John Taylor’s warning to unionists should be taken very seriously |
MY interview with John Taylor – published in this paper on February 28 – generated a lot of traction.
I wasn’t entirely surprised: it has been years since he has given a lengthy sit-down interview to anyone and, particularly surprisingly, he used the opportunity to take the conversation in a direction I wasn’t expecting.
That direction was his belief that a united Ireland is much more likely than not.
Taylor, now 88, was one of the biggest names in unionism since the mid-1970s.
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A key player in the UUP, as MP, MLA, MEP and deputy leader, he was instrumental in bringing down Brian Faulkner in January 1974 and similarly instrumental in ensuring that David Trimble was able to get the Good Friday Agreement over the line in April 1998.
So, when someone like Taylor, who joined the UUP about 70 years ago, expresses his concerns about the future of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom, his comments should be taken very seriously.
Because he was very clear when I spoke to him. He has certainly slowed down, but his memory of events wasn’t faltering or vague.
And I’m saying that to counter some elements of online unionism and loyalism who have been trying to give the impression that he is somehow old and doddery.
Which they........