Early career

Initially a community activist in North Belfast's Rathcoole housing estate, Langhammer first became involved in politics in the 1980s, joining the Campaign for Labour Representation, which aimed to persuade the British Labour Party to organise in Northern Ireland.^[1] In 1989, he stood in the European Parliament election as a "Labour Representation" candidate, polling 3,540 votes.^[2]

Newtownabbey

Langhammer stood unsuccessfully for Newtownabbey Borough Council in Doagh Road in 1985 for the 'All Night Party'.^[3]

Langhammer was elected to Newtownabbey Borough Council as a Newtownabbey Labour candidate for Macedon electoral area in 1993.^[4] The Campaign for Labour Representation disbanded, having accepted that the British Labour Party had no intention of organising in Northern Ireland, and Langhammer instead began lobbying the Irish Labour Party to do so.^[1]

Labour coalition

Langhammer was initially recognised as the leader of the Labour coalition, formed in 1996 to contest elections to the Northern Ireland Forum.^[1] He headed the group's list in the Belfast North constituency, but this took only 571 votes, and he was not elected.^[5] He also took third position on the Coalition's regional list, but only the first two candidates were successful.^[6] Amid turmoil in the Coalition, Langhammer refused to take part in the talks which led to the Good Friday Agreement, holding that the set-up for them was "institutionalised sectarianism".^[1]

Langhammer held his council seat in 1997 and 2001 before standing down in 2005.^[4] In 2002, he was injured in a pipe bomb attack, which police attributed to loyalist paramilitaries.^[7]

Irish Labour Party

In 2003, the Irish Labour Party began admitting members in the north, and the following year, Langhammer became the Chair of the Northern Ireland Labour Forum, the local branch of the party. In 2005, he was unsuccessful in elections to the Irish Labour Party National Executive Committee (NEC), but was co-opted on the proposal of Kathleen Lynch.^[1]

Langhammer stood down from the NEC in 2008. Langhammer unsuccessfully proposed a motion for the party to contest council elections in Northern Ireland at the 2009 Irish Labour Party conference, which was defeated. Although remaining a Labour Party member, Langhammer is no longer active in the Party, or its Northern Ireland Constituency Party.^{[citation needed]}