Progressive Unionist Voice
A new (cunningly named) blog is up and running - Progressive Unionist Voice. There are a variety of interesting posts up already, including MLA John McCallister's interpretation of 'Progressive Unionism'.
I've contributed a guest post too, arguing against unionists who have formed a coalition 'together against the national interest' with separatists across the UK. And I highlight an argument from Peter Robinson that is so profoundly anti-unionist that it staggers the mind someone who calls himself a unionist would use it.
I've contributed a guest post too, arguing against unionists who have formed a coalition 'together against the national interest' with separatists across the UK. And I highlight an argument from Peter Robinson that is so profoundly anti-unionist that it staggers the mind someone who calls himself a unionist would use it.
Comments
I confess to being slightly disappointed it wasn't the first PUP-aligned blog. ;)
There is no doubting the logic of what you write. Of course, a similar logic contends that NI should not benefit from reduced corporation tax as common taxes are a feature of UK membership.
The difficulty is putting that to an electorate which, frankly, is more interested in its quality of life than the detailed logic and outcomes of "Unionism".
Fundamentally, it could be that most "Unionists" are actually more interested in staying out of a "United Ireland" than actually being in the UK playing a full (and constructive) role - or, put another way, that most people who vote "Unionist" aren't actually "Unionist" at all. I don't think this is true, in fact, but certain people in London could be forgiven for thinking it.
A "one-size-fits-all" approach dictated by Dave and George Osborne is not in keeping with a pledge to be a Prime Minister for the entire UK. It is top-down arrogance that will serve to feed the nationalist agenda.
I take your point. But I'm surprised that the logical extension of Robinson's argument has not been taken up by the UUP. It's one thing to plead special circumstances and to play upon the overwhelming sense of specialness and entitlement which people here have, it's another to invoke the ROI as a guarantor of N Irish 'rights'. Unfortunately I seem to be howling at the moon on this, because no-one in the newspapers seems to give a hoot about the consequences of what Robinson is saying. Maybe we are living in a genuinely 'post-unionist' world.