Dear Sam

In his recent article in Sunday Independent Sam McBride starts with an unexpected eugenic trope, that it was “Horny Catholics” that laid the foundation for Sinn Fein’s recent success. Sinn Fein’s success is more accurately a consequence of the post-Brexit antics of the DUP (Death of the Union Party), the demise of the SDLP as a political force as witnessed by Claire Hanna’s interview on Sunday Politics and the best organised political and “get out the vote” ground game of any party. In addition, Michelle was presented as the new Mother Theresa, with all images and no issues, much like all the other parties. Sam did get one comment right “Demography is not destiny” but political Unionism has failed to understand that. Unionist unity or more accurately the Unionist hegemony was built upon embedding a siege mentality within working-class Protestants, selling the civil rights movement as a Catholic insurgency and the myth that working-class Billy and working-class Seamus had nothing in common. So, what is also clear is that the Unionist political establishment were never really in the business of addressing the real needs and aspirations of their working-class brothers and sisters, it was about clinging to power. Both Unionist parties supported Brexit along with their colleagues in the ERG which resulted in the worst example of national political self-harm since the end of the end of the war. Consequently, Unionist parties are haemorrhaging votes to the inoffensive, tree-hugging, middle of the road and all things to all people party.  What is also evident is that the DUP and its post-Brexit antics have done more harm to the union than the IRA could have only dreamed of, in 30 years of violent republicanism.

The question that arises is not about the Unionist parties, rather is unionism as a political ideology?  I would tend to describe unionism as a mindset that is based on an underlying fear of change, the loss of the very hegemony mentioned earlier, fear of the other, a lack of vision for its constituents, failure to show real leadership in a new political ecosystem, failure to adequately advocate for issues that affect the daily lives of their working-class constituents and last but not least, the hostility to Irish unification.

Sam correctly says that the Union is not threatened by these results however, when you are in a political rabbit hole, my advice is to stop digging. Just to put unionists’ minds at rest about a border poll, it’s not happening soon and the calling for one by Sinn Fein is just “red meat” to those in the nationalist movement who haven’t worked out what a “New Ireland” will look like. A religious or sectarian head count will not determine the pace of Irish unification it will be the “Middle Classes Stupid”. A group that sees Irish Unification through the prism of economic security, taxes, health care, and education and not through the prism of religion, national identity or the creation of some sort of political utopia. Unionists, for want of a better word, need to focus on what they are paid to do, get back into government. If Unionists are serious about maintaining the union, a final bit of advice; try acting in the interest of all citizens, think of the next generation and make this place work.

Finally, what is equally true for those who extol the virtues of union and those who advocate for a new and united Ireland, is that Northern Ireland both as a political and economic entity, must work because no one wants a basket case.