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 …
Category Archive: UK politics
Sep
17
Can Republicanism and Unionism be Reconciled?
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
Introducing: One Dynamic Nation
I want to use this opportunity to introduce readers to a new organisation, albeit the campaign aims are anything but new, which I hope you can support. I am actively involved with the setting up of a non-profit organisation called One Dynamic Nation, which once established will campaign against Scotland leaving the United Kingdom and …
Sep
15
A View from England
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 …
Nov
03
Map first, then the route?
Both Chekov and Arthur Aughey have been ruminating lately on the future role of progressive / civic / liberal / UK / new / non-cultural* Unionism post the collapse of the Conservative-UUP project and the election of Tom Elliott as the latter party’s leader. I deliberately included all the various descriptions because I think it …
Oct
21
Danny Alexander's day in the trenches…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGHFmJVLqjA] This video has just been uploaded to the HM Treasury youtube account. It tracks Danny Alexander across the best part of 12 hours during the CSR announcements. He starts off perky enough but the realisation that a Paxo interview lies in wait starts to dawn on him at about 3mins 50secs. It’s an alternate …
Oct
08
Clegg addresses first meeting of North-South Parliamentary Forum
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was at the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle where he “set out the Coalition Government’s approach to Northern Ireland”. According to the press release: “Northern Ireland is currently enjoying an exceptional period of stability. That is thanks to the political process. Thanks to strong and enlightened leadership across the whole …
Oct
05
UUP and its liberal core are dependent on each other…
WB Maginess looks into the recent resignations from the Ulster Unionist Party… [picapp align="center" wrap="false" link="term=quit&iid=5275687" src="http://view1.picapp.com/pictures.photo/image/5275687/quit-text-with-arrow/quit-text-with-arrow.jpg?size=500&imageId=5275687" width="380" height="253" /] By WB Maginess It can be quite rare that a matter goads this author into penning opinion for public consumption, but the departure from the UUP of Ringland and Bradshaw in quick succession has provoked both …
Sep
09
New Sinn Fein oath
The Secretary of State has revealed that he has asked Sinn Fein to write their own oath acceptable enough for them to enter Parliament. He has told them to write an acceptable oath or give up their expenses.
Oct
29
Review of Tom Gallagher’s ‘The Illusion of Freedom – Scotland Under Nationalism’.
[picapp src="8/2/5/6/300_Years_Since_2d80.jpg?adImageId=6979478&imageId=3249653" width="380" height="253" /] Tom Gallagher is not by temperament or inclination a unionist. His book, ‘The Illusion of Freedom’, questions the effectiveness of the SNP’s leadership of Scottish nationalism, but does not reject, explicitly, the legitimacy of the party’s aim of independence. The author is critical of the personality cult surrounding Alex Salmond, …
Top 25 NI Blogs (No. 21)
Top 20 NI blogs (No. 6)
Twitter: @openunionism
- @buachailldana1 *Minority* language funding is writing your own amt on invoice, all across EU. Ulster Scots is merely joining gravy train.
- Protestant pupils don’t speak Ullans : http://t.co/xscZNDEo
- @Askinner2011 Cheers for the link, Henry kept uncharacteristically quiet on that one;)
- My co-editor on Open Unionism tells it like it is;) : "Yes to the UK" http://t.co/qNEul4fr via @studentjournals
- OK, numbers are relatively small but still- "More Irish enlisting in British army even as losses in Afghanistan grow": http://t.co/oz60Yd1Q
- That didn't last long: http://t.co/HCcb9afS: http://t.co/OyajwtSp
- The Open Unionism Daily is out! http://t.co/u3fmvYNB ▸ Top stories today via @sallynicoll @markdevenport @news_letter @pmynes @ni_crc
- Scottish iseparation: "Country would lose warship contracts" -: http://t.co/ll8wvEEe
- @siema_skip "you'd be British all you like". Oh, thank you. With regards your question-yes, mistakes were made. And?
- @siema_skip You deny my and others born in N.Ireland's right to Britishness? What gives you that right to dictate my national identity?