Why DUP’s talk of betrayal may mean no Brexit at all
STUBBORN negativity has always been the hallmark of unionism in Northern Ireland. “Ulster Says No” is the enduring slogan of the cause. “No Surrender” is its guiding mantra.
As the political crisis over Brexit continues that traditional intransigence has come to the fore again. Claiming that the Prime Minister’s proposed withdrawal agreement with the EU could undermine the integrity of the United Kingdom, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) warns that it is likely to vote against the deal in Parliament.
The threat is all the more potent because the DUP, led by Arlene Foster, has been in a formal alliance with the Conservative Government since Theresa May’s botched general election last year. With the Tories in a minority at Westminster they rely on backing from the DUP’s 10 MPs to stay in office.
But now the bonds of this partnership are fracturing as the DUP talks of betrayal and broken promises on Brexit. Already this week the Unionists have displayed their willingness to flex their muscles by voting with Labour or abstaining on a string of amendments to the Budget. Holding the balance of power in the Commons, they could make life a nightmare for the Government.
Yesterday Jim Shannon, the MP for Strangford, told Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley that “you’re going to get a very rude awakening”. Some English Brexiteers appear to regard the DUP’s stance as heroic with the Ulster party portrayed as the true guardians of British independence.
ACCORDING to this defiant narrative the Unionist-fuelled rejection of May’s agreement will lead to a no-deal Brexit, without the shabby compromises over the Irish border and customs arrangements. But there is no guarantee that this will be the outcome of the Tories’ defeat. On the contrary, the Parliamentary chaos could bring about a second referendum or a government under Jeremy Corbyn or no Brexit at all.
Just as importantly Brexiteer support for the Unionists is based on a profound fallacy. This is the argument that Northern Ireland must not be treated differently from any other part of the UK.
In tones of ideological purity we are told that there must be no special customs checks in Ulster, no targeted regulations. “Our precious union” it is said, requires absolute parity between every region. But this assertion is a form of self-deceit that bears no relationship to reality.
The fact is that Northern Ireland is utterly different from the rest of the UK. It is absurd to pretend that the place is like Somerset or Surrey. In no area of England does a substantial part of the population owe allegiance to another country but that is the situation in Northern Ireland. At the last general election, no less than 41 per cent of the electorate voted for Irish Nationalist or Republican parties. Nor has the DUP any claim to speak for the majority, having gained only 36 per of the Northern Irish vote in 2017.
Just as illusory is the idea that the Ulster people are in favour of Brexit. By a margin of 56 to 44 per cent, they backed Remain.
The historic divisions of Northern Ireland explain why the province recently went through almost four decades of sectarian violence on a scale that has not been seen in England for centuries. The inspirational Good Friday Agreement of 1998 has achieved a level of peace that few thought possible but it has worked only because it recognises the unique political nature of Northern Ireland, including the southern Irish dimension.
That nuanced approach is reflected in the agreement’s institutions such as the Northern Ireland Assembly, the power-sharing Executive and the North/South Ministerial Council.
FOR all the DUP’s shrieking about interference in Northern Ireland the truth is that the Republic already has a say in Ulster’s governance through a host of all-Ireland bodies such as Intertrade and the Waterways Board. Indeed, beyond politics Irish unity exists in fields as diverse as the arts, trade unionism, the church and most sports.
The differences between the rest of the UK and Northern Ireland can be found everywhere. Despite the Unionist noise about British identity, anyone born in the province can automatically apply for an Irish passport and, last year, 75,000 Northern Irish citizens did so.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where the British mainstream political parties do not campaign or put up candidates. Public spending is far higher in Northern Ireland, more than £3,000 per head above the annual level in the rest of England. Laws are different, too. With epic hypocrisy the DUP squeals about customs rules but is quite happy to depart from the rest of the UK when it comes to gay marriage and abortion rights.
The Tories’ dependence on this reactionary, unrepresentative party since 2017 has been a negative influence on British politics. Not least it has cost the British taxpayer a fortune since the DUP extracted another £1billion for Northern Ireland as the price of its support for the Government: £540 per Ulster resident.
Quick to detect betrayal, Unionists have rarely expressed any gratitude to the British public for propping up the union. Instead, they revel in the opportunity to hold the rest of Britain to ransom. The appalling paradox is that their latest manoeuvres may result not only in the defeat of Brexit but also the premiership of Corbyn, one of the keenest advocates of Irish republicanism.
‘The DUP are willing to flex their muscles’