Northern Ireland Elections

[KMFJD]

Just elected a Sinn Fein majority government

re-unification? time for a 32 county Ireland?

 

[Atari2600]

Just elected a Sinn Fein majority government

re-unification? time for a 32 county Ireland?

It'll happen eventually, but we're nowhere near ready for it yet.

Even if a border poll were to pass right now (which it wouldn't) - it'd be a complete fuking disaster as the margin would be so slim a significant number would be up in arms. Literally.

... and because the subject has been taboo for unionists, and Dublin don't want to rock the boat with Brexit ongoing, there is absolutely nothing in terms of frameworks, processes or structures in place for when it does happen.

[I say this as someone that would be voting for unification.]

 

[Thump553]

I strongly suspect it is more a reaction against Brexit than a re-unionification drive. I'm don't think re-unionification is inevitable-the main dividing point is religion and it seems to me that the world is becoming more religion fanatic than less.

 

[Atari2600]

I strongly suspect it is more a reaction against Brexit than a re-unionification drive. I'm don't think re-unionification is inevitable-the main dividing point is religion and it seems to me that the world is becoming more religion fanatic than less.

Not here. Becoming more atheist and agnostic all the time.


Brexit - and the blatant "don't give a fuck about you" attitude of the Brexiteers has pushed a UI forward by around 50 years. The DUP's shambolic position on Brexit and their corruption has led to their vote contraction.

 

[Thump553]

Not here. Becoming more atheist and agnostic all the time.


Brexit - and the blatant "don't give a fuck about you" attitude of the Brexiteers has pushed a UI forward by around 50 years. The DUP's shambolic position on Brexit and their corruption has led to their vote contraction.

I don't have any personal knowledge about Northern Ireland but I do know that until the (fairly) recent peace accord it was probably the only place in the world where Protestants and Catholics were involved in an active shooting war-something a rational mind would have thought had disappeared 500 years ago or so. Hopefully you are correct but it seems all around the world (and including here in the US) religious fanaticism and intolerance is on the rise.

 

[pmv]

Yeah, I suspect it's inevitable, but if it's not to be followed by a long period of violence it will take a long time. And Brexit has almost certainly accelerated the process. Scottish independence would be another potential accelerant.

I'm more intrigued/concerned by the simultaneous local council elections - which, to me, seem to illustrate the continuing Americanisation of UK politics.

That is, it's becoming more like the US, in that "the left" is increasingly comprised of the young, educated and urban, while the traditional working class areas (now increasingly elderly and disproportionately pensioners) are becoming an increasingly important part of the Conservative base. It's not the whole way there yet, but the political alignments looks less like the traditional class-based one and more-and-more resembles what I see in the US.

 

[pmv]

On the one hand, it seems as if the centrality of religion is decreasing in the South, which one would think might make the Northern Protestants less scared of reunification. But on the other hand, it looks as if both the Republic _and_ the mainland UK, are now more socially-liberal than either community in NI.

It strikes me that the frozen state of conflict in Northern Ireland has caused both sides to become more entrenched in their religious positions, including on things they don't actually disagree about. E.g. being opposed to abortion seems to be something both sides of the divide in NI agree on, even while both the UK and Ireland have liberalised.