Friday, August 27, 2010

Should I care?

To date, due to a distinct lack of enthusiasm for both declared candidates and an uneasy gut feeling that it really doesn’t matter anyway in the short, medium and long term who wins, I have avoided the UUP leadership battle.

For those interested in the more specific details, it has been covered here, here and here.

However, in the unlikely event I were given the chance, these are two questions which I’d ask the candidates:

1. Why should we remain as a separate party when the truth is that on a host of cultural, social and economic issues there is a wafer-thin difference between what a substantial section of the UUP grassroots (and Assembly members) and the DUP believe?
2. In that case, if the UUP were to disappear tomorrow, would the Union (as opposed to the Unionist political elite) be adversely affected?

6 comments:

tony said...

Is there no real possibility of a proper liberal party who happen to believe in the union being set up? Not neccesarily one that values the union above all else.

Has the Alliance party already took up most of that ground? And the question has to be asked, is that party not the natural home of liberals who believe in the union?

O'Neill said...

"Is there no real possibility of a proper liberal party who happen to believe in the union being set up?"

At this moment, none whatsoever. I would have previously argued that as a best alternative, "non-cultural" Unionists should use present party structures (effectively the UUP) to attempt to influence change. Again, in all honesty, that isn't going to happen any time soon. So, plan B...which is, I don't know.

"And the question has to be asked, is that party not the natural home of liberals who believe in the union?"

Alliance are agnostic on the Union which isn't the biggest barrier to them becoming the natural home of liberal/civic Unionists.

Quite a few of their activists have problems with pro-Unionist political activists on an idealogical and personal (check out Comrade Stalin when he gets going on Slugger) level.

Secondly, Alliance only exist (and occasionally thrive) because of division- they don't offer anything constructive other than the fact that they are the sanctimonious piggy in the middle of a sectarian political bunfight .

Thirdly (and admitedly this isn't a problem limited to them) they don't have any *real* policies which I could either agree or disagree with them. What's their economic philosophy for example?

They do have a use has an effective method of registering the occasional protest (eg E Belfast with Robinson) but that's about it.

tony said...

So a 'Third' or even 'Fourth way' is needed, one that falls between the UUP sans the orange and alliance plus a clue.

You come across a wee bit fed up with the whole thing. I have stated several times that many people are short changed by the parties we have. In Scotland there is an alternative in the SNP, the greens and several others as opposed to labour and the tories who are now sqarely to the right. Nationalists in the north have a choice of sorts (depending on your view) but those of a Unionist persausion who are liberal really do not have a natural alternative at all.

O'Neill said...

"You come across a wee bit fed up with the whole thing. I have stated several times that many people are short changed by the parties we have."

On a related issue, Fair Deal says I have a "miserablist outlook", maybe he's right:)

There are a whole lot of conflicting strands in NI Unionism but the main problem I see developing is lack of recognisable difference between the UUP and DUP. Neither of the candidates has really come out and said "This is why we're a separate party and these are clearly identifiable policies and philosophy we'll fight on"

tony said...

Well Oneill I must admit after the recent election when daft Scots reverted to type and over 40% voted labour I would guess I was terribly miserable.

This bleakness was reasonably short lived but you live in a perpetual state of limbo where commiting to one party like you did with the UUP was so obviously wrong for you. I know you bravely mentioned something about "changing it from the inside" but reality dawns............reality dawns!

Don't be unhappy inside. Get out and kick both of them UUP and DUP from a principled (and you'd be right) perspective.

O'Neill said...

I've actually already left...

I can't imagine I would have been arrogant enough to say I personally would have changed it from inside though;) I think the potential (and even to an extent momentum) that was there at the start of the link-up with the Conservatives is no longer there and neither leadership candidate offers a chance of recovering it.