Northern Ireland has been forgotten by English politicians. To them, Ulster is an embarrassment. As an English unionist, the pro-Union people of that province must make sure they are not abandoned.

I think If we (Northern Ireland) want to be at the forefront of UK-wide politics then more of us need to be in UK-wide parties. We could make it part of the whole normalisation thing, the move away from tribal politics.

Beano, seriously man are you surprised? Anyone in their right minds knows that political parties in GB couldnt give a fiddlers f**k about this place. If they had been seriously wanting to organise here they would have done so by now. Begging them is not the answer. Time to adopt a more realistic outlook methinks. Todays opinion poll would indicate that the UK may be on its way out...it has served its purpose for those who deemed fit.

Along with Gordon Brown and Phoney Blair's pro-Union speeches at the Scottish Labour Conference, this is interesting. But I stil reckon it's an (understandable) reaction on the part of the average Englishperson to Scottish, Welsh and (ha! ha!) N.Irish devolution rather than a strong desire for English independence in its own right.

Still, it points out the potential dangers that are today facing the Union and it should concentrate unionist minds throughout the UK.

We should be constantly giving the answer to the question "why Is the UK worth preserving?" in every possible forum.

I think If we (Northern Ireland) want to be at the forefront of UK-wide politics then more of us need to be in UK-wide parties

Having seen the fiasco of the last few weeks between the DUP and SF, I'm starting to come round to this way of thinking. The NI parties can not deliver us a worthwhile future.

Paul W,

Good luck to you and your cronies keeping this doomed union together. You will certainly need it. Keep sticking your head in the sand.

Dantheman

The only other feasible alternative for NI at the minute is devolution and like many, many others I have no desire to see my country led by a fundamentalist nutcase and an ex (?)terrorist.

I want to be a part of a secular/non-sectarian society where politicians are judged only on how they deliver on everyday real issues, not on who's the better Prod or Irishman. Do you think the DUP and SF can deliver that kind of society?

I'd like to be a citizen of the British-Irish Dependency of Ulster.

Semi-independent like the Crown Dependencies of the Channel Isles and the Isle of Man (choose our own tax rates & currency) but with the civil rights guarantee of presidential approval for constitutional change and appintment of the Lord-lieutenant, (whose approval would be required in turn to enact the laws of the Ulster Parliament). If we're going to accept money from both sides of the border we might as well accept we're dependent on both.

The South should ante-up by throwing in the 3 missing counties, thereby increasing the population by 250,000, evening up the religious balance and allowing us to scrap Northern Ireland and use traditional and accepted Ulster branding in it's place.

"I want to be a part of a secular/non-sectarian society where politicians are judged only on how they deliver on everyday real issues, not on who's the better Prod or Irishman."

The fact that being a Prod somehow excludes from being Irish is somewhat silly but I agree generally with what you say. There is already one functioning democracy on the island, it would be better to look to being some form of autonomous region of an Irish federation rather than continuously hanging onto England who clearly doesn not want us. It almost seems to me that unionists take the argument that the union must be preserved at all costs, even when things have so markedly changed since 1921 that there is no reasonable excuse for partitioning the island. Remember that in trying to keep a link between 850,000 people and another island that does not want them, you keep approximately 4.7million seperated from their families and their nation divided by a border that no longer serves any purpose.
Borders divide people, sometimes for good reason but no longer in this case. It is this divisive way of thinking which dominates the unionist psyche and is the general factor for the negativity which we see in our society today.

Dantheman
The "prod"/"irish" thing was thrown in because too often that's how politics works out in NI, imo Unionists are also Irish, they're just a different variety!

"It almost seems to me that unionists take the argument that the union must be preserved at all costs, even when things have so markedly changed since 1921 that there is no reasonable excuse for partitioning the island."

I agree we're in a totally new ballgame now. But nobody (except poss God!) can determine what constitutes a nation, e.g. logically in geographic and language terms, Austria, Germany and the German speaking parts of Switzerland are one nation, for a variety of reasons, they are different political entities.

So, the argument whether NI is a part of the Uk or the ROI needs to be made and won on non-traditional grounds that don't involve religion nor national identity.

Whether technically I'm governed by Dublin or London doesn't make any difference to my British identity. (vice-versa will apply to you, has being a part of the UK made you feel any less Irish?)But whether I'm governed by Dublin or London will make an economic difference to me, also I'm more comfortable with being a part of the UK which is a larger, more multicultural and more secular country than the ROI presently is. It's only my opinion though and I still have only one vote at the Border Poll, the future "battle" is to convince those who no longer vote, why remaining in the UK makes more sense.

If it makes you feel any better, the Unionist parties haven't a clue how to start working beyond the trad boundaries to appeal to these people.

For goodness sake.

Is this analysis of every word and finding hidden meanings, plots and subterfuge a solely Ulster trait?

If Cameron mentions NI in a sentence, will we see a thread "Cameron mentions Northern Ireland, union safe?"

Julian
If Cameron mentions NI in a sentence, will we see a thread "Cameron mentions Northern Ireland, union safe?"

As leader of one of the UK's main parties (and during a speech extolling the virtues of the Union), it's not too much to expect that he remembers what are the actual constituent parts of his nation.

Classic quote from Cameron, it speaks volumes. It's just like a relationship lads, you can't made someone love you!

The following comment was posted by someone claiming to be JG, however the poster who normally uses that alias denies posting it. This post should therefore, in lieu of clarification, be considered anonymous. To prevent anonymous posters abusing your alias, it is recommended to register your name with EU.

"u" is a letter, not a word and usually we put capitals at the start of sentences! I made a typing mistake, can you say the same?! Good luck with preserving the "union" LOL

Anyone else baffled by that last one?

Nobody more than I, Beano, I didn't post that last comment...