A tortured route to devolved integration

By Julian Robertson

Devolution. Integration. Why am I a Conservative and what is our role here? There’s a combination designed to strike fear into any first time contributor faced with a deadline.Two immediate concerns came to mind.

The first was how to approach the topic. Time was when there seemed to be a lot of debate and seemingly endless pamphlets floating around promoting the best system of government for Northern Ireland. All extolled the virtues of one of a myriad of devolution models vis a vis an integrationist view of the world. Admittedly these were all unionist inspired and I suppose reflected the debate ongoing within unionism about a view of the way forward for Northern Ireland and its place within the United Kingdom. ‘I say seemed to be a lot ‘, as that is my recollection, or perhaps it was just a reflection of the political circle I was beginning to hang around the edges of at the time as I tried to find my political home.

Should I therefore concoct a pithy piece of political analysis on the various merits of one versus the other, their potential applications to Northern Ireland and hence a detailed, logic rationale of why I am a Conservative?

Well, “No” is the firm answer to that as I see no point in rehashing old arguments that I am sure my audience is well versed in and have you all asleep by paragraph four.
The second concern was whether or not I would be able to deliver anything at all. After all, my Party was going through a crisis and the deadline loomed at the same time as my Party needed a new leader. I waited for the call asking me to step into the breach and lead the Party onto glorious victory. I would be far too busy writing acceptance speeches and planning my shadow cabinet…as you now all know, my talent has not been recognised, I have been passed over. A pity I say, a blessed relief say you.

However, there is a serious point here. Why shouldn’t a Conservative from Northern Ireland be able to be leader of a Party aspiring to forming a national government? Why shouldn’t a Northern Irish MP actually be Prime Minister some day? In fact, why shouldn’t a Northern Irish MP representing a local constituency be a member of a national party?
This is what was driven home to me after living for four years in Liverpool. Prior to going to Liverpool I had rarely thought about politics, Sure, I had by that stage voted in my first election and thought vaguely about what I was doing. The election was par for the course in that, as a unionist in East Belfast, my blood was suitably whipped up by some crisis or other and I dutifully trotted off to cast my vote for my Unionist MP. I was asked to strike a blow for Ulster, the World would take note and the other side would learn a mighty lesson. To this day I am still waiting for the promised Nirvana and I still do not really know who the other side actually was. How little changes.

Liverpool was a political hotbed when I was there. Derek Hatton ruled the place, the miners were on strike, unemployment was a serious problem and worst of all my student union couldn’t pay the brewery bill as the money had all gone to a miners’ fund in Derbyshire. This was all good stuff and something I wanted to be part of. Do you know, at Liverpool I even went to a Revolutionary Workers Party meeting as part of my learning curve but I soon realised this wasn’t for me. What I did take away from this was a knowledge that politics could change things, a desire to do just that, a desire to make things better but not quite along the lines my temporary friends in the RWP wanted to go.

My natural home is the Conservative Party. There is no scientific explanation, no one determining factor. It just feels right, it’s where I want to be and it’s as part of that Party I want to make a difference.
Hence, when I returned to Belfast I was one of the founding members of the Conservative Party in Northern Ireland. I feel passionately that people in Northern Ireland should have the opportunity to participate in matters that affect them just as much as every other citizen in the UK. We have successfully disenfranchised ourselves from national politics by focussing on and buying into a political system based on religious division and a view on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. The phrase divide and rule comes to mind. And where has it got us all? Not very far. We carried on with our squalid argument and consigned ourselves to the sidelines on those issues which affect us on a daily basis.

Now that devolution is de rigueur and we have a devolved administration, things enter an interesting new phase. Assuming we have an Assembly on a long-term basis, the way we conduct our politics here will come into sharp focus. How will Parties based on shades of orange and green address the problems of health and education? Patients do not care if the health minister is nationalist or unionist. They care whether the care they need is available when they need it and what the government is going to do about ensuring it is there.

Paradoxically, devolution now provides the opportunity for further political integration along the UK model. As constitutional matters recede, bread and butter issues will come to the fore. A Party such as ours which aspires to office in London, Edinburgh and Cardiff, can offer an alternative in Belfast too, as can the Labour Party.
As a Conservative, my gut instinct was to be sceptical about devolution. However Conservatives accept that times change and we need to make devolution work. We are doing that in Scotland and Wales and given the chance will do so in Northern Ireland too. Does that make me a devolved integrationist?

The views expressed by our contributors are their own and do not necessarily reflect that of the editorial committee.

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