civic unionism

Are the terms civic “unionists” and civic “nationalists” an oxymoron?

Brian Walker on February 27, 2018, 9:55 pm

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Over the past year we’ve heard many laments about the vacuum in decision taking but little specifically critical of politics from leaders of society. That’s par for the course for people who have been keeping our show on the road for decades. Few of them had little respect for political parties who in their view held society back. But now twenty years after the GFA and after a year – or many years by another measure – of deadlock, …

“where reconciliation is a selective process, healing a pernicious and destabilising past remains as a challenge to us all.”

Mick Fealty on February 27, 2018, 5:55 pm

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It’s had a muted response, both here on Slugger and in the wider media but this intervention from a group of Civic Unionists and unaligned others makes some senior points about the way NI politics is conducted as though they did not exist. I hope we’ll have a direct contribution from the group here on Slugger, but for now here’s the text… “We the undersigned desire a transparent and inclusive debate concerning rights, truth, equality and civil liberties and in …

A timely reminder that today’s unionists and other non-nationalists have as big a stake in human rights as nationalists. Further polarisation must therefore be avoided

Brian Walker on February 26, 2018, 3:02 pm

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The stale stereotype that nationalists are all for civil rights and unionists fight them tooth and nail is challenged in an open letter signed by over 100 “civic unionists, pluralists and other forms of civic leadership” published in the Irish Times. It’s a riposte to similar letters from “ civic nationalism” appealing to the Dublin government “to defend the legal, human and language rights of Irish citizens in the North, and warning that the British government’s deal with the DUP …

Basil and John need a name for their New Party: Can you help?

Gerry Lynch on February 28, 2013, 11:51 am

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Renegade former Ulster Unionist MLAs Basil McCrea and John McCallister have now publicly announced that they intend to set up a new political party for those disaffected with the political direction of the UUP under Mike Nesbitt’s leadership. At this point, the new party still needs a name. As both Basil and John lived through the fiasco of UCUNF, I can see why they aren’t rushing into a choosing a name for the party. I’m sure that SDLP activists today …