Yeah it’s inevitable I suppose, but in 20 years they’ll still be telling it’s another 20 years away. People seem to be waiting for the perfect time to do it, which in my opinion is not possible as no matter when you do it there will be eruptions regardless.
I personally think that while the when is still quite murky, the answer is yes. However, I’m from a nationalist background and one of the concerns I’m starting to hear more from friends and family when talking about unification is “will the south have us?”. That is, when presented with what unification will mean, the southern electorate may not relish the idea.
I think a yes vote is the very likely outcome, but I worry that there will be a lot of resentment in the southern electorate (after any vote) because it’s clear that the North will end up with special arrangements (even if transitional) when it comes to welfare, social housing, healthcare, government etc, that might seem quite unfair.
It’s going to be so important that all the ‘boring’ but critically important issues like policy alignment, health, welfare, infrastructure etc are handled delicately and that the Southern electorate is engaged, supported and for want of a better word, ‘thrown a bone’.
The work needs to start now and I can only hope that quietly, secretly, there is a team somewhere in Dublin, busy considering what unification looks like practically and administratively so that something approaching a prepared and fully costed strategy is ready to be implemented*.
We can’t ignore the practical matters in favour of what I think of as ‘unification joy’ because they will ultimately determine whether unification is a success or failure and will be crucial in keeping southern voters onside.
*Probably* yes it is. Especially considering nationalist parties combined have a pretty substantial majority in Stormont, and the state of Northern Ireland was established with the goal of preventing exactly that from ever happening. However whether or not reunification be a success is another thing.
What I disagree with is when people say a united Ireland is inevitable because the breakup of the UK is inevitable- it isn’t. People often cite Scottish independence as the case for this, saying their departure from the UK is guaranteed- it really isn’t.
For Scotland to become independent it needs another referendum, to do that it needs Westminster’s approval, and they have said no. Even if there was a second independence referendum there’s no guarantee it would pass either.
Nope, I dont think it is tbh and personally dont want it either. Dont really want my children to live in a world with extremists and terrorists taking revenge for it.
Absolutely nothing is inevitable when it comes to politics, and suggesting it might be is plain unhelpful as it can lead to complacency. Certainly though, a UI is looking more likely than it has in a long while, but that doesn’t mean we should take it as some sort of given that isn’t going to require a lot of effort.
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Yeah it’s inevitable I suppose, but in 20 years they’ll still be telling it’s another 20 years away. People seem to be waiting for the perfect time to do it, which in my opinion is not possible as no matter when you do it there will be eruptions regardless.
I personally think that while the when is still quite murky, the answer is yes. However, I’m from a nationalist background and one of the concerns I’m starting to hear more from friends and family when talking about unification is “will the south have us?”. That is, when presented with what unification will mean, the southern electorate may not relish the idea.
I think a yes vote is the very likely outcome, but I worry that there will be a lot of resentment in the southern electorate (after any vote) because it’s clear that the North will end up with special arrangements (even if transitional) when it comes to welfare, social housing, healthcare, government etc, that might seem quite unfair.
It’s going to be so important that all the ‘boring’ but critically important issues like policy alignment, health, welfare, infrastructure etc are handled delicately and that the Southern electorate is engaged, supported and for want of a better word, ‘thrown a bone’.
The work needs to start now and I can only hope that quietly, secretly, there is a team somewhere in Dublin, busy considering what unification looks like practically and administratively so that something approaching a prepared and fully costed strategy is ready to be implemented*.
We can’t ignore the practical matters in favour of what I think of as ‘unification joy’ because they will ultimately determine whether unification is a success or failure and will be crucial in keeping southern voters onside.
*Probably* yes it is. Especially considering nationalist parties combined have a pretty substantial majority in Stormont, and the state of Northern Ireland was established with the goal of preventing exactly that from ever happening. However whether or not reunification be a success is another thing.
What I disagree with is when people say a united Ireland is inevitable because the breakup of the UK is inevitable- it isn’t. People often cite Scottish independence as the case for this, saying their departure from the UK is guaranteed- it really isn’t.
For Scotland to become independent it needs another referendum, to do that it needs Westminster’s approval, and they have said no. Even if there was a second independence referendum there’s no guarantee it would pass either.
Nope, I dont think it is tbh and personally dont want it either. Dont really want my children to live in a world with extremists and terrorists taking revenge for it.
Absolutely nothing is inevitable when it comes to politics, and suggesting it might be is plain unhelpful as it can lead to complacency. Certainly though, a UI is looking more likely than it has in a long while, but that doesn’t mean we should take it as some sort of given that isn’t going to require a lot of effort.