History of the Republic of Ireland and secular-minded people, urban and rural, middle and working classes. Issues such as divorce, contraception and homosexuality have since become accepted by many and have ceased to be matters of serious political debate. However, legalising abortion remained controversial. Opinion poll evidence on the subject of abortion is mixed. On May 25, 2018 Ireland voted to repeal the ban on abortion. Legislation is expected by the end of the year to allow abortion on demand up to 12 weeks and under restrictions after that. In 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by means of
Northern Ireland Labour Party Northern Ireland Parliament using Proportional Representation. The party had a Westminster Member of Parliament on only one occasion, when Jack Beattie won the Belfast West by-election, 1943, retained the seat in 1945, but lost it in 1950. He regained the seat as an Irish Labour Party candidate in 1951. In 1949, following the declaration of a Republic in the south, the Northern Ireland Labour Party's conference voted in favour of the Union with Great Britain. The result was a sharp decline in the party's already limited electoral success, as Catholic voters deserted, and the Irish Labour Party attempted to organise