No, of course Labour haven’t approached Sinn Féin about a coalition

It was hyped up with a story in The Sun(£). By yesterday afternoon, the Tories had turned it into an online attack poster. Funny that.

The claim? That Labour are hoping to rely on Sinn Féin MPs to prop up a Miliband Government in a hung Parliament.

The glitch? Sinn Féin refuse to sit in the British Parliament. We all know this already. But it didn’t stop the Tories photoshopping Ed Miliband rubbing shoulders with Gerry Adams outside Number 10.

Ivan Lewis, the Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, has dismissed the story as “nonsense”.

“Sinn Féin have said themselves that this story is ‘pure fiction’, and that absolutely no discussions have taken place. Labour’s record as an honest broker in Northern Ireland speaks for itself.

“The Tories clearly intend to fight this election in the gutter. Peace and stability are far too important to be used as a party political football.”

Sinn Féin MP Conor Murphy dismissed it on the party’s website as “lazy, gutter journalism”.

So why has it come up? Another Sinn Féin MP, Pat Doherty, told Channel 4 News earlier this week that, when working, other MPs had enquired about whether they would consider taking their seats – which is “always dealt with in the same way,” he said.

Rumours that they would soon break their record of abstention have appeared over the past few years, ever since Martin McGuinness had that famous handshake with the Queen in 2012. If they can reconcile that, then, the theory goes, why would the anti-austerity party not enter a finely balanced hung Parliament, where they could make a big difference?

Labour MPs and spokespeople will tell you that the party are aiming for a majority, and a majority only. Admitting anything else would be be represented in the media as an admission of defeat. But behind the scenes, work must be going into preparations of a hung parliament. Every possible outcome must be accounted for. Only through a thorough understanding of where the votes in the Commons lie will Labour be able to have the upper hand in any post-election wrangles.

If the Irish republican party suddenly announced, on the morning after the election, that it was going to take its seats, it would fundamentally change the look of Parliament – you would need more votes to pass legislation, for starters. Even five votes could really make the difference; it would throw Labour’s contingencies plans into disarray.

Did Labour try to “woo” Sinn Féin into a coalition? No, get real. But did someone from Labour try to clarify that they definitely won’t be taking their seats, just in case? Maybe.