Sinn Féin's 2024 manifesto presented the party as the largest party in Northern Ireland building momentum toward an Irish unity referendum by 2030. The seven Westminster seats would continue to abstain. The Stormont leadership delivered Michelle O'Neill as First Minister, the first nationalist to hold the office. Twenty three months on, the institutional success is intact. The constitutional progress is not. The unity referendum has moved from possibility to aspiration.
On Irish unity the manifesto demanded the British and Irish Governments set a referendum date by 2030. Mary Lou McDonald has continued to make the demand, accusing Taoiseach Micheál Martin of being the "biggest barrier" to unity. The British Government's position remains that a referendum will be called only when conditions suggest majority support. Sinn Féin has published no evidence that such conditions exist. The 2030 demand has not become a 2030 plan.
On Westminster representation the manifesto reaffirmed abstention as principled opposition to British sovereignty over Northern Ireland. The seven Sinn Féin MPs do not sit, do not speak, and do not vote on legislation that applies to Northern Ireland on reserved matters. The Windsor Framework, the Illegal Migration Act, the Troubles legacy legislation, and Westminster budget decisions affecting Northern Ireland's block grant are all decided without Sinn Féin participation. A party pursuing Irish unity has chosen to absent itself from the chamber that decides Northern Ireland policy.
On Stormont the manifesto's primary commitment was Michelle O'Neill as First Minister. O'Neill was sworn in on 3 February 2024. The Stormont Executive has remained in operation through 2025 and 2026 with the DUP's Emma Little-Pengelly as deputy First Minister. Sinn Féin has delivered the institutional achievement.
On the all Ireland framework the manifesto committed to working with Sinn Féin in the Republic to build the case for unity. The Sinn Féin Republic general election in late 2024 delivered fewer Dáil seats than polling suggested and returned the party to opposition. The unity momentum is now asymmetric: dominant in Northern Ireland, weakened in the Republic.
This is not a party that broke its manifesto. Sinn Féin delivered the institutional commitment: O'Neill is First Minister, the Stormont Executive operates, abstention continues as promised. But the constitutional progress the manifesto presumed has not happened. The 2030 referendum has not been promised by either Government. The Republic election did not deliver the all Ireland momentum required. The party dominant in Northern Ireland is unable to deliver the unity that justified its founding. Whether Stormont success can carry constitutional ambition when the party chose to absent itself from Westminster is the question Sinn Féin has not yet answered.
Economy & Tax
Sinn Féin's 2024 Westminster manifesto centred on the all Ireland economic argument: the dual mandate of Northern Ireland inside the UK fiscal framework and partially inside EU single market rules under the Windsor Framework created opportunities that should be maximised. The manifesto pushed for parity of treatment with Great Britain on fiscal transfers and for the Northern Ireland block grant to reflect need.
NHS & Health
NHS Northern Ireland is devolved. The manifesto pushed for an all Ireland approach to health planning, framed as the alignment of Northern Irish and Republic services where cross border efficiency made care more accessible. The Westminster ask was pass through of NHS England funding consequentials and the closing of pay parity gaps.
The Northern Ireland Health portfolio is currently held by the UUP's Mike Nesbitt as part of the Stormont Executive arrangement. Sinn Féin is responsible for the Executive's overall functioning through First Minister Michelle O'Neill but does not directly run health policy.
Immigration & Asylum
The manifesto opposed the Rwanda removals scheme, opposed the Illegal Migration Act framework, and supported the right of asylum seekers to work three months after arrival. The framing was Northern Ireland's specific labour market and demographic position requiring a more open approach than Westminster policy permits.
Education
Education in Northern Ireland is devolved. The manifesto committed to expanded integrated education provision, maintenance of free university tuition for Northern Irish students, and an Irish language strategy in schools. The Westminster ask was funding consequentials and continued UK student finance reciprocity.
Climate & Energy
The manifesto pledged Northern Ireland alignment with the UK net zero target while pushing for all Ireland climate cooperation through cross border infrastructure investment, particularly in offshore wind. The position broadly tracked UK climate policy with all Ireland framing as the distinctive Sinn Féin addition.
Housing
Housing in Northern Ireland is devolved. The manifesto pushed for expanded social housing investment, Local Housing Allowance uplifts, and an all Ireland framework for cross border worker housing access. The framing was the housing crisis as a structural feature of partition that an all Ireland approach could address.
Welfare & Work
The manifesto opposed the two child benefit cap, the bedroom tax and the wider Conservative welfare framework, and demanded parity of welfare protection with Great Britain. The Westminster ask was full pass through of UK welfare uprating to Northern Ireland and a real living wage policy.
Labour scrapped the two child benefit cap at the November 2025 Budget. The headline welfare ask of the 2024 manifesto has been delivered by the UK Government rather than achieved through Sinn Féin Westminster advocacy, which by abstention does not exist.
Crime & Justice
Criminal justice and policing in Northern Ireland are devolved. The manifesto pushed for an end to the legacy of the Troubles legislation that Sinn Féin argued failed both victims and reconciliation, and for police service reform including community policing expansion.
Defence & Foreign Policy
The manifesto opposed Trident nuclear weapons renewal, opposed Northern Irish military involvement in NATO operations, supported restoration of overseas aid to 0.7 per cent of GNI, and demanded UK Government acceptance of the call for an Irish unity referendum as set out in the Belfast Good Friday Agreement. Sinn Féin has historically opposed UK military engagement abroad.
Europe
Sinn Féin's 2024 manifesto supported the operational position created by the Windsor Framework, which keeps Northern Ireland inside parts of the EU single market for goods, and pushed for closer all Ireland economic alignment that would deepen the framework's working. The position was broadly distinct from the DUP and TUV demand for the framework's removal.
Constitution & Devolution
The defining 2024 manifesto commitment was that the British and Irish Governments set a date for a referendum on Irish unity by 2030, supported by a citizens' assembly and a joint Oireachtas committee to plan the constitutional change. The manifesto framed Northern Ireland's continued constitutional status as failed partition. The Westminster seven seats won were and remain abstentionist by principle, with Sinn Féin MPs not sitting, speaking or voting in the Commons.
Michelle O'Neill was appointed First Minister of Northern Ireland on 3 February 2024, the first nationalist to hold the office. The Stormont Executive has operated through 2025 and 2026. The unity referendum demand has been restated but neither the UK nor the Irish Government has committed to it. Mary Lou McDonald has accused Taoiseach Micheál Martin of being the "biggest barrier" to unity. The Republic of Ireland general election in late 2024 returned Sinn Féin to opposition, weakening the all Ireland political momentum the manifesto presumed.