You’ve got me all wrong – I’m not a ‘moderate unionist’ |
A FEW weeks ago I was the guest speaker at a non-political event.
When it was over, a woman approached and asked me if I would answer just one question for her: “What is the difference between a moderate unionist and a unionist moderate.”
After about 15 minutes of to and fro, by which time the staff had arrived to clear the room for an event in the morning, and people were still interrupting us to say goodbye, we hadn’t really got all that far.
But I did promise her that I would address her question in a column fairly soon. So, here it is.
Brian Feeney: The north does not have an immigration problem. It has a racism problem
I’m often described as a moderate unionist. But to be honest, I’m not sure that is true.
And the reason I say that is because my support for the union is not moderated.
I cannot think of a single reason – not one single one – that would convince me to vote for a united Ireland.
I’m well aware that the United Kingdom has a lot of problems right now; and I’m also aware that successive UK governments have hardly gone out of their way to make Ulster unionism feel like it is a legitimate identity within the broader pan-UK, pro-union family.
So be it. My citizenship of choice is British. My identity, by similar choice, is British.
I’m 70 now and I have yet to hear an argument persuasive........