Brexit vote reignites the debate on Britishness in Northern Ireland
|
Version 0 of 1. When Britain voted for Brexit, a strange thing happened in North Down, an affluent, unionist-dominated area of Northern Ireland with a strong sense of British identity. As the results came in it became clear North Down had other affinities: European. The area voted in favour of staying in the EU, as the majority of people in Northern Ireland did. The outcome of June’s referendum triggered a summer of speculation. Had attitudes changed? If unionists saw EU membership as important, might they reconsider their ancient hostility to reunification with Ireland? Some asked if there should be a “border poll”, a referendum on whether Northern Ireland should stay in the UK or join the Irish Republic. Others feared a push by Scotland towards independence could fatally undermine unionist confidence in the unity of the UK. But passions quickly cooled. Politicians, among them Bertie Ahern, the former Irish prime minister, said the time wasn’t right for a reunification vote. In unionist strongholds voters stress that pro-remain is not the same as a pro-reunification. Even diehard loyalists say they are opposed to any “hard border” with the Irish Republic post-Brexit. In the North Down seaside town of Bangor, at her home overlooking the mouth of Belfast Lough towards the Irish Sea beyond, remain voter Jill McGimpsey says she never once thought about giving up on the UK even after the Brexit vote. “The reason I voted to remain was because of all the economic warnings over a possible downturn in business if we left the EU,” says the 56-year-old estate agent. “For me that meant the impact on the local housing market and fear that it would be adversely affected. “I never thought for one minute after the UK overall voted for Brexit that I would change my mind about Northern Ireland’s constitutional status. Brexit was and is irrelevant when it comes to my Britishness.” She and her pro-Brexit neighbour Carl McLean stress that they are opposed to a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic – the UK’s only land frontier with an EU state. McLean, who has just returned from Brussels on business, says: “Unionists as well as nationalists enjoy the benefits of an invisible border and cross-border cooperation. We don’t want to be stopped at checkpoints or have our vehicles held up at customs posts. “It might come as a surprise to some people on the mainland but we unionists like travelling and doing business down south in the republic. Many of us commute there on a daily basis, spend weekend breaks in the south and watch Ireland in the rugby internationals in Dublin. We would hate a hard border as much as any nationalist would.” For many unionists with links to Scotland, the big Brexit fear is that it might prompt a second referendum resulting in Scottish secession from the UK, leaving Northern Ireland in an odd rump state comprising England and Wales. In the staunch unionist constituency of Lagan Valley, Scotland is on the minds of two loyalists who belong to Orange flute bands in the town of Lisburn. “My sister works in a big bank in Edinburgh and was like many people in the Scottish financial sector very worried about the impact of Brexit and how jobs might be lost if the UK voted out,” says Graham Kenny. “She convinced me to vote for remain. “There was also the worry about Brexit pushing the Scots towards another referendum vote. Given the family, cultural, political and social ties between Northern Ireland and Scotland the last thing I wanted was to see the Scots walk away from the other union.” The 43-year-old, who is a member of the Ulster Political Research Group, the party that grew out of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Defence Association, adds: “Even if Scotland walked away from the UK, which I think is not going to happen now, Brexit would never push me towards supporting a united Ireland. Our unionism is rock solid.” His friend and fellow loyalist bandsman Gareth Walker voted for Brexit. Walker says: “I work on a community project here in Lisburn that integrates immigrants into our community. We work on the Old Warren housing estate to ensure our large Polish population feel welcome and fully integrated with the locals. In the past we have had lectures and films teaching our young people about how Polish pilots fought in the Battle of Britain to save our country. So for me voting for Brexit was never about being anti-immigration. It was about taking control of our own affairs and not being bossed about by Brussels.” Walker says he too is opposed to any hard border with the Irish Republic. I don't think anyone should go off floating other ideas but keep strictly to the Good Friday agreement “I try to follow the Northern Ireland football team everywhere around Europe and often that means driving to Dublin airport to get to games abroad. I love the idea of no restrictions on the way down and I like visiting Dublin too. I have made friends with Republic of Ireland fans from the south at the airport on our way to games including Euro 2016 in France. “I want those good relations north and south to continue even though, Brexit or no Brexit, I am still British.” A BBC poll in September found that eight out of 10 people in a survey of 1,000 voters said Brexit would not change their views on the union with Britain or a united Ireland. The same poll said 63% would still back remaining within the UK. A majority in the poll – 52% – were opposed to holding a border poll on Irish unity. Among those who oppose a border poll is Ahern, the three times Irish taoiseach and Tony Blair’s key ally in the negotiations leading up to the 1998 Good Friday agreement. He said: “Nobody should be talking about border polls. Border polls should only come into account when there is a realistic opportunity down the road, when I’ll be probably long gone, when there is a realistic chance of one succeeding.” Ahern, who built up a deep friendship with the late Rev Ian Paisley in the discussions leading to the establishment of a devolved power sharing government in 2007, said any all-Ireland negotiations about Brexit’s impact should be only under the institutions set up via the Good Friday agreement. “That should almost be the gospel. So I don’t think anyone should go off floating other ideas but keep strictly to that agreement which was underpinned by the European Union and is a recognised international treaty.” Additional reporting by Stephen Collins, political editor, the Irish Times |