Tongue in Cheek

Mark Devenport thinks this offering has an element of tongue in cheek and a limited attempt at a 'Modest Proposal'.  I'm not so sure, perhaps a bit niggly after a poor night's sleep, the Modest Proposal was to expose prejudice but the t-i-c element here seems more a masquerade for liberal prejudices and double standards.

"...an end to liberal assumptions"

In the most hard hitting contribution so far to the News Letter's Union 2021 series, Christopher Montgomery has come out swinging.  He argues:

"What Northern Ireland needs at some point between now and 2021 is an end to liberal assumptions...The most persistent liberal unionist delusion, whether admitted to or even consciously acknowledged, is that we have made nationalists unionists, or even merely less nationalist. We haven't: they're not...when you consider the full spectrum of unionism, which runs from self-regarding, status quo-entrenching Alliance members, all the way to piously non sectarian, reactionary Tory integrationists, the hope has been the same, and it was of nationalists. That one political act or another of ours, be it amelioration, cooperation or outright appeasement would result in the same thing: it would dim their nationalism. It hasn't."

For those yearning for a progressive unity he points out:

"When it came to any choice between Sinn Fein and unionists, the SDLP, under Hume, Durkan and Ritchie alike has always made the quintessentially sectarian choice of remaining within the nationalist laager."

He is equally harsh about the future and nationalism:

There isn’t going to be a 32 county Irish republic in 2021, and there is still going to be an Ulster in the Union. And it’s still going to have lots of nationalists in it who don’t want to be there...At some point, though, a chill inner voice is going to have to say, ‘fine: you don’t want pluralism, inclusivity, tolerance, compulsory-power sharing and equal rights for all?

‘You do want to continue, at all costs, myopic, communal ill-will politically projected as national revanche?

‘Okay, go ahead. Your problem: wallow away.’

A refreshingly different take from the predictable liberal assumptions that predominate but a predominance that shows little sign of decreasing.

UPDATE: Are the "liberal assumptions" the Unionist equivalent of nationalist/republican "false consciousness"?

Threats to the Union

The Ulster Unionists and Conservatives have been going big on a hung parliament being a threat to the Union. This is on the basis that the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cmyru could wield an influence. However, a poll in Scotland highlights how a Tory win will have implications for the Union.

A YouGov poll (who are one of the Tory party's pollsters) showed that:

"...an anti-Tory backlash in Scotland would push support for separatism from 31% now to 40%. Opposition to independence would fall from 54% to 43%"

The poll also shows the Tories on 15% in Scotland (their lowest for 3 years) so the small gains (2-4 more seats) they had hoped for now seem unlikely. Also such is the mistrust of the Tories by Scottish voters that they are minded to punish the SNP if it does a deal with the Conservatives.

With no advance in Scotland, the tacit abandonment of the Ulster Unionist pact and the attack on the North-East of England it looks like the poll squeeze has made the Tories pursue a more obvious southern england strategy.