The Government of Ireland Act 1920, which was responsible for partitioning this island, was introduced by the British government to solve the ‘Ulster Question’ and not the overall ‘Irish Question ‘ – which it did anything but solve.

Similarly, there is a danger that the recent Safeguarding the Union deal, in attempting to solve the ‘DUP Question’, might contribute to undermining stable politics in Northern Ireland.

The committee established by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George to draft the Government of Ireland Bill was unionist in outlook. There was no nationalist representation whatsoever, nor was the advice of any nationalists sought during its drafting. James Craig and his Ulster unionist associates were the only Irishmen consulted. To ignore and then impose a solution on the citizens of Ireland demonstrates that the British government’s aim was to secure an agreement acceptable to Ulster unionists and no-one else.

Partition through the Government of Ireland Bill was not introduced by an impartial British government to solve the incompatible ethno-religious divisions in Ireland. As with other partitions it was involved in, the partition of Ireland was an attempt to extend the lifespan of the British Empire.

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By offering nationalists far less than they demanded, and Ulster unionists far more than they sought, the bill clearly had only one audience in mind. With Sinn Féin in the ascendancy in the south and west of Ireland, the British........

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