produced a considerably smaller force than had been anticipated. Nonetheless, the rebellion began in Dublin on the evening of 23 July. Emmet's forces were unable to take Dublin Castle, and
9246-451: The 1945 general election almost exactly seventy-nine years earlier. A total of 4,515 candidates were nominated, more than in any previous general election. General elections in the United Kingdom are organised using first-past-the-post voting . The Conservative Party, which won a majority at the 2019 general election, included pledges in its manifesto to remove the 15-year limit on voting for British citizens living abroad, and to introduce
9447-581: The 1969 Northern Ireland riots , and the expulsion of traditional republicans by the leadership during the 1960s. At its October 1970 Ard Fheis , delegates were informed that an IRA convention had been held and had regularised its structure, bringing to an end the "provisional" period. By then, however, the label "Provisional" or "Provo" was already being applied to them by the media. The opposing, anti-abstentionist party became known as "Official Sinn Féin". It changed its name in 1977 to "Sinn Féin—The Workers' Party", and in 1982 to " The Workers' Party ". Because
9648-695: The 2020 Irish general election , Sinn Féin received the greatest number of first preference votes nationally, making it the best result for any incarnation of Sinn Féin since the 1922 election . Fianna Fáil , Fine Gael and the Green Party formed a coalition government in June 2020. Although second on seats won at the election, Sinn Féin became the largest party in the Dáil when Marc MacSharry resigned from Fianna Fáil in September 2021, which, with Seán Ó Fearghaíl sitting as Ceann Comhairle , left Sinn Féin
9849-454: The 2023 Northern Ireland local elections , Sinn Féin became the largest party in local government for the first time. Then, in the local elections in the Republic of Ireland in 2024 , Sinn Féin increased their vote share, however, significantly fell short of the polls, showcasing a divide between the party's leadership and grassroots over immigration, with disgruntled Sinn Féin voters voting instead for small right-wing parties. However, following
10050-675: The 2024 United Kingdom general election , Sinn Féin became the single largest party representing Northern Ireland in Westminster. Sinn Féin is the largest Irish republican political party, and was historically associated with the Irish Republican Army , while also having been associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the party's modern incarnation. The Irish government alleged that senior members of Sinn Féin have held posts on
10251-489: The 2024 United States presidential election instead. However, Farage later announced on 3 June that, contrary to his statement earlier in the campaign, he would stand for Parliament in Clacton , and that he had resumed leadership of Reform UK , taking over from Richard Tice , who remained the party's chairman. Farage also predicted that Labour would win the election, whilst stating the Conservatives were incapable of being
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#173277305904910452-409: The 59 in 2019 , with the following notional partisan composition of Scotland's parliamentary delegation. The Scottish National Party would have remained steady on 48 seats despite two of its constituencies being dissolved. The Scottish Conservatives ' seat count of six would likewise remained unchanged. Scottish Labour would have retained Edinburgh South , the sole constituency they won in 2019. Had
10653-682: The Chris Pincher scandal in July 2022, leading to Johnson's resignation . He resigned as an MP the following year, after an investigation unanimously found that he had lied to Parliament. Liz Truss won the resultant leadership election and succeeded Johnson in September. Truss announced large-scale tax cuts and borrowing in a mini-budget on 23 September, which was widely criticised and – after it rapidly led to financial instability – largely reversed. She resigned in October, making her
10854-804: The Fenian Brotherhood and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), fraternal organisations founded in the United States and Ireland respectively with the aim of establishing an independent republic in Ireland. The IRB was founded on Saint Patrick's Day 1858 in Dublin. Members present at the first meeting were James Stephens , Thomas Clarke Luby , Peter Langan, Joseph Denieffe, Garrett O'Shaughnessy, and Charles Kickham . Stephens had previously spent time exiled in Paris, along with John O'Mahony , having taken part in
11055-534: The Great Famine and the suspension of habeas corpus , which allowed the government to imprison Young Irelanders and other political opponents without trial, was hastily planned and quickly suppressed. Following the abortive uprising, several rebel leaders were arrested and convicted of sedition. Originally sentenced to death, Smith O'Brien and other members of the Irish Confederation were transported to Van Diemen's Land . The Fenian movement consisted of
11256-644: The IRA Army Council . However, the SF leadership has denied these claims. Irish republican Inactive Defunct Irish republicanism ( Irish : poblachtánachas Éireannach ) is the political movement for an Irish republic , void of any British rule . Throughout its centuries of existence, it has encompassed various tactics and identities, simultaneously elective and militant and has been both widely supported and iconoclastic. The modern emergence of nationalism, democracy, and radicalism provided
11457-409: The Israel–Hamas war and appealing to the constituency's sizeable Muslim population. However, Alba lost both their seats and the Workers Party lost their sole seat of Rochdale after Galloway lost it to Labour's Paul Waugh , having only been an MP for 92 days. This table relates to the composition of the House of Commons at the 2019 general election and its dissolution on 30 May 2024 and summarises
11658-461: The Nationalist side in the Spanish Civil War , and a smaller number of ex-IRA members, communists and others participated on the Republican side. In 1937, the Constitution of Ireland was drafted by the de Valera government and approved via referendum by the majority of the population of the Free State. The constitution changed the name of the state to Éire in the Irish language ( Ireland in English) and asserted its national territory as
11859-444: The Northern Ireland peace process and the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The PIRA have since decommissioned and republicans have been elected to various echelons of government: those within the movement opposed to this outcome are often referred to as dissident republicans . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, Ireland, or parts of it, had experienced alternating degrees of rule from England. While some of
12060-505: The Protestant Ascendancy . It also attracted support and membership from Catholic agrarian resistance groups, such as the Defenders organisation, who were eventually incorporated into the Society. The Society sought to unite the denominations of the island under the simple distinction of Irish. The Irish Rebellion of 1798 began on 23 May, with the first clashes taking place in County Kildare on 24 May, before spreading throughout Leinster , as well as County Antrim and other areas of
12261-487: The Puritan Parliament of England ) it evolved into the Irish Confederate Wars . In the summer of 1642, the Catholic upper classes formed the Catholic Confederation , which essentially became the de facto government of Ireland for a brief period until 1649, when the forces of the English Parliament carried out the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the old Catholic landowners were permanently dispossessed of their lands. The most explicit Irish separatist viewpoint from
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#173277305904912462-415: The Republican Network for Unity . Sinn Féin supported a no vote in the referendum on the Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008 . Immediately after the June 2017 UK general election , where the Conservatives won 49% of seats but not an overall majority, so that non-mainstream parties could have significant influence, Gerry Adams announced for Sinn Féin that their elected MPs would continue
12663-426: The Second Dáil , thus ending the conflict. Though many across the country were unhappy with the Anglo-Irish Treaty (since, during the war, the IRA had fought for independence for all Ireland and for a republic, not a partitioned dominion under the British crown ), some republicans were satisfied that the Treaty was the best that could be achieved at the time. However, a substantial number opposed it. Dáil Éireann ,
12864-457: The St Andrews Agreement and agreed to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland . Sinn Féin is the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, having won the largest share of first-preference votes and the most seats in the 2022 election , the first time an Irish nationalist party has done so. Since 2024, Michelle O'Neill has served as the first ever Irish nationalist First Minister of Northern Ireland . From 2007 to 2022, Sinn Féin
13065-416: The Ulster Unionist Party and Traditional Unionist Voice won one seat each, and the independent unionist Alex Easton won North Down . Many of the record number of newly-elected independent MPs, including the former leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn , formed the Independent Alliance group in parliament. Labour entered the election with a large lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls , and
13266-529: The United Kingdom House of Commons . However, in line with Sinn Féin abstentionist policy, she did not take her seat in the House of Commons. The party supported the Irish Republican Army during the War of Independence , and members of the Dáil government negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty with the British government in 1921. In the Dáil debates that followed, the party divided on the Treaty. The pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty components (led by Michael Collins and Éamon de Valera respectively) managed to agree on
13467-408: The Whigs .' William Smith O'Brien , who had previously worked to achieve compromise between O'Connell and The Nation group, was also concerned, and claimed that he feared these resolutions were an attempt to exclude the Young Irelanders from the Association altogether. At an Association meeting held in July 1846 at Conciliation Hall , the meeting place of the Association, Thomas Francis Meagher ,
13668-407: The first-preference votes in the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election , the highest share of any party. With 27 out of 90 seats, they became the largest party in Stormont for the first time ever. "Today ushers in a new era", O'Neill said shortly before the final results were announced. "Irrespective of religious, political or social backgrounds, my commitment is to make politics work." Following
13869-410: The left and toward the political centre , and also emphasised the elimination of antisemitism within the party . Starmer's leading his party rightward in order to improve its electability has been widely compared to Tony Blair 's development of New Labour in the 1990s. The political turmoil from the Conservative scandals and government crises led to Labour having a significant lead in polling over
14070-526: The partition of the island , then occurred. Republican action, including armed campaigns, continued in the newly-formed state of Northern Ireland, a region of the United Kingdom. Tensions in the territory culminated in widespread conflict by 1969. This prompted paramilitaries: republicans assembled under the Provisional Irish Republican Army , who waged a campaign against the British state for approximately three decades. Represented by Sinn Féin , republicans would gradually invest in political action, including
14271-468: The province was heavily colonised with English and Scottish settlers. Campaigns against English presence on the island had occurred prior to the emergence of the Irish republican ideology. In the 1590s and early 1600s, resistance was led by Hugh O'Neill (see the Nine Years' War ). The Irish chieftains were ultimately defeated, leading to their exile (the ' Flight of the Earls ') and the aforementioned Plantation of Ulster in 1609. In Europe, prior to
14472-436: The shortest-serving prime minister in British history . Rishi Sunak won the resultant leadership election unopposed to succeed Truss in October. During his premiership , Sunak was credited with improving the economy and stabilising national politics following the premierships of his predecessors, although many of his pledges and policy announcements ultimately went unfulfilled. He did not avert further unpopularity for
14673-547: The " Black and Tans ", to reinforce the Royal Irish Constabulary 's Auxiliary Division . Republicans were the primary adversary of these forces, whose warfare included pillaging and extrajudicial executions. Both sides used similar tactics: hair cutting , arson attacks, taking of hostages and executions. Republicans also established sovereign courts , a considerable symbol of the movement's public support. In August 1920 Irish Republican prisoners went on
14874-602: The "Provisionals" were committed to military rather than political action, Sinn Féin's initial membership was largely confined, in Danny Morrison 's words, to men "over military age or women". A Sinn Féin organiser of the time in Belfast described the party's role as "agitation and publicity" New cumainn (branches) were established in Belfast, and a new newspaper, Republican News , was published. Sinn Féin took off as
15075-443: The 1798 rebellion, Emmet was a member of the United Irishmen, as was his brother Thomas Addis Emmet , who had been imprisoned for membership in the organisation. Emmet and his followers had planned to seize Dublin Castle by force, manufacturing weaponry and explosives at a number of locations in Dublin. Unlike those of 1798, preparations for the uprising were successfully concealed from the government and law enforcement, and though
15276-543: The 18th and 19th centuries, republics were in a minority and monarchy was the norm, with few long-lasting republics of note at time, such as the fully-fledged Dutch Republic and the Republic of Venice , as well as the Old Swiss Confederacy and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , which had republican aspects. However, as noted by Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich , the first ever document proposing
15477-523: The 2017 votes would have translated to seats under the 2018 boundaries suggested the changes would have been beneficial to the Conservatives and detrimental to Labour. In March 2020, Cabinet Office minister Chloe Smith confirmed that the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies would be based on retaining 650 seats. The previous relevant legislation was amended by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020 and
15678-417: The 2019 election . For example, the Conservatives would have won Wirral West and Leeds North West instead of the Labour Party, but Labour would have won Pudsey and Heywood & Middleton instead of the Conservatives. Westmorland and Lonsdale , the constituency represented by former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron , was notionally a Conservative seat. In Scotland , 57 MPs were elected, down from
15879-542: The 2019 general election occurred with the new boundaries in effect, the Scottish Liberal Democrats would have only won two seats ( Edinburgh West and Orkney and Shetland ), instead of the four they did win that year, as the expanded electorates in the other two would overcome their slender majorities. Under the new boundaries, Wales lost eight seats, electing 32 MPs instead of the 40 it elected in 2019 . Welsh Labour would have won 18 instead of
16080-562: The 22 MPs it elected in 2019, and the Welsh Conservatives 12 instead of 14. Due to the abolition and merging of rural constituencies in West Wales , Plaid Cymru would have only won two seats instead of four. Nonetheless, the boundary changes were expected to cause difficulty for the Conservatives as more pro-Labour areas were added to some of their safest seats. In Northern Ireland , the notional results are identical to
16281-502: The Acts of Union 1800, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, by a vote of 158 to 115. A number of tactics were used to achieve this end. Lord Castlereagh and Charles Cornwallis were known to use bribery extensively. In all, a total of sixteen Irish borough-owners were granted British peerages . A further twenty-eight new Irish peerages were created, while twenty existing Irish peerages increased in rank. Furthermore,
16482-738: The Assembly's recall the previous May. The relevant parties to these talks were given a deadline of 24 November 2006 to decide upon whether or not they would ultimately form the executive. The 86-year Sinn Féin boycott of policing in Northern Ireland ended on 28 January 2007, when the Ard Fheis voted overwhelmingly to support the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Sinn Féin members began to sit on Policing Boards and join District Policing Partnerships. There
16683-559: The British Crown (inspired by the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 ). The party contested the 1908 North Leitrim by-election , where it secured 27% of the vote. Thereafter, both support and membership fell. At its 1910 ard fheis (party conference) attendance was poor, and there was difficulty finding members willing to take seats on the executive. In 1914, Sinn Féin members, including Griffith, joined
16884-553: The British Army continued for a short time afterward in the Wicklow Mountains under the leadership of Michael Dwyer and Joseph Holt , involving attacks on small parties of yeomen . These activities were perceived by some to be merely "the dying echoes of an old convulsion", but others feared further large-scale uprisings, due to the United Irishmen continuing to attract large numbers of Catholics in rural areas of
17085-459: The Conservative manifesto Clear Plan. Bold Action. Secure Future. on 11 June, addressing the economy, taxes, welfare, expanding free childcare, education, healthcare, environment, energy, transport, community, and crime. They pledged to lower taxes, increase education and NHS spending, deliver 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors, introduce a new model of National Service , continue to expand apprenticeships and vocational training, simplify
17286-469: The Conservatives who, by the time of Sunak's election, had been in government for 12 years. Public opinion in favour of a change in government was reflected in the Conservatives' poor performance at the 2022 , 2023 and 2024 local elections . Keir Starmer won the Labour Party 's 2020 leadership election , succeeding Jeremy Corbyn . Under his leadership, Starmer repositioned the party away from
17487-671: The Conservatives, often by very wide margins, since late 2021, coinciding with the start of the Partygate scandal. Labour made gains in local elections: in the 2023 local elections, Labour gained more than 500 councillors and 22 councils, becoming the largest party in local government for the first time since 2002. Ed Davey , who previously served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition , won the Liberal Democrat 's 2020 leadership election , succeeding Jo Swinson , who lost her seat in
17688-667: The Conservatives, saying that the Conservatives are incapable of being the Opposition due to "spending most of the last five years fighting each other rather than fighting for the interests of this country". On 6 June, the Green Party announced plans to invest an extra £50 billion a year for the NHS by raising taxes on the top 1% of earners. The Conservatives announced a policy on expanding child benefit for higher-earners. Labour also announced communities will be given powers to transform derelict areas into parks and green spaces. Labour's countryside protection plan would also include
17889-704: The D-Day commemorations, and said that Sunak "has to answer for his actions". Sunak apologised the next day and apologised again on 10 June. He made a third apology on 12 June. Farage was among those critical of Sunak over his leaving the D-Day events, saying on 7 June that Sunak did not understand "our culture". Conservative and Labour politicians criticised these words as being a racist attack on Sunak, which Farage denied. On 10 June, Labour pledged 100,000 new childcare places and more than 3,000 new nurseries as part of its childcare plan. It also announced its Child Health Action Plan, which included providing every school with
18090-477: The Dáil was allowed at the 1985 Ard Fheis , but did not have the active support of the leadership, and it failed narrowly. By October of the following year an IRA Convention had indicated its support for elected Sinn Féin TDs taking their seats. Thus, when the motion to end abstention was put to the Ard Fheis on 1 November 1986, it was clear that there would not be a split in the IRA as there had been in 1970. The motion
18291-462: The European elections, Sinn Féin lost 2 MEPs and dropped their vote share by 7.8%, while in the local elections the party lost 78 (almost half) of their local councillors and dropped their vote share by 5.7%. McDonald stated "It was a really bad day out for us. But sometimes that happens in politics, and it's a test for you. I mean it's a test for me personally, obviously, as the leader". However, in
18492-498: The Executive Council , or prime minister) discontinued this support. By May 1923, the war ended in the order by Frank Aiken , telling IRA members to dump arms. However, the harsh measures adopted by both sides, including assassinations, executions and other atrocities , left a bitter legacy in Irish politics for decades to follow. In October 1923 mass hunger strikes were undertaken by Irish republican prisoners protesting
18693-658: The Executive Council of the Free State and began a slow process of turning the country from a constitutional monarchy to a constitutional republic, thus fulfilling Collins's prediction of "the freedom to achieve freedom". By then, the IRA was engaged in confrontations with the Blueshirts , a quasi-fascist group led by a former War of Independence and pro-Treaty leader, Eoin O'Duffy . O'Duffy looked to Fascist Italy as an example for Ireland to follow. Several hundred supporters of O'Duffy briefly went to Spain to volunteer on
18894-633: The IRA's Border Campaign (Operation Harvest) , the Northern Ireland Government banned Sinn Féin under the Special Powers Act ; it would remain banned until 1974. By the end of the Border campaign five years later, the party had once again lost all national representation. Through the 1960s, some leading figures in the movement, such as Cathal Goulding , Seán Garland , Billy McMillen , Tomás Mac Giolla , moved steadily to
19095-895: The Irish Regiment in the Spanish Netherlands then in the service of the Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia , to invade and reconquer the English-controlled Kingdom of Ireland and set up an Irish government loosely aligned with the Habsburg Empire . One of the main problems was that within the leadership of the Hispano-Irish diaspora, there were rivalries and factionalism between two primary contenders, Shane O'Neill and Hugh O'Donnell , over who should be
19296-590: The Irish parliament, voted by 64 votes to 57 to ratify it, the majority believing that the treaty created a new base from which to move forward. Éamon de Valera , who had served as President of the Irish Republic during the war, refused to accept the decision of the Dáil and led the opponents of the treaty out of the House. The pro-Treaty republicans organised themselves into the Cumann na nGaedheal party, while
19497-520: The King to call a general election for 4 July 2024, surprising his own MPs. Though Sunak had the option to wait until December 2024 to call the election, he said that he decided on the date because he believed that the economy was improving, and that "falling inflation and net migration figures would reinforce the Conservative Party 's election message of 'sticking to the plan'". The calling of
19698-682: The Labour Party campaign in Gillingham at the Priestfield Stadium . On 24 May, the Conservatives proposed setting up a Royal Commission to consider a form of mandatory national service. It would be made up of two streams for 18-year-olds to choose from, either 'community volunteering' by volunteering with organisations such as the NHS, fire service, ambulance, search and rescue, and critical local infrastructure, or 'military training' in areas like logistics and cyber security. Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn announced on 24 May he
19899-414: The National Council remained in existence as a pressure group with the aim of increasing nationalist representation on local councils. The first annual convention of the National Council on 28 November 1905 was notable for two things: the decision, by a majority vote (with Griffith dissenting), to open branches and organise on a national basis; and the presentation by Griffith of his 'Hungarian' policy, which
20100-670: The North or the 'war' would continue". In May 1974, a few months after the Sunningdale Agreement , the ban on Sinn Féin was lifted by the UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland . Sinn Féin was given a concrete presence in the community when the IRA declared a ceasefire in 1975 . 'Incident centres', manned by Sinn Féin members, were set up to communicate potential confrontations to the British authorities. From 1976, there
20301-538: The O'Mahony wing of the movement itself tried and failed to capture Campobello Island in New Brunswick in April 1866. Following this failure, the Roberts faction of the Fenian Brotherhood carried out its own, occupying the village of Fort Erie, Ontario on 31 May 1866 and engaging Canadian troops at the battles of Ridgeway and Fort Erie on 2 June. It was in reference to Fenians fighting in this battle that
20502-757: The Official Opposition due to having spent "much of the last five years fighting each other rather than fighting for the interests of this country." Davey released the Liberal Democrat campaign in Cheltenham in Gloucestershire . The SNP campaign launch the same day was overshadowed over a dispute around leader John Swinney 's support for Michael Matheson and developments in Operation Branchform. Starmer launched
20703-531: The Old English were strongly attached to. The motto of the Confederation would thus become Pro Deo, pro Rege et Patria, Hibernia unanimis ('Irishmen United for God, King and Country'), with any idea of a republic ditched. Beginning as a coup d'état with the aim of restoring lost lands in the north of Ireland and defending Catholic religious and property rights, (which had been suppressed by
20904-405: The Republic of Ireland's national political bodies. The party expelled Denis Donaldson , a party official, in December 2005, with him stating publicly that he had been in the employ of the British government as an agent since the 1980s. Donaldson told reporters that the British security agencies who employed him were behind the collapse of the Assembly and set up Sinn Féin to take the blame for it,
21105-679: The Secretary of State on 5 September 2018 and made their reports public a week later. However, the proposals were never put forward for approval before the calling of the general election held on 12 December 2019, and in December 2020 the reviews were formally abandoned under the Schedule to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020. A projection by psephologists Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher of how
21306-460: The Unionist government was undemocratic, bigoted and favoured Protestants. Emigration for economic reasons kept the nationalist population from growing, despite its higher birth rate. Although poverty, (e)migration and unemployment were fairly widespread (albeit not to the same extent) among Protestants as well, on the other hand the economic situation in Northern Ireland (even for Catholics) was for
21507-587: The Young Irelanders) and 1865 and 1867 (by the Fenians) were followed by harsh reprisals by British forces. The National Council, was formed in 1903, by Maud Gonne and Arthur Griffith , on the occasion of the visit of King Edward VII to Dublin. Its purpose was to lobby Dublin Corporation to refrain from presenting an address to the king. The motion to present an address was duly defeated, but
21708-548: The Younger that he would bring about Catholic emancipation , though after the Acts of Union were successfully voted through, King George III saw that this pledge was never realised, and as such Catholics were not granted the rights that had been promised prior to the Acts. A second attempt at forming an independent Irish republic occurred under Robert Emmet in 1803. Emmet had previously been expelled from Trinity College , Dublin for his political views. Like those who had led
21909-568: The actual results of the 2019 general election in Northern Ireland . Labour entered the election with a large lead over the Conservatives in opinion polls , and the potential scale of the party's victory was a topic of discussion during the campaign period. The economy , healthcare , education , infrastructure development, environment, housing, energy , and immigration , and standards in public office were main campaign topics. The Conservative campaign led by Rishi Sunak focused primarily on attacks towards Labour over alleged tax plans including
22110-656: The anti-Redmond Irish Volunteers , which was referred to by Redmondites and others as the "Sinn Féin Volunteers". Although Griffith himself did not take part in the Easter Rising of 1916, many Sinn Féin members who were members of the Volunteers and the Irish Republican Brotherhood did. Government and newspapers dubbed the Rising "the Sinn Féin Rising". After the Rising, republicans came together under
22311-569: The anti-Treaty republicans retained the Sinn Féin name. The IRA itself split between pro-Treaty and anti-Treaty elements, with the former forming the nucleus of the new Irish National Army . Michael Collins became Commander-in-Chief of the National Army. Shortly afterwards, some dissidents, apparently without the authorisation of the anti-Treaty IRA Army Executive, occupied the Four Courts in Dublin and kidnapped JJ "Ginger" O'Connell ,
22512-484: The ban, mainly by using actors to dub the voices of banned speakers. The legislation did not apply during election campaigns and under certain other circumstances. The ban lasted until 1994. Tentative negotiations between Sinn Féin and the British government led to more substantive discussions with the SDLP in the 1990s. Multi-party negotiations began in 1994 in Northern Ireland, without Sinn Féin. The Provisional IRA declared
22713-411: The banner of Sinn Féin, and at the 1917 ard fheis the party committed itself for the first time to the establishment of an Irish Republic . In the 1918 general election , Sinn Féin won 73 of Ireland's 105 seats, and in January 1919, its MPs assembled in Dublin and proclaimed themselves Dáil Éireann , the parliament of Ireland. Sinn Féin candidate Constance Markievicz became the first woman elected to
22914-723: The care of the High Court led to the Sinn Féin Funds case , which the party lost and in which the judge ruled that it was not the legal successor to the Sinn Féin of 1917. By the late 1940s, two decades removed from the Fianna Fáil split and now the Sinn Féin funds lost, the party was little more than a husk. The emergence of a popular new republican party, led by former IRA members, in Clann na Poblachta , threatened to void any remaining purpose Sinn Féin had left. However, it
23115-580: The changes in party affiliation that took place during the 2019–2024 Parliament. Originally the next election was scheduled to take place on 2 May 2024 under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 . At the 2019 general election, in which the Conservatives won a majority of 80 seats, the party's manifesto contained a commitment to repeal the Fixed-term Parliaments Act. In December 2020, the government duly published
23316-573: The coalition government, announced his intention to declare Ireland a republic. The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 , which "described" the state as the Republic of Ireland (without changing its name or constitutional status), led the British government to pass the Ireland Act 1949 , which declared that Northern Ireland would continue as part of the United Kingdom unless the Parliament of Northern Ireland consented to leave; and Ireland ceased to be
23517-516: The concerns and interests of voters seriously but I'm not sure they need to take themselves seriously all the time and I'm quite happy to have some fun." Party manifesto and fiscal spending plans were independently analysed by the Institute for Fiscal Studies and their environmental policies were assessed by Friends of the Earth . On the afternoon of 22 May 2024, Sunak announced that he had asked
23718-679: The continuation of their internment without trial by the newly formed Irish Free State - three men died during the 1923 Irish Hunger Strikes . De Valera, who had strongly supported the Republican anti-treaty side in the Civil War, reconsidered his views while in jail and came to accept the ideas of political activity under the terms of the Free State constitution. Rather than abstaining from Free State politics entirely, he now sought to republicanise it from within. However, he and his supporters – which included most Sinn Féin TDs – failed to convince
23919-600: The country and arms raids being carried out on a nightly basis. It was also feared that rebels would again seek military aid from French troops, and another rising was expected take place by 10 April. This perceived threat of further rebellion resulted in the Parliamentary Union between the Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. After some uncertainty, the Irish Parliament voted to abolish itself in
24120-482: The country to prepare republicans there. A proclamation of independence, addressed from 'The Provisional Government' to 'The People of Ireland' was produced by Emmet, echoing the republican sentiments expressed during the previous rebellion: You are now called on to show to the world that you are competent to take your place among nations, that you have a right to claim their recognisance of you, as an independent country ... We therefore solemnly declare, that our object
24321-579: The country. French soldiers landed in Killala on 22 August and participated in the fighting on the rebels' side. Even though they had considerable success against British forces in County Wexford , rebel forces were eventually defeated. Key figures in the organisation were arrested and executed. Though the Rebellion of 1798 was eventually put down, small republican guerrilla campaigns against
24522-444: The current business rates system and to tackle the skill shortage by creating a new public body, Skills England . They also pledged to revitalise Britain's high streets and a new trade strategy. The Liberal Democrat manifesto For a Fair Deal was released on 10 June, which included commitments on free personal care in England, investment in the NHS including more GPs , increased funding for education and childcare (including
24723-644: The date of the general election. This led to the song reaching number two on UK's iTunes Charts . At the beginning of the campaign, Labour had a significant lead in polling over the Conservatives. Polling also showed Labour doing well against the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Scotland. When visiting Windermere , Davey fell off a paddleboard , while campaigning to highlight the issue of sewage discharges into rivers and lakes. A couple of days later, Davey won media attention when going down
24924-477: The day that is the fifth anniversary of the day on which it first met". The Electoral Commission confirmed that the 2019 Parliament would, therefore, have to be dissolved, at the latest, by 17 December 2024, and that the next general election had to take place no later than 28 January 2025. With no election date fixed in law, there was speculation as to when the prime minister , Rishi Sunak , would call an election. On 18 December 2023, Sunak told journalists that
25125-404: The different rates of population growth. North West England and North East England lost two seats each, whereas South East England gained seven and South West England gained three. Based on historical voting patterns, this was expected to help the Conservatives. Using the new boundaries, different parties would have won several constituencies with unchanged names but changed boundaries from
25326-429: The election was welcomed by all major parties. Sunak's announcement took place during heavy rain at a lectern outside 10 Downing Street , without the use of any shelter from the rain. The D:Ream song " Things Can Only Get Better " (previously used by the Labour Party in its successful 1997 general election campaign) was being played loudly in the background by the political activist Steve Bray as Sunak announced
25527-421: The election would be held on 4 July with the dissolution of the Parliament on 30 May. The deadline for candidate nominations was 7 June 2024, with political campaigning for four weeks until polling day on 4 July. On the day of the election, polling stations across the country were open from 7 am, and closed at 10 pm. The date chosen for the 2024 general election made it the first to be held in July since
25728-438: The election would take place in 2024 rather than January 2025. On 4 January, he first suggested the general election would probably be in the second half of 2024. Throughout 2024, political commentators and MPs expected the election to be held in the autumn. On 22 May 2024, following much speculation through the day (including being asked about it by Stephen Flynn at Prime Minister's Questions ), Sunak officially announced
25929-455: The ending of the truce. Rees released the last of the internees, and ended ' Special Category Status ' for all prisoners convicted after 1 March 1976. This led first to the blanket protest , and then to the dirty protest . Around the same time, Gerry Adams began writing for Republican News , calling for Sinn Féin to become more involved politically. Over the next few years, Adams and those aligned with him would extend their influence throughout
26130-421: The fact that in the last all Ireland election ( 1918 Irish general election ) counties Fermanagh and Tyrone had Sinn Féin/Nationalist Party (Irish Parliamentary Party) majorities. In 1921, Ireland was partitioned. Most of the country became part of the independent Irish Free State . However, six out of the nine counties of Ulster remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland. During this time (1920–1922)
26331-590: The four boundary commissions formally launched their 2023 reviews on 5 January 2021. They were required to issue their final reports prior to 1 July 2023. Once the reports had been laid before Parliament, Orders in Council giving effect to the final proposals had to be made within four months, unless "there are exceptional circumstances". Prior to the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020, boundary changes could not be implemented until they were approved by both Houses of Parliament. The boundary changes were approved at
26532-402: The governing Conservative Party , led by Rishi Sunak , in a landslide victory . The election was the first general election victory for Labour since 2005 , and ended the Conservatives' fourteen-year tenure as the primary governing party. Labour achieved a 174-seat simple majority, and a total of 411 seats, a single-party figure surpassed only by Tony Blair in 1997 . The party's vote share
26733-499: The government of Great Britain sought to replace Irish politicians in the Irish parliament with pro-Union politicians, and rewards were granted to those that vacated their seats, with the result being that in the eighteen months prior to the decision in 1800, one-fifth of the Irish House of Commons changed its representation due to these activities and other factors such as death. It was also promised by Prime Minister William Pitt
26934-498: The hot-spot policing programme to more areas, and more town regeneration projects. The Conservatives also unveiled plans for fly-tippers to get points on their driving licences and other new measures to protect the environment. On 2 June, Labour pledged to reduce record high legal immigration to the United Kingdom by improving training for British workers. Net migration to the UK was 685,000 in 2023. Labour also focused on national security, with Starmer reaffirming his commitment to
27135-585: The largest party in Wales . It lost seven seats: five to independent candidates in seats with sizeable Muslim populations, largely attributed to its stance on the Israel–Hamas war ; one to the Green Party of England and Wales ; and one to the Conservatives. The Conservative Party was reduced to 121 seats on a vote share of 23.7%, the worst result in its history. It lost 251 seats in total, including those of twelve Cabinet ministers and also South West Norfolk ,
27336-622: The largest party by one seat. Sinn Féin lost their numerical advantage in February 2022 following the resignation of Violet-Anne Wynne . In November 2020, the national chairman of Sinn Féin Declan Kearney contacted several dissident republican political parties such as Saoradh , Republican Network for Unity and the Irish Republican Socialist Party about creating a united republican campaign to call for
27537-412: The law of God [ 'laws of morality'] to the commands of my superior officers; and that I shall preserve inviolable secrecy regarding all the transactions [ 'affairs'] of this secret society that may be confided in me. So help me God! Amen. The Fenian Brotherhood was the IRB's counterpart organisation, formed in the same year in the United States by O'Mahony and Doheny. The Fenian Brotherhood's main purpose
27738-404: The leadership after being elected unopposed to succeed Yousaf, the SNP had been in government for 17 years. Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay took over leadership of the Green Party of England and Wales from Siân Berry and Jonathan Bartley in 2021. Rhun ap Iorwerth took over leadership of Plaid Cymru . The Brexit Party rebranded as Reform UK , and was initially led by Richard Tice in
27939-435: The left of the party being excluded. Abbott said she had been barred from standing as a Labour Party candidate at the election, but Starmer later said she would be "free" to stand as a Labour candidate. On 30 May, both the Conservatives and Labour ruled out any rise in value-added tax . The SNPs Màiri McAllan claimed that only the SNP offered Scotland a route back into the European Union , making Pro-Europeanism part of
28140-414: The left, even to Marxism , as a result of their own reading and thinking and contacts with the Irish and international left. This angered more traditional republicans, who wanted to stick to the national question and armed struggle. The Garland Commission was set up in 1967, to investigate the possibility of ending abstentionism. Its report angered the already disaffected traditional republican element within
28341-416: The likes of John Locke and Thomas Paine , they initially propagated parliamentary reform and Catholic emancipation . Degradation in the legal achievement of these outcomes, coupled with the burgeoning perception of England as a foreign conqueror, inspired revolutionary sentiment and eventual action. At this stage, the movement was led primarily by liberal Protestants, particularly Presbyterians from
28542-428: The marginal constituency of Westmorland and Lonsdale , highlighting the release of sewage in waterways. He pledged to abolish Ofwat and introduce a new water regulator to tackle the situation, in addition to proposing a ban on bonuses for chief executives of water companies. Starmer was in West Sussex and emphasised his small town roots in his first big campaign speech. On 29 May, Labour's Wes Streeting promised
28743-427: The name "Irish Republican Army" was first used. These attacks (and those that followed) in Canada are collectively known as the " Fenian raids ". Irish republican and other independence movements were suppressed by the British authorities following the merging of Ireland with Britain into the United Kingdom after the Act of Union in 1801 . Nationalist rebellions against British rule in 1803, by Robert Emmet, 1848 (by
28944-510: The native Gaelic population attempted to resist this occupation, a single, unified political goal did not exist amongst the independent lordships that existed throughout the island. The Tudor conquest of Ireland took place in the 16th century. This included the Plantations of Ireland , in which the lands held by Gaelic Irish clans and Hiberno-Norman dynasties were confiscated and given to Protestant settlers ("Planters") from England and Scotland . The Plantation of Ulster began in 1609, and
29145-487: The new Irish Free State for nine years (it merged with two other organisations to form Fine Gael in 1933). Anti-Treaty Sinn Féin members continued to boycott the Dáil. At a special Ard Fheis in March 1926, de Valera proposed that elected members be allowed to take their seats in the Dáil if and when the controversial Oath of Allegiance was removed. When his motion was defeated, de Valera resigned from Sinn Féin; on 16 May 1926, he founded his own party, Fianna Fáil , which
29346-484: The newly formed Northern Ireland saw "savage and unprecedented" communal violence between unionists and nationalists (see The Troubles in Ulster (1920–1922) ). In the 1921 elections in Northern Ireland: This territory of Northern Ireland, as established by the Government of Ireland Act 1920 , had its own provincial government which was controlled for 50 years until 1972 by the conservative Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). The tendency to vote on sectarian lines and
29547-414: The other, led by Ruairí Ó Brádaigh , became known as " Sinn Féin (Kevin Street) ", or " Provisional Sinn Féin ". As the "Officials" dropped all mention of Sinn Féin from their name in 1982—instead calling themselves the Workers' Party —the term "Provisional Sinn Féin" has fallen out of use, and the party is now known simply as "Sinn Féin". Sinn Féin members have been referred to colloquially as "Shinners",
29748-419: The overall leader and thus have rights to an Irish throne if the project was a success. A third option was to resolve the conflict between the two factions before an invasion by making them family, with a marriage proposed between Hugh O'Donnell's sister Mary Stuart O'Donnell and Shane O'Neill, but this broke down. Ministers in Madrid , to Philip IV of Spain , instead drew up proposals on 27 December 1627 for
29949-433: The party dropped its abstentionist policy for the Dáil; some members formed Republican Sinn Féin in protest. In the 1990s, Sinn Féin—under the leadership of Adams and Martin McGuinness —was involved in the Northern Ireland peace process . This led to the Good Friday Agreement and created the Northern Ireland Assembly , and saw Sinn Féin become part of the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive . In 2006, it co-signed
30150-418: The party simply did not have the funds to contest the second election called that year , declaring "no true Irish citizen can vote for any of the other parties". Fianna Fáil came to power at the 1932 general election (to begin what would be an unbroken 16-year spell in government) and went on to long dominate politics in the independent Irish state. An attempt in the 1940s to access funds that had been put in
30351-513: The party's campaign. Reform UK proposed an immigration tax on British firms who employ foreign workers . Carla Denyer and Adrian Ramsay launched the Green Party of England and Wales campaign in Bristol. Rhun ap Iorwerth launched the Plaid Cymru campaign in Bangor . George Galloway launched the Workers Party of Britain campaign in Ashton-under-Lyne . On 31 May, the Conservatives announced new "pride in places" pledges, including new rules to tackle anti-social behaviour, rolling out
30552-454: The party, notably Seán Mac Stíofáin and Ruairí Ó Brádaigh, who viewed such a policy as treason against the Irish Republic. Sinn Féin split in two at the beginning of 1970. On 11 January, the proposal to end abstentionism and take seats, if elected, in the Dáil, the Parliament of Northern Ireland and the Parliament of the United Kingdom was put before the members at the party's Ard Fheis . A similar motion had been adopted at an IRA convention
30753-406: The party. As part of this rapprochement, it was later made clear by the army council that the IRA would dictate to Sinn Féin, and not the other way around. At the 1955 United Kingdom general election , two Sinn Féin candidates were elected to Westminster, and likewise, four members of Sinn Féin were elected to Leinster House in the 1957 Irish general election . In December 1956, at the beginning of
30954-417: The peace process formed the 32 County Sovereignty Movement in the late 1990s. At the 1997 Irish general election , Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin was elected to the Dáil. In doing so, he became the first person under the "Sinn Féin" banner to be elected to Leinster House since 1957 , and the first since 1922 to take their seat. Ó Caoláin's entry to the Dáil marked the beginning of a continuous Sinn Féin presence in
31155-427: The period, found in Disputatio Apologetica , written in Lisbon in 1645 by Fr. Conor O'Mahony , a Jesuit priest from Munster, argued instead for a Gaelic monarchy to be set up in an explicitly Catholic Ireland, with no mention of a republic. The origin of modern Irish republicanism exists in the ideology and action of the United Irishmen. Founded in 1791 and informed by the Enlightenment , popular sovereignty and
31356-441: The permanent leader in May. New political parties who made their campaign debuts in this election included the Alba Party , led by former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond , and the Workers Party of Britain , led by anti-war activist George Galloway , who won the 2024 Rochdale by-election in a political upset three months before the election was called – advertising himself as a protest candidate against Labour's stance on
31557-461: The planning system to speed up infrastructure projects (digital, transport and energy), and to treble Britain's offshore wind capacity and support solar energy. The manifesto includes a pledge to abolish Stamp Duty on homes worth up to £425,000 for first time buyers and expand the Help to Buy scheme. The Conservatives also pledged a recruitment of 8,000 new police officers and a rollout of facial recognition technology . Much of what has been proposed
31758-526: The planting new national forests, taskforces for tree-planting and flood resilience, new river pathways, and a commitment to revive nature. Green spaces would be a requirement in the development of new housing and town plans. Both Sunak and Starmer attended D-Day commemorations in Normandy on 6 June, the 80th anniversary of Operation Neptune . Sunak was widely criticised for leaving events early to do an interview with ITV, including by veterans. Starmer met with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and King Charles III during
31959-493: The policy of not swearing allegiance to the Queen , as would be required for them to take their seats in the Westminster Parliament. In 2017 and 2018 there were allegations of bullying within the party, leading to a number of resignations and expulsions of elected members. At the Ard Fheis on 18 November 2017, Gerry Adams announced he would stand down as president of Sinn Féin in 2018, and would not stand for re-election as TD for Louth . On 10 February 2018, Mary Lou McDonald
32160-399: The popularity of the republican ideals in Ireland and repression of republican political expressions by the British government, led to widespread support across Ireland for the Irish rebels. In 1921, the British government led by David Lloyd George negotiated the Anglo-Irish Treaty with republican leaders led by Arthur Griffith who had been delegated as plenipotentiaries on behalf of
32361-409: The potential scale of the party's victory was a topic of discussion during the campaign period. The economy , healthcare , education , infrastructure development, environment, housing , energy , immigration , and standards in public office were main campaign topics. There was relatively little discussion of Brexit , which was a major issue during the 2019 general election . This general election
32562-419: The press in Britain to describe members of the Repeal Association (a group campaigning for the repeal of the Acts of Union 1800 which joined the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain) who were involved with the Irish nationalist newspaper The Nation . Encouraging the repeal of the Acts of Union, members of the Young Ireland movement advocated the removal of British authority from Ireland and
32763-409: The previous general election. Davey prioritised defeating the Conservatives and ruled out working with them following the election. The Liberal Democrats made gains in local elections: in the 2024 local elections, the Liberal Democrats finished second for the first time in a local election cycle since 2009. Like the Conservatives, the Scottish National Party (SNP) suffered political turmoil and saw
32964-482: The previous month, leading to the formation of a Provisional Army Council by Mac Stíofáin and other members opposed to the leadership. When the motion was put to the Ard Fheis , it failed to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority. The Executive attempted to circumvent this by introducing a motion in support of IRA policy, at which point the dissenting delegates walked out of the meeting. These members reconvened at Kevin Barry Hall in Parnell Square , where they appointed
33165-642: The proportions of each religious denomination ensured that there would never be a change of government. In local government, constituency boundaries were drawn to divide nationalist communities into two or even three constituencies and so weaken their effect (see Gerrymandering ). The (mainly Catholic) Nationalist population in Northern Ireland, besides feeling politically alienated, was also economically alienated, often with worse living standards compared to their Protestant (mainly Unionist) neighbours, with fewer job opportunities, and living in ghettos in Belfast , Derry, Armagh and other places. Many Catholics considered
33366-436: The province of Ulster . The founding members of the United Irishmen were mainly Southern Irish Protestant aristocrats. The key founders included Wolfe Tone , Thomas Russell , Henry Joy McCracken , James Napper Tandy , and Samuel Neilson . By 1797, the Society of United Irishmen had around 100,000 members. Crossing the religious divide in Ireland, it had a mixed membership of Catholics, Presbyterians, and even Anglicans from
33567-449: The re-establishment of the Irish Parliament in Dublin. The group had cultural aims also, and encouraged the study of Irish history and the revival of the Irish language . Influential Young Irelanders included Charles Gavan Duffy , Thomas Davis and John Blake Dillon , the three founders of The Nation . The Young Irelanders eventually seceded from the Repeal Association. The leader of the Repeal Association, Daniel O'Connell , opposed
33768-436: The remaining Sinn Féin organisation was small and often without parliamentary representation. It continued its association with the Irish Republican Army . Another split in 1970 at the start of the Troubles led to the modern Sinn Féin party, with the other faction eventually becoming the Workers' Party . During the Troubles , Sinn Féin was associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army . For most of that conflict, it
33969-501: The republican movement and slowly marginalise Ó Brádaigh, part of a general trend of power in both Sinn Féin and the IRA shifting north. In particular, Ó Brádaigh's part in the 1975 IRA ceasefire had damaged his reputation in the eyes of northern republicans. The prisoners' protest climaxed with the 1981 hunger strike , during which striker Bobby Sands was elected Member of Parliament for Fermanagh and South Tyrone as an Anti H-Block candidate. After his death on hunger strike, his seat
34170-476: The results if all votes cast in 2019 were unchanged, but regrouped by the new constituency boundaries. Since notional results in the vote counts at parliamentary elections in the UK do not yield figures at any level more specific than that of the whole constituency, it is only possible to estimate the notional results, with the assistance of local election results. In England , seats were redistributed towards Southern England , away from Northern England , due to
34371-484: The revolutionary Irish Republic and its parliament, the First Dáil , and many of them were active in the Irish War of Independence , during which the party was associated with the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922) . The party split before the Irish Civil War and again in its aftermath, giving rise to the two traditionally dominant parties of Irish politics: Fianna Fáil , and Cumann na nGaedheal (which merged with smaller groups to form Fine Gael ). For several decades
34572-425: The rising broke down into rioting, which ensued sporadically throughout the night. Emmet escaped and hid for some time in the Wicklow Mountains and Harold's Cross , but was captured on 25 August and hanged on 20 September 1803, at which point the Society of United Irishmen was effectively finished. The Young Ireland movement began in the late 1830s. The term 'Young Ireland' was originally a derogatory one, coined by
34773-455: The same association as O'Connell and his supporters. After some protest, the Young Irelanders left Conciliation Hall and the Repeal Association forever, founding the Irish Confederation 13 January 1847 after negotiations for a reunion had failed. The Young Ireland movement culminated in a failed uprising (see Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848 ), which, influenced by the French Revolution of 1848 and further provoked by government inaction during
34974-459: The seat of the former prime minister Liz Truss . It also lost all its seats in Wales. The Conservatives' notional loss of 251 seats represents the highest decrease for any party at a single election in British history, narrowly surpassing 1906 , and the corresponding Labour gain of 211 is the largest since 1945 . The combined Labour and Conservative vote share was 57.4%, the lowest since the December 1910 general election . Smaller parties took
35175-417: The support of Habsburg Spain as part of the Irish military diaspora who had fled into Spanish service in the aftermath of the Flight of the Earls during the Thirty Years' War . This was in the context of the break-down of the Spanish match and the onset of the Anglo-Spanish War of 1625–1630. Proposals were made at Madrid, with the involvement of Archbishop Florence Conry and Owen Roe O'Neill , for
35376-419: The support of both parties. They nearly reached a deal in November 2004, but the DUP insisted on photographic and/or video evidence that decommissioning of IRA weapons had been carried out, which was unacceptable to Sinn Féin. In April 2006 a number of members of Sinn Féin who believed the party was not committed enough to socialism split from the party and formed a new group called Éirígí , which later became
35577-437: The third-highest vote share at 14.3%, with over four million votes, which won it five seats, and the Green Party of England and Wales won four seats; both parties achieved their best parliamentary results in history. In Wales Plaid Cymru won four seats. In Scotland the Scottish National Party was reduced from forty-eight seats to nine, and lost its status as the third-largest party in the Commons. In Northern Ireland, which has
35778-502: The tradition of republican funerals , a ritual instrumental as evidenced by the oration at Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa's funeral . Popular perception elsewhere deemed the movement as terrorisitic – a persistent perception of republicanism thereafter. Nevertheless, the likes of Rossa would raise the public profile of the movement by their evocation of martyrdom and highlighting of prisoner maltreatment. Support from America proved both lucrative and troublesome as transatlantic members waged
35979-584: The uprising of 1848 and fleeing to avoid capture. O'Mahony left France for America in the mid-1850s and founded the Emmet Monument Association with Michael Doheny . Stephens returned to Ireland in 1856. The original oath of the society, drawn up by Luby under Stephens' direction, read: I, AB., do solemnly swear, in the presence of Almighty God, that I will do my utmost, at every risk, while life lasts, to make [other versions, according to Luby, establish in'] Ireland an independent Democratic Republic; that I will yield implicit obedience, in all things not contrary to
36180-423: The use of physical force to enact repeal, and passed 'peace resolutions' declaring that violence and force were not to be employed. Though the Young Irelanders did not support the use of violence, the writers of The Nation maintained that the introduction of these peace resolutions was poorly timed, and that to declare outright that physical force would never be used was 'to deliver themselves bound hand and foot to
36381-409: The whole of Ireland. The new state was headed by a President of Ireland elected by universal suffrage. The new Constitution removed all reference to the monarchy but foreign diplomats continued to present their credentials to the King in accordance with the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 which had not been repealed. The new state had the objective characteristics of a republic and
36582-518: The years preceding the election before Nigel Farage resumed leadership during the election campaign. Edwin Poots took over as the Democratic Unionist Party leader in May 2021 but lasted only 20 days. He was replaced by Jeffrey Donaldson , who resigned in March 2024 after being arrested on charges relating to historical sex offences. He appeared in court on 3 July, the day before polling day, to face additional sex offence charges. Gavin Robinson initially took over as interim leader, and then became
36783-410: Was running as an independent in Islington North against a Labour candidate, and was thus expelled from the party. On 27 May, Starmer made a keynote speech on security and other issues. On 28 May, the Conservatives pledged a "Triple Lock Plus" where the personal income tax allowance for pensioners would always stay higher than the state pension. Davey went paddleboarding on Lake Windermere in
36984-419: Was 33.7%, the lowest of any majority party on record, making this the least proportional general election in British history according to the Gallagher index . Labour won 211 more seats than the previous general election in 2019 , but half a million fewer total votes. The party became the largest in England for the first time since 2005, in Scotland for the first time since 2010 , and retained its status as
37185-431: Was a broadcasting ban on Sinn Féin representatives in the Republic of Ireland, after the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs , Conor Cruise O'Brien , amended Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act . This prevented RTÉ interviewing Sinn Féin spokespersons under any circumstances, even where the subject was not related to the Northern Ireland conflict. This lasted until 1994. Political status for prisoners became an issue after
37386-449: Was a turning point in Irish history, leading to the War of Independence and the end of British rule in most of Ireland. From 1919 to 1921 the Irish Republican Army (IRA) was organised as a guerrilla army, led by Richard Mulcahy and with Michael Collins as Director of Intelligence and fought against the British. During the Anglo-Irish War , the British government formed a paramilitary police force consisting of former soldiers, known as
37587-419: Was affected by broadcasting bans in the Irish and British media . Although the party sat on local councils, it maintained a policy of abstentionism for the British House of Commons and the Irish Dáil Éireann , standing for election to those legislatures but pledging not to take their seats if elected. After Gerry Adams became party leader in 1983, electoral politics were prioritised increasingly. In 1986,
37788-457: Was announced as the new president of Sinn Féin at a special Ard Fheis in Dublin. Michelle O'Neill was also elected as vice president of the party. Sinn Féin were opposed to Northern Ireland leaving the European Union together with the rest of the United Kingdom, with Martin McGuinness suggesting a referendum on the reunification of Ireland immediately after the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum results were announced,
37989-411: Was around this same time that the IRA leadership once again sought to have a political arm (the IRA and Sinn Féin had effectively no formal ties following the civil war). Following an IRA army convention in 1948, IRA members were instructed to join Sinn Féin en masse and by 1950 they had successfully taken total control of the party, with IRA army council member Paddy McLogan named as the new president of
38190-473: Was dedicated to republicanising the Free State from within its political structures. He took most Sinn Féin Teachtaí Dála (TDs) with him. De Valera's resignation meant also the loss of financial support from America. The rump Sinn Féin party could field no more than fifteen candidates, and won only five seats in the June 1927 general election , a decline in support not seen since before 1916. Vice-president and de facto leader Mary MacSwiney announced that
38391-408: Was elected to Belfast City Council , the first Sinn Féin member to sit on that body. Sinn Féin polled over 100,000 votes in the Westminster elections that year , and Adams won the West Belfast seat that had been held by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). By 1985 it had 59 seats on seventeen of the 26 Northern Ireland councils, including seven on Belfast City Council. The party began
38592-437: Was held, with an increased vote, by his election agent, Owen Carron . Two other Anti H-Block candidates were elected to Dáil Éireann in the general election in the Republic . These successes convinced republicans that they should contest every election. Danny Morrison expressed the mood at the 1981 Ard Fheis when he said: Who here really believes we can win the war through the ballot box? But will anyone here object if, with
38793-424: Was not reliant on unionist votes and re-admitted Sinn Féin, leading to another, permanent, ceasefire. The talks led to the Good Friday Agreement of 10 April 1998, which set up an inclusive devolved government in Northern Ireland, and altered the Dublin government's constitutional claim to the whole island in Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland . Republicans opposed to the direction taken by Sinn Féin in
38994-426: Was now called the Sinn Féin policy. This meeting is usually taken as the date of the foundation of the Sinn Féin party. In 1916 the Easter Rising , organised by the Irish Republican Brotherhood , was launched in Dublin and the Irish Republic was proclaimed, albeit without significant popular support. The Rising was suppressed after six days, and most of its leaders were executed by the British authorities. This
39195-420: Was now disagreement as to how and where this rebellion might be carried out. Roberts' faction preferred focusing all military efforts on British Canada (Roberts and his supporters theorised that victory for the American Fenians in nearby Canada would propel the Irish republican movement as a whole to success). The other, headed by O'Mahony, proposed that a rising in Ireland be planned for 1866. In spite of this,
39396-399: Was opposition to this decision within Sinn Féin, and some members left, including elected representatives. The most well-known opponent was former IRA prisoner Gerry McGeough , who stood in the 2007 Assembly election against Sinn Féin in the constituency of Fermanagh and South Tyrone , as an Independent Republican. He polled 1.8% of the vote. Others who opposed this development left to found
39597-450: Was passed with a two-thirds majority. Ó Brádaigh and about twenty other delegates walked out, and met in a Dublin hotel with hundreds of supporters to re-organise as Republican Sinn Féin . In October 1988, the British Conservative government followed the Republic in banning broadcasts of Sinn Féin representatives. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said it would "deny terrorists the oxygen of publicity". Broadcasters quickly found ways around
39798-454: Was referred to as such by de Valera himself, but, it remained within the British Commonwealth and was regarded by the British as a Dominion, like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. Furthermore, the claim to the whole of the island did not reflect practical reality and inflamed anti-Dublin sentiment among northern Protestants. In 1948, Fianna Fáil went out of office for the first time in sixteen years. John A. Costello , leader of
39999-449: Was the first in which photo identification was required to vote in person in Great Britain, the first fought using the new constituency boundaries implemented following the 2023 periodic review of Westminster constituencies , and the first called under the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 . This was also the first election to be held under the reign of King Charles III . The Conservative Party under Boris Johnson won
40200-415: Was the second-largest party in the Assembly, after the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and its nominees served as deputy First Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive. In the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, Sinn Féin has held seven of Northern Ireland's seats since the 2024 election ; it continues its policy of abstentionism at Westminster. In Dáil Éireann , it is the joint-largest party and
40401-477: Was to supply weapons and funds for its Irish counterpart and raise support for the Irish republican movement in the United States. The term "Fenian" was coined by O'Mahony, who named the American wing of the movement after the Fianna – a class of warriors that existed in Gaelic Ireland . The term became popular and is still in use, especially in Northern Ireland and Scotland, where it has expanded to refer to all Irish nationalists and republicans, as well as being
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