New immigration policy document due to be published on Monday (22 July)

Will lay out SF’s immigration policy. They’ve been criticised for being vague on this.

Mary Lou McDonald admitted her party had “lost the trust” of its regular supporters and claimed the party had diverged from “where most people are” on immigration. “We are a party of the working class and the left,” the party leader said on social media this week, but the question was posed to Doherty today that due to their positioning on immigration, their grassroots working-class voters are migrating from the party.

“There are small minorities that are trying to exploit the frustration and fears that many communities face and it’s important that we actually get in there and listen to them and have proper dialogue and consultation with them,” Pearse Doherty said.