Three Thousand Versts of Loneliness

I was unfortunate enough to witness, first hand, Declan O'Loan's speech following the election count in North Antrim.  In a long-winded ramble, the MLA mused on nationalism's performance in the constituency.   Quite clearly he regarded it as a 'block vote' spanning both Sinn Féin and the SDLP, rather than a contest between two parties.   Therefore I wasn't remotely surprised to hear O'Loan advocating a single nationalist grouping, to include the SDLP and Sinn Féin.  The North Antrim representative is as green as they come .   It is surprising, however, that such a senior member of the SDLP's team has had the party whip withdrawn after he called for 'nationalist unity'.  If only the same approach were taken by the UUP to David McNarry. Well done Margaret Ritchie. 

The forthcoming Conservative and Ulster Unionist political force has underwent further broadsides from both the DUP and SDLP. In fact the SDLP’s North Antrim MLA, Declan O’Loan, has made a perverse statement contending that ‘more hope for the true future of unionism’ now lies with Democratic Unionists, as opposed to the UUP. Jeffrey Peel wryly notes that the concordance which the DUP appears to have reached with Irish nationalists on this subject, offers compelling evidence to Ulster Unionists and Conservatives that they are doing something right. Although I had ambitions to write about other topics today, two press releases, one from O’Loan and one from the DUP’s Sammy Wilson , encapsulate so neatly, on one hand nationalism’s failure to come to terms with consequences of accepting the principle of consent and on the other, the DUP’s abject failure to envisage unionism which is not defined by its entrenchment in one community, that I feel compelled to post once more on the Conser...