We Are in an Era of Uncertainty – British Identity in Northern Ireland Must Rise to the Occasion

Drama in Northern Ireland’s devolved legislature reached a fever pitch in recent weeks. Minister for Education, Paul Givan, lost a symbolic vote of no confidence in the wake of a “fact-finding mission” to Israel, using his department’s social media to share photos from a school in annexed West Bank territory. 

The visit to Israel raises many questions, perhaps chiefly, was it necessary for the Minister of a devolved regional government to go on a so-called fact-finding mission far outside their core remit for nearly a week? Often research trips take months of planning and justification, sensitive and detailed data collection, followed up by critical and detailed analysis, and finally disseminated in a relevant and actionable report. None of this seemed to have occurred in regard to this mission, at the admission of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.   

There is an expansive, muddled and contradictory list of intentions which have been given for the trip, but it only makes sense when we recognise the implicit motivation was to send a domineering signal to opponents.  

Undoubtedly the Minister will deny this. All the same, it is a prime example of the unionist approach in Northern Ireland to politics. They may claim to represent the collective interests of British people in the region in good faith, but there is a substantial instrumentalisation of the ignorance, fear, shame, and anger of British people to achieve self-serving aims. 

Abortion, gay marriage, transgender rights, migration, and transnational investment have all become contested ideas for example. Yet unionist politicians time and again squarely find themselves on the wrong side of history. 

These politicians have – willingly – dug their own graves through ensnaring unionism with other traditions historically prevalent in Ulster British communities: Protestantism, particularly the evangelical and Orange Order strands, and Loyalism i.e. paramilitarism and a call to “self-defence”. 

Drawing these strands together has historically formed a winning coalition between the British urban working class, rural farmers, and wealthy unionists in the region.  

Yet for many British people in Northern Ireland nowadays, there is a huge disconnect from these politicians and this coalition. Church attendance is down, as is membership of the Orange Order; British people increasingly no longer identify with a “Protestant community”. Loyalist paramilitaries are viewed as troublesome drug gangs, not front lines of defence as they might have been in 1912.  

British people are increasingly dissatisfied with unionist politicians. There is a widespread sense of moral rot amongst their establishment – nepotism, votes-for-cash or favours, and hypocrisy are rife. Unionist politics is viewed as incubatory of patriarchy, bigotry, and authoritarian practice.

Finally, unionist politicians are entirely unable to address the real anxieties of British people in Northern Ireland. They instead lean on the annual, tired, and vague call for “unity” and trot out a new glossy slogan prioritising style over substance. 

Instead of effectively addressing cost-of-living pressures, or wage stagnation for critical workers such as Care Attendants, there are weekly dramas or arguments provoked or amplified by unionist politicians. It is as if people in Northern Ireland are spectating a sitcom rather than progress towards any sort of vision, objective, or aim. 

Deeper and important questions of British identity are rarely addressed. There is no acknowledgement that British people may feel unrecognised at best, unwanted at worst by “mainlanders”. There is an implicit if rational fear Irish Nationalists seek to cleanse British people from the region. 

There is no mainstream constructive dialogue about the origins of British people in the region, their past and authentic culture, or where they seek to go in the future, despite efforts of VCS organisations to challenge preconceptions. 

Every year, the number of British people in Northern Ireland decreases, as they move to other UK nations, likely because they are unable to find a place for their identity in Northern Ireland or suitable opportunities. Many never return, even if they would like to. 

Others who remain may become so disenchanted with the politicians they turn instead to Irish Nationalists of all stripes, who are offering revitalised and exciting narratives around liberation and prosperity, calling openly to discuss the Constitutional Question. Academics, politicians, presidents, activists, and ordinary people have all expressed a desire to revisit the topic.

British politicians here have a responsibility if not an imperative to recognise that if they do not offer a political programme and an identity which can effectively challenge revived nationalist pressures, the consequences will include the disappearance of British identity in Northern Ireland. 

One advantage for British politicians is the inability of Irish nationalists to define Irish unification in practical terms. Minutiae are never touched upon, such as changes to car licences and number plates, local council restructuring, or whether companies operating here now need to transfer from Companies House to the Irish CRO, to name a few.   

British politicians would do well to de-platform right-wing sentiments on social issues, and instead prove themselves to be socially fair, tolerant, and administratively practical i.e. able to handle the minutia in ways other parties are incapable. Without a concerted effort to rise to this occasion, in the ominous words of one Irish nationalist: 

“it’s all a matter of time… tick tock, tick tock”.

Illustrations: Will Allen/Europinion