union

Breaking the Union: Brexit, Boris and the Backstop

| Readers 7017

Analysed too closely, the Tory leadership race and its implications becomes more surreal by the day. Understanding its rules, relating to this, is futile: we can only observe and remark, our noses pressed with disbelief against a window of a strange and distant court that will soon decide our immediate fate. At this crucial point, we can all agree whatever is coming will mean something for us. The only questions are what, how and when. The who will likely be Boris Johnson, less probably Jeremy Hunt. Both Eton …

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Future Ireland: Uniting people is the starting point

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I was in a cafe recently when the owner, who I know from being a regular, came over and asked me, “David, clear something up between me and the Missus – was that you on the TV we saw the other night … [puzzled look] … you were part of a panel … Mike Nesbitt was there too.” To which I answered – ‘Yes, guilty! Was me!’ After a little discussion about how he didn’t realise I was interested in …

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Future Ireland / Northern Ireland and the Humpty Dumpty World of Schrödinger’s Cats

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Apparently you follow the rabbit down a hole and you emerge in a wonderland …. Ken Clarke – House of Commons “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” “The question is,” said Humpty Dumpty, “which is to be master—that’s all.” Lewis Carrol – Alice in Wonderland The …

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Union vs United Ireland Declared a Draw! What Happens Next?

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In these increasingly dramatic, uncertain and downright bizarre political times, one suitably off-the-wall scenario is good fun to imagine: what if London and Dublin stepped in and gave the dysfunctional Stormont 12 months to reach a permanent solution to the constitution and identity debate. Otherwise – sick of policing the NI naughty step – they’d step in with final rulings of their own. So, the parties would be warned that this post-deadline decision by the two governments would – intentionally …

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Future Ireland: Writing Competition

| Readers 1417

This is an open call for submissions on our current featured topic – Future Ireland: Alternative Conversations about Unity and the Union You can read a little more about the aims of the project here, and the types of contributions that we’re seeking. Here are some examples.  But we suspect that you might have some even better ideas. So we’re putting out an open call for articles on this topic.  The best three articles will win a prize (tbc – …

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Future Ireland: Alternative Conversations About Unity and the Union

| Readers 5646

The future of Northern Ireland is deeply uncertain. Brexit, the rise of English nationalism, Scotland, Stormont deadlock and demographic change make Irish unity a realistic alternative. The polls vary greatly, but some have unity very much within sight, especially if there is a harsh Brexit and a disruptive border. People are talking about this at kitchen tables across the north. But whilst we are highly engaged about if we would like unity or the union, and many of us have …

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Dis-united Kingdom? Young Unionists debating the issue on Tuesday night

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As Brian, O’Neill, Mick, Dewi and others have posted, there has been a lot of public debate in recent weeks about the state of the Union. Attention has largely been centred around the strength of Scotland’s links with the rest of its island and whether the Scottish Conservatives should go it alone. The Guardian has been running a Dis-united Kingdom series this month. Mick and I participated in an online debate (that was dominated by Scotland and Cornwall) last week …

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