Sinn Fein won't drop its abstentionist policy over Brexit - and that's not necessarily a bad thing

Sean Swan provides a brief history of how Sinn Fein came to adopt its abstentionist policy and explains why it will not change a century-long stance to help defeat Brexit in Westminster. He writes that if they were to drop abstentionism, dissident republican organisations would gain support, to the detriment of the peace process. At the same time, were Brexit to be blocked with the help of Sinn Fein and the SNP, the result would be an enflamed English nationalism.