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
22
Since David Cameron became Conservative leader in 2005, he’s done a lot of backtracking. Yet one project he’s stuck with through thick and thin: breaking the Conservatives into Northern Irish politics. From employing full-time party staff to negotiating a fragile alliance with the Ulster Unionists, the party has put a lot of work into a …
Dec
13
Continuing OU’s occasional series on the various unionist youth movements in Northern Ireland, we present the Northern Ireland regional branch of Conservative Future. Northern Ireland Conservative Future (NICF) is the organisation for those under the age of 30, and those in institutions of higher/further education, who are members of the Northern Ireland Conservative Party. NICF …
Dec
09
Yesterday I provided evidence of how Irish Republicans are using words and language to, well, basically rewrite history. Today I’ll give you two more contemporary examples of the importance of words and language in modern political discourse and why pro-Union activists should pay more attention to their effect. Imagine you are a Scot who is …
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 …
Oct
15
The first in what we hope will be a series on each of the pro-union (plus Liberal Democrat, it seems) youth movements in Northern Ireland. Liberal Youth Northern Ireland is the official youth and student wing of the Northern Ireland Liberal Democrats, the local party of the Liberal Democrats in Northern Ireland. We were formed …
Oct
05
“The Young Unionists invite you to an evening of debate on the merits of formally federating political conservatism across the 4 countries of the United Kingdom. The event is in the context of the current Scottish Conservative Party leadership contest and Murdo Fraser’s proposals to reconstitute the Scottish Conservative Party as a new renamed and …
Oct
03
It was hard enough to achieve Conservative Party organisation in Northern Ireland in the first instance, back in the 1980s. On the ground it might have seemed mad to set up Conservative branches in Northern Ireland at the end of 10 years of Thatcher Government and in the wake of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. Despite the …
Sep
21
CONSERVATIVE FUTURE NORTHERN IRELAND DISCUSS CENTRE RIGHT POLITICS AND THE FUTURE OF NORTHERN IRELAND Next Thursday, Conservative Future Northern Ireland will host an event to discuss the social and political future of Northern Ireland and the place of Conservative and centre-right politics in that future. The meeting will mark the launch of CFNI’s website and …
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