Periodically the thoughts of some unionists turn to unity, not of Ireland, but of unionism. From a recognition of a loss of power, a loss of control and, to some degree, a loss of political direction comes a desire to gather those of like mind ever closer together. With that desire comes an overwhelming belief that individual political endeavour “splits” the vote and if only every unionist supported every unionist candidate outcomes would be better, at least in the sense of controlling the political narrative.
Such thoughts of course require the unionist population to abandon all hope of expansive, forward thinking, modern political agendas in return for universally accepting the political agendas of the ideologically pure. Those who question science, believe in alternative facts, harken back to a misremembered past, will not moderate their views. A manifesto, if it moves beyond symbolism, will be their manifesto.
Circling the wagons around a concept of the union defined only by the flag and a misremembered glorious era of empire is the quickest way to lose what those in leadership say they value most, the union itself. Like it or not people, including unionists, are free to make political decisions which improve their lives and the future of their children.
It is in this that collective unionism follows a misguided and ultimately self-defeating strategy. The idea that the constitutional position should be maintained is entirely valid and one I agree with, but the constitutional position is not on the ballot in any forthcoming election and barring a significant change in public opinion won’t be. What is on the ballot is real politics, an area that political unionism either fails to engage with or internally holds diametrically opposed positions. In such circumstances the emphasis becomes “unionist unity” around the constitutional question.
A recent example of this has been the furore over comments by Leo Varadkar that a Reform government would bring a United Ireland ever closer. His comment was met with a tsunami of condemnation directed at him and denigrating his comments. Nowhere did I read of a unionist leader questioning the foundation of his assertion, simply put, will people support the Union under every variation of political ideology? Do the values of those in Government make any difference to those who live within the society they create? Does the fact that Reform cloak their actions in a Union flag excuse those values no matter how unpalatable?
Some in unionism take comfort in the fact that it is likely that a referendum, held now, would not result in a United Ireland. A position I agree with but with a reservation. Under the current process a referendum won’t be held now but if the conditions were met this could only have come about through a significant change in public opinion. The most recent “shock” to the status quo came with the Brexit result, it did not dramatically change the level of support for a United Ireland. While it’s entirely possible that such a dramatic change could come about because of one cataclysmic political event it is more likely that change will be gradual and as a result of multiple events creating small, sometimes imperceptible, shifts in public opinion.
Irrespective of whether a single event or a series of small changes Unionism resolutely refuses to consider the possibility that public opinion will shift and refuses to engage with the concept that the genesis of such changes occurs in the present. This failure to recognise risks represents a grave threat to the very thing unionists purport to want to protect.
There will be those who meet with generosity of spirit to discuss the unity of unionism, resolutely avoiding raising anything of any consequence lest they inadvertently create a point of friction. These are dry meetings in many ways, no policy, no vision, not a single understanding of the changing world outside the bubble. Certainly no one with the courage to challenge the prevailing narrative is likely to be included.
Those who believe in creating a better society with free political thought to debate, discuss and propose a better way forward risk being labelled as Lundy’s and ostracised.
Maintaining the union depends on recognising the threats, raising our heads, scanning the horizon and identifying the short-, medium- and long-term actions needed to improve the quality of life of all of our citizens. For those whose only interest is self-interest predicated on inaction and slogans this task is beyond them. A unionism that unites behind a single constitutional point, ignoring the vast array of societal issues that define the political issues which citizens are regularly invited to vote upon, is a unionism that has abandoned politics for the comfort blanket of groupthink.
Cicero's Voice 