Sinn Féin is signalling a change of policy on immigration. It has heard the electorate and needs to present a new plan and approach, Mary Lou McDonald said at her party’s annual think-in last week.

Any change it can manage could have enormous political significance on both sides of the Border.

In the Republic, Sinn Féin’s current policy appears to be the single largest factor holding it back at the ballot box. After the 2024 local and European elections, Red C asked former Sinn Féin voters why they had stopped supporting the party. One-third cited immigration. The next-largest reason was housing, cited by 15 per cent.

In a book published last week, former Sinn Féin press officer Siobhán Fenton analysed immigration and the 2024 elections.

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She wrote that Sinn Féin took a softer line than its constituents through genuine conviction, but also because it believed a harder line would upset its voters in Northern Ireland, who were far less concerned about immigration.

Sinn Féin has been developing a new policy since its ardfheis in Belfast in April. Reports and statements indicate this will........

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