I hope the new First Minister of Northern Ireland, Michelle O'Neill, likes being patronised because she was in abundance yesterday.
First, there was Rishi Sunak, of whom the Guardian reports:
Rishi Sunak has urged the new Northern Ireland executive to focus on “the day-to-day things that matter to people”, not constitutional change.
And the same report made clear that:
In an interview this morning Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, said that he did not agree with O'Neill about a referendum taking place within a decade and that she was wrong to raise the issue. He told Sky News:
“I don't agree with that at all. I think that Michelle O'Neill, instead of focusing on a divisive border poll – she says she wants to be a first minister for all, well that means the unionist community …
Let's move forward together. Let's focus on the issues that really matter to people. They're not interested in a divisive border poll.”
It's quite remarkable that after two years of total political pettiness that Donaldson should tell O'Neill that she should stick to day-to-day issues and not pursue her political interests.
Sunak was equally patronising.
If they think their comments help the cause of keeping Ireland in the Union I think both are very seriously mistaken. I can only see O'Neill reacting by telling them where they can shove their opinions, and to be candid, rightly so.
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Agreed but I still have a residual fear about Unionist violence being sparked off I have to say.
Everyone round where I live in Northern Ireland knows someone connected to the British security services or have family who have experiences relating to them. It seems to be unknown in GB just how all pervasive the political control of this place remains a Military Intelligence Operation. We moved from the 38 year Operation Banner in 2007 to the ongoing Operation Helvetic. Both still British run Intelligence operations. Over 5000 soldiers still stationed here.
The point being, they have assets in all communities and detailed lists of every criminal political troublemaker. That they have chosen to be in bed with, fund and allow extraordinary levels of criminality to the Devil they Know ie the hard extremist unionist and loyalist chiefs here is a fact I find increasingly difficult to understand. As for violence breaking out, apart from the predictable turf wars between gangs, as it stands today, it would most likely be British state led, yet again. See BBC Nolan show rabble rousing with the most vile loyalist criminal base as a case in point.
However, the endurance of those trying to just get on with all and maintain a peaceful status quo here has been tested to breaking point by this seemingly insane and deeply ignorant Brexit government and their ongoing collusion with sectarian unionism. They have ratcheted up tensions across the board. So all bets are off if that political nightmare scenario continues here. Anyone from anywhere could just ‘lose it’ one day in a Peter Finch from the movie Network moment.
I wonder daily why the British government are behaving this irresponsibly. Is it deliberate or are they really all that unbelievably stupid in regard to the realpolitik and cultural complexities of their political creation of Northern Ireland ?
Stupidity is a key factor
But not the only one
Thank you, Sara.
My father, a doctor and more, was in the RAF for 25 years and served in NI. We know Captain Nairac’s family. They come from the same area and worked at the same plantations as us. This explains why your comment, in particular, was of interest.
I have a suspicion that the neocon and Atlanticist factions in the deep state are also involved in what you say, as per that recent warning about the use of Ireland as a backdoor by the UK’s enemies. They, including a former head of MI6 turned Cambridge college master and a former head of the defence staff, were prominent in the drive towards Brexit*, but allowed loud mouths like Farage take the stage.
A dozen or so years ago, I met one of them, a member of the Henry Jackson Society, which has Labourites, as he was interested in getting some City experience and making some money before trying for a Tory seat. He explained how their policy is / was to break up Russia into ethnic states and force these states into the EU, thus weakening the EU, and the UK leave the EU and join an enhanced five eyes alliance.
You don’t mess with people like that. A major scandal in banking, one that crossed borders, involved the bankster son of that former spook, but he was quietly promoted from the UK to Asia and never questioned.
State induced violence is exactly what I had in mind Sara, thank you.
The way Northern Ireland has been treated by the UK Government has been callous and detrimental to peace and prosperity.
Whether unionist or nationalist, why would you trust the English again after this I ask you? The contempt NI has been shown is unforgivable and makes me feel ashamed for an Englishman I am.
Nothing of course to recognise that first Nationalist and first Woman leader of Northern Ireland.
Its a pity that no British PM ever has the wit to make a formal statement welcoming new leaders of the devolved administrations and looking forward to working with them.
First nationalist, but not first woman surely? Arlene Foster?
I am sure that Ms. O’Neill can “walk and chew gum at the same time”.
The question I have is, will Mr. Donaldson support efforts to sort out “day to day” issues? Or will he hold them hostage (again) to prevent constitutional change?
Quite right Richard
I think any future border poll will inevitably be split along generational lines
And very much like any new brexit poll the older cohort are dying off and with them their bigotry goes as well.
All my hopes lie with the young people of this country
Agreed
And typos corrected….
Thank you. Much appreciated !
Not just patronising. The hypocrisy of the tory and DUP creeps is off the scale.
Since when has the DUP ever done anything other than obsess over the status of their wretched little ‘fiefdom’ of NI which is gradually slipping out of their grasp?
And WTF is a Brexiter like Sunak doing; someone, to boot, who is trying to push through tludicrous Rwanda bill in defiance of international law and just about every treaty about refugees you can think of?
Thank you.
There’s some suggestion that, at heart, Sunak is not a Brexiteer, especially having worked for a bank that benefitted from single market access, but he realised that, as the child of immigrants, he would not prosper in the Tory party without jumping on that wagon.
It’s the same with Osborne. At St Paul’s he settled on the idea of going into politics after university, but realised that his name of Gideon, his maternal grandmother is Jewish, would be arouse suspicion in the Tory party, so he adopted the name of George.
In other words, their ambitions for office overrode both any principles they had (Sunak), and any self-respect (Osborne).
Typical tory shits. No wonder their vile party has people like Braverman, Patel, Badenoch and Jenrick in it.
Advising politicians in Northern Ireland not to concern themselves with Constitutional change!
If Johnson had said this you know it would have been spoken with his trademark smirk that is always the signal it is meant as a contemptuous insult.
But apparently Sunak is serious.
Since the the closure of the Harland and Wolf shipyard, the economy in the North has been stagnating and living standards in the South are now better than in the North. This factor plus the demographic shift means a united Ireland will be found to be more attractive and will outnumber the fanatical protestant sectarians within 10 years if not much sooner. Sunak and Donalsson can huff and puff as much as they like but they cannot escape the reality of the “Irish Question” much longer.
Measured by GDP per capita, Ireland is now the third richest country in the world, at $126,905 per head. The UK is at number 27 with $54,603 (2022 figures https://www.worldometers.info/gdp/gdp-per-capita/)
Will the rest of Ireland want to take on Northern Ireland do you think?
The figure is meaningless, totally distorted by the use of Ireland as a tax haven by tech companies.
Some years ago Ireland’s GDP increased some 24% and consideing there was not boost to the real ecomomy, I started looking on the internet for information which lead me to find Richard’s blog.
By the way the increase in GDP was due to an airline booking a order for new plane’s in Ireland for tax purposes.
That’s Shannon tax free zone for you…..