Feb
07
As the United Kingdom approaches its date with destiny and the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, the debate surrounding the possible shape of a post-Union Scotland are only going to get fiercer. What Scotland might look like outside the United Kingdom, whether Scandinavian utopia or isolated backwater, is one of the key fronts on which the …
Jan
10
After my mini-rant last month on what I see as a fundamentally broken approach to UK modus operandi it seems logical to follow up on how this wrong should be righted. In fact Cameron has quite admirably sought to bring this ‘limbo’ to a decisive end with his legally binding independence vote. It’s a tactic …
Dec
07
Recently Chris Tribble pondered on what we should call those who have heroically introduced the Arab Spring this year- Rebels? Protesters? Campaigners? Fighters? Guerrillas? Insurgents? Dissidents? Revolutionaries? Maybe even, depending on whom you ask, terrorists? Does it matter how we describe them? Yes, it does. How language is employed is important in determining not just …
Nov
24
Critics may brand The Democratic Party Unionist Party (DUP) as a ruthless amalgam of driving ambition, internecine rivalries and disposable political principle but they should also appreciate the central driving force that binds this party together and which makes it so electorally successful– the insatiable lust for power. Having spent years in the shadows of …
Sep
28
Since time immemorial, the end of June/ beginning of July has been a tense and occasionally violent time in Ulster; the start of the “Orange Calendar”, the start of the “Opposition to the Orange Calendar”. This year, however, the trouble has been the worst seen for quite a few years with parts of east Antrim, …
Sep
26
The present post-devolution constitutional arrangement of the UK is unsustainable. This is not least because it is predicated on denying the existence of England as a nation in its own right, and with its own right to self-government. Perhaps the best way to illustrate England’s present existential plight is to present in map form a …
Sep
18
Murdo Fraser has launched his leadership bid for the Scottish Conservatives by suggesting they disband. The idea is not, as pointed out on ConHome and elsewhere, without precedent. Before 1965 the Unionist Party represented the Conservatives north of the border and were, on national issues, essentially indistinguishable. Nor is the idea without international precedent. The …
Sep
17
The short answer is a qualified “yes” but to explain why, we must first define our terms. It is a sad truth that words often mean something different in Northern Ireland than they do elsewhere, but then clarity of thought is often the first casualty of any ideological conflict. Compare the use of the terms …
Sep
15
Older generations have an instinctive Unionism. It’s just part of the furniture, something grown up with and that is taken for granted. There is a comfortable complacency that this will always be so, that the world will change but that these changes will be superficial. For example, my generation grew up with comics full of …
Dec
21
[picapp align="center" wrap="false" link="term=fianna+fail&iid=5576198" src="5/1/4/6/Fianna_Fail_8971.jpg?adImageId=8508149&imageId=5576198" width="500" height="343" /] By St Etienne Two years ago Fianna Fail registered as a political party with the UK Electoral Commission. While nothing more than a fringe entity for the time being, I feel a wider debate is needed on the impact of adding this particular brand of nationalism to …
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