by Caroline
At the DUP manifesto launch the message was clear, vote for the DUP as the only way to prevent a Sinn Féin first minister and a border poll. Jim Allister has said he will not be ‘bridesmaid’ for Sinn Féin and that Direct Rule would be better in that circumstance. I’ve been hearing variations of this all my life, right back to ‘smash Sinn Féin’. The threat of a United Ireland and more recently the threat of a Sinn Féin First Minister has frequently been used to control dissent within the Unionist and Loyalist bloc. Specifically, it is used to force working class concerns to take a back seat. This election the Loyalist electorate must rise above the desperate politics of fear and anger being peddled by those who don’t have our best interests at heart.
Sinn Féin could be the largest party in the Executive following May’s election and could be the largest party in the Republic of Ireland by 2025. Of course, Sinn Féin will use this electoral success to push for a border poll but it is highly unlikely we will face one any time soon. In a recent poll published in the Irish News 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. This election is not about preventing a border poll.
This election is not about the Protocol either. Calls to collapse Stormont in response to the Protocol are nonsensical. Such a move will have no positive impact on negotiations around the Protocol but will damage Northern Ireland and harm everyone who lives here. In this mandate the Assembly has passed the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill, the Period Products (Free Provision) Bill, Domestic Abuse (Safe Leave) Bill, the Protection form Stalking Bill and the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Bill. The devolved institutions are vital tools for improving life in Northern Ireland and every time the Assembly collapses the narrative that Northern Ireland is a ‘failed state’ receives a boost.
The crowds of people at anti-protocol rallies show the levels of resistance to the Protocol, particularly in the Loyalist community. However, the anti-protocol rallies have become anti-agreement rallies and this should concern every Loyalist. People turn to violence when they believe they have no stake in the apparatus of the state. Whipping up anger and the spectre of a reunited Ireland by the back door risks radicalising another generation of Loyalist young people and the middle-class political unionists who walk them up to the top of the hill will leave them there. Loyalists helped deliver the peace that was made possible because of the Good Friday Agreement. Loyalists took risks for this peace; it is our peace. We must continue to make it our peace by voting for parties and candidates who want to ensure the Assembly we helped create continues to deliver. That is what this election is about.
Loyalism as a political, cultural and class identity has always been more progressive and liberal than mainstream unionism and now more than ever it is vital that we dig into that side of our history. As Loyalists we can continue to lead the way on protecting and promoting the Union by making sure it delivers for working class people and minorities. This election we can do that by voting for parties and candidates who want the Assembly to work.
