Northern Ireland members of the Labour Party are being made to feel as if they are unwelcome, it was claimed today.
In a letter to British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair, Belfast-based trades unionist Mr Andy McGivern has asked for a meeting about a decision by Labour's national executive (NEC) not to set up constituency branches in Northern Ireland.
Last year Labour's conference lifted a 79-year membership ban on people in Northern Ireland, after Mr McGivern initiated legal proceedings against the party on the grounds that it was racist.
However the GMB official, who last November became the first person in the province to be issued with a membership card, has argued that it is meaningless if members are not allowed to set up branches and contest local elections.
Mr McGivern told the Prime Minister in his letter today he was shocked and disappointed to learn during a meeting this week with the head of Labour's constitutional department, Peter Watt, that the NEC had vetoed last month proposals to set up constituency associations.
"This I see as a breach of our democratic rights within the party as constituency parties (CLPs) are the means by which everything revolves," he argued.
Mr McGivern has requested meetings with both Mr Blair and the Labour NEC.
The trades unionist has in recent days warned he could be reluctantly forced to initiate a new legal action against the party to ensure Labour members in Northern Ireland are given the same rights as colleagues in Scotland, England and Wales.