times change.. unlike unionists

THE Orange Card may be faded and tattered but it hasn’t gone away.

Just when it seemed a deal which would work for the island of Ireland post-brexit was about to become reality, the joker from the pack was brandished with a flourish that would have made Edward Carson proud.

The only problem is that life, economic progress and sheer common cause has advanced by at least a century since he first put his shoulder against the door to a unified Ireland. Those who have succeeded him as leaders of Ulster Unionism appear wedded to an old narrative and anchored to a past that appears to completely disregard the reality of the modern world.

Arlene Foster and the DUP may well feel justified in exercising their veto on any Brexit deal that provides for a “regulatory realignment” between North and South. They may be looking for safeguards against a fanciful United Ireland by stealth.

But their fingers in the “dike” rebuttal of an all-island Brexit regulatory regime that will avoid a hard border, aid tourism, trade and economic growth defies logic.

Each generation demands leadership. Arlene Foster and the DUP appeared incapable of making that transition from local political battler to Statesman or woman.

The next few days can point to a new political and economic reality. Ditch the old cards embrace the new. ■■Richard Moore is a PR Consultant and former Government advisor.