I actually feel sorry for ordinary working-class unionists
I genuinely feel sorry for ordinary, working-class unionists who are being let down by their political leadership. People like Gavin Robinson and Emma Little-Pengelly are supposed to be making the case for unionism, yet the leadership has looked incredibly weak. Now they’re facing challenges from people like Carla Lockhart and Jamie Bryson, who are pushing from different directions.
The parade fiasco is a good example. In my view, it should never have gone ahead in the circumstances, and the fact that the UK Government has now apparently reached a similar conclusion makes the whole thing even harder to defend. Add this to the Jeffrey Donaldson scandal, and you have to wonder how much more damage the DUP can take before people stop seeing it as a party capable of providing credible leadership.
But I think there’s a much bigger issue here. Unionism seems to have become trapped in a defensive mindset, where every political development is framed as another attempt to corner it, undermine its identity or force it to give something up.
Where is the vision for the future?
What I find interesting is that there’s potentially a huge gap in NI politics for a unionist leader who is willing to have an honest conversation about a united Ireland, rather than simply treating it as something that must be resisted at all costs.
What would a united Ireland actually look like for unionists? How could their British identity, culture and traditions be protected? What guarantees would they need? What role could they play in shaping the institutions and future of a new state? These are legitimate questions, and they deserve serious answers rather than slogans.
You could make a positive case that we’re stronger together on this island, that we can govern ourselves, and that unionists should have a meaningful seat at the table in shaping that future. That doesn’t mean asking people to abandon their identity or pretend their concerns don’t exist. It means showing them that their future and identity can be secure in a different constitutional arrangement.
Of course, a united Ireland would need to be built around real guarantees, compromise and consent. It wouldn’t be easy, and nobody should pretend otherwise. But I do wonder whether the bigger political opportunity is sitting right there: a unionist leader who has the confidence to look beyond defending the Union and start asking what kind of future would genuinely work for everyone on this island.
There’s a difference between defending your identity and being permanently on the defensive. The question is whether anyone in unionism has the vision — and the balls — to take that opportunity.