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Northern Ireland Bill

I remember making common cause with the Democratic Unionist party on that occasion, and saying that that was going to be a massive own goal for the Government. I think that the word most used at the time was ““gerrymandering””. It looked like gerrymandering to try to support the perceived allies of the Government’s agenda at the time. I do not hold the hon. Member for North Down responsible for her former leader’s decision, but it is important that we learn the lessons from that. If there is one absolutely certain reason not to change election dates, it is if the change is being made to try to manage or engineer a particular outcome.