By Caroline
This election was not about the protocol or a border poll and the results of the election don’t change that reality. There is nothing to be gained by attempting to hold the devolved institutions to ransom. Such a move will not generate any goodwill for unionism at Westminster or encourage the EU to compromise. As Loyalists we must hold the DUP to account and demand a working Assembly. The only condition for forming an executive should be the agreeing of a programme for government that will deliver on rights, health, and the cost-of-living crisis.
The election is undoubtedly a victory for Sinn Féin in that they will be able to nominate the First Minister (which despite being an equal post with the Deputy First Minister has become semantically important) but a border poll remains as far away as it has ever been. Votes for parties which support a border poll fell in this election, Sinn Féin didn’t gain a single seat and unionism remains the largest designation with 37 seats. A recent poll published in the Irish News also evidences the very low demand for reunification. Only 30% said they would vote for a reunited Ireland tomorrow and only 33% said they would vote for a reunited Ireland in 15-20 years time. The Secretary of State is not going to agree to a border poll when constitutional change has so little support.
The threat of a border poll has frequently been used to forge the unionist and Loyalist bloc together by controlling dissent through an existential threat. This is exactly what the TUV and DUP attempted to do during the election campaign. As a Loyalist Feminist I have no interest in unionist unity. The DUP and TUV have demonstrated categorically that they are incapable of delivering on women’s rights, equity for working class people, and minorities. The UUP are in the process of reforming into a more progressive party but the UUP health minister has consistently failed to commission abortion services. Rhetoric about a border poll is used to distract us from the mainstream party’s failure to deliver. I’m interested in holding all elected representatives to account according to the Principals of Loyalist Feminism.
The work of holding the Assembly to account as Feminists has never been more important as this election was not a victory for women. Clare Bailey and Rachel Woods of the Green Party lost their seats. In the last mandate the Green Party introduced the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill and the Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill. Alliance takes a conscience position on issues such as abortion and so we cannot rely on them to continue this work. The progressive women candidates put forward by the UUP such as Julie Anne Corr-Johnston, Linsey Gibson, Lauren Kerr and others did not get elected this time. It is true that we now have more women MLAs but this will not necessarily translate into progressive policies.
In April I wrote that this election was about “ensur[ing] the Assembly [Loyalists] helped create continues to deliver”. The election is over and now the work of holding parties to account begins.
