Colum Eastwood’s partner, Louise Haigh (a former Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland), is often and accurately described as one of Andy Burnham’s closest allies.

She was a key member of the team that orchestrated the overthrow of Keir Starmer by way of what became known as the ABC (Andy By Conference) project, which began at the end of last year’s Labour conference and was geared to deliver victory by this September.

A deadline it managed to beat by almost three months.

So I can’t help but wonder - which is, after all, the key role of a columnist and commentator - whether Eastwood and Haigh had already chatted about the parts of his interview in Monday’s Irish News in which he suggested there was a ‘strong possibility’ of a hung parliament after the next UK general election (hardly the cheeriest of news for the new Prime Minister) and therefore it might make sense for Sinn Fein to consider abandoning abstention at Westminster and maybe engineer the chance to “influence the British government when it comes to a border poll”.

Brian Feeney: Never mind Burnham, at last the Irish government can finally see the value of unity

A much stronger and more decisive response is now required - The Irish News view

He has a point, albeit one from an extraordinarily long time ago.........

© The Irish News