The veteran Labour MP, Diane Abbott, has said she believes the new UK government should call a border poll.

She said it would establish where public opinion lies on both sides of the Irish border.

Ms Abbott, 70, is the longest-serving female MP in the House of Commons, having won a seat in 10 successive general elections since 1987.

She made her remarks about a border poll at an event in west Belfast, as part of the annual festival Féile an Phobail.

Ms Abbott said: “I think it’s very important to have a border poll, not least because it will establish where public opinion lies.

“I’m in favour of a united Ireland but it has to be with the consent of both sides of the border, and a border poll to establish where opinion lies is the first step towards a united Ireland.”

The Labour government has indicated that it has no intention of calling a border poll in the near future.

Last month, the new Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn said in Belfast that there was “no evidence” that the conditions for holding such a vote had been met.

However, Ms Abbott said, in her opinion, it could it happen this decade.

In an interview with BBC News NI, she said: “It’s perfectly possible in the next five years because that’s what politics is like.”

Five weeks before the general election, Ms Abbott was readmitted as one of the party’s MPs, after being suspended for saying Jewish, Irish and the Traveller community do not face racism “all their lives”.

On Thursday, the trade union leader Mick Lynch spoke at the Féile and talked about his support for a united Ireland.

Mr Lynch, whose parents are Irish, grew up in London and is general secretary of the RMT union.

He said: “I believe in a united Ireland. It was the way I was brought up. But it’s got to be by consent, it’s got to a real united Ireland where people come together at their pace.

“I don’t believe in coercion. I think we have to grow a united Ireland rather than enforce it.”

The Féile runs until 11 August.