It is time to kick the Tories out. That’s the message from Sinn Féin and the SDLP for the forthcoming general election and a fine message it is too.

However, kicking out one party means kicking in another one. The point which nationalists here do not appear to have recognised is that the party which they want to kick in is just as conservative as the Tories - and much more unionist. All we are likely to get is a new prime minister in the same old political clothes.

You might reasonably suggest that any party with the morality of Genghis Khan or the politics of Donald Trump would represent improvement. However, that just means we are heading for a government which is not as bad as the Tories, but which is not necessarily any better.

So who is Keir Starmer, what are his policies and what exactly can we expect from a Labour government?

Analysis: We’re spending more on health in the north but getting worse outcomes

Pro-union Starmer won’t do nationalists any favours - Patrick Murphy

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