The Other View

The Cold House ?

CAMERON MITCHELL arranged a round table conference involving a number of contributors to the other view.

Since the Good Friday Agreement there has been a growing belief within the unionist community that republicans are engaged in a campaign of disculturation and ethnic cleansing against Protestantism under the guise of achieving parity of esteem. This fuels the belief that the equality agenda enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement is ultimately a ploy to enable one dominant community to be replaced by another.
The Secretary of State, John Reid, warned in his 'cold-house' speech last November "One of Northern Ireland's conundrums is that as the Catholic community's confidence has increased the Unionist community's confidence has declined, almost as if a rise in the Catholic confidence can only be at their expense".

He further explained, "So a community that feels it's traditions, culture and way of life are somehow under threat from an alliance between the large and vibrant Catholic minority within it's boundaries, a larger neighbour to the south, and a 'spineless, ungrateful' parent across the Irish Sea are all perceptions - no matter how right or wrong - that have to be taken seriously if we want this process to succeed".
Such perturbations were publicised in the March edition of The Orange Standard. The leading article 'Unionists betrayed by their own Government', emphasised that "for many years, successive British Governments have pandered to Republicans and Nationalists, with a non-stop diet of concessions and 'goodies' in a bid to keep them happy and on board the peace process".

Last month I invited members from the unionist and republican communities for an analytical discussion entitled "Chill factors within Unionism".
The panel consisted of :
Roy Garland - Irish News columnist and a member of the Ulster Unionist Party
Billy Mitchell - community activist and member of the Progressive Unionist Party
Sean O'Hare – a member of the Official Republican Movement
Tommy Mc Kearney - former republican prisoner and editor of Fourthwrite magazine.
What follows is a condensed record of the discussion. The group began by discussing John Reid¹s comments:

Roy: I think that it is wrong for people to say that Northern Ireland is a cold-house for unionists, but rather there are pockets of cold-houses and there are people who feel really cold. Some of those people, and in fact I was one of them, have felt much more colder in the past because we were convinced that we had been sold out - some of us went into very extreme politics. It was uneasy living in such a society - a society under threat.

Personally, I feel more confident today. I can understand what people are saying when they feel that it is cold with some of the symbols of unionism disappearing, but to some extent it is a matter of the nationalists catching up.

Billy: Well firstly, I agree with Roy, I don't feel that it is a particularly cold-house, I don't feel that is any colder now than it always was for working-class unionists. There was a myth that "we were the people" - I believe that we were exploited because of our loyalty in the past. In terms of social and economic deprivation I suffered as much as anyone else.

However, there is a feeling of a cold-house within working-class loyalism, but remember if someone keeps telling you that you have been 'sold out', or if someone keeps coming into the room telling you 'it¹s freezing in here' you will begin to feel the chill factor. Having said that, there is genuine anxiety in marginalized unionist communities across North Belfast where people feel they are being pushed and squeezed. So in that sense there is a cold-house .

We can't always point towards republicanism or nationalism. We have got to look at ourselves; we have got to look at the fragmentation within unionism. Our churches are divided, our loyal orders are divided, our political parties are divided, our communities are divided, and the list goes on. So there are a lot of cracks in the fabric of unionism to let the cold in".

Tommy: I think you are right - in some ways it is more of a class issue - rather than an issue of the entire Protestant and unionist community. Quite obviously there is a substantial majority within unionist communities who feel relaxed under the current arrangements.
It would be my argument, that the unique distinct characteristics, conditions and history of Northern Ireland has caused these people to feel hyper-isolated. There is a perception that a privileged position has been eroded by the current developments, and in many ways what we are looking at is the 'cold-bleak' economic and social prospects for a lot of these people.

We have to look at the history of Northern Ireland - Belfast in particular - where we had a very powerful industrial base, which was built on a platform of a very strong agricultural base. It was a very prosperous town in relative terms within the British economy and within the world economy. World economics has led to the decline of the prosperity of Northern Ireland, and when that is then filtered through our distinctive historical, sectarian, political mesh it has left a percentage of people in the Unionist community feeling alienated.

Sean: John Reid's speech was very tribal in content - he said it is just unionists - it has been a cold-house for unionists and nationalists in the working-class estates for years. As a socialist, I would say that the more important thing is the 'cold-house' for the unemployed and impoverished in these areas.
Everybody seems to playing to the lowest common denominator, and I think that any working class or left orientated group should be coming together, and ask how they can best represent people in Stormont".

Roy: Today we have probably more people from working-class backgrounds in the Assembly than we have ever had. When I was younger I felt distant from politics, there was no way I felt I had an impact - but today working class people do have an impact. Though to some extent it is not organised enough and is too much tied up with the tribal thing to actually use the strength we have - and that is where the future should lie - to have a bigger input.

Sean: I agree, but one of the biggest problems we have is that the elected representatives tend to play to the 'true' republicans and the 'true' loyalists - instead of being brave and taking the further step and say 'we have to come together and discuss things openly' - not be running scared from extremists from both sides".

Roy: The sense that Protestants have to stand together and be true to the Union in the purist form undermines the potential for radical thinking. When you step out (from the crowd) you may be seen as a traitor. So I think Protestants have lost their tradition in the sense of protest and radical thinking – and as this happens we suffer.

Billy:  think that it is time now for unionists to redefine what is meant by the term 'Unionism'. Is it about maintaining a Protestant ascendancy or is it about equal citizenship within the United Kingdom. And I think we need to look seriously at the class issue – do I have more in common with the upper-middle classes within unionism than I have with Sean or Tommy? Or do I have more in common with them?

Unionism is something that I decide for myself – I can also decide for myself if I want to be a Christian or an Atheist or a Muslim – but one thing I can¹t decide for myself is what my class is. I was born into a class and I am going to stick with my class. I believe that the future for the (Northern Irish) working classes lies within the broader union of these islands – not simply the union of one island. The working classes of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland need to be united. We need to bring class politics back to the fore

Tommy: But one of the problems that we have when talking about unionism or nationalism is that far too often it is defined through tribalism and a very loose tenuous connection to religion – it is not looked at as a political philosophy. One becomes a nationalist because they happen to be born a Catholic and one is a unionist because they happen to be born Protestant – which is a very poor way of forming a political opinion.

And lets be honest about it – it hasn¹t been greatly helped in any means by John Reid¹s dismissive introduction when he talks about himself as a small, fat Catholic Celtic supporter come unionist¹ – I think that is a bit patronising and over the top in his effort to appeal to the lowest possible common denominator.
The fact is, when we are talking about unionism and the benefits of unionism, as opposed to the benefits of breaking the Union we have to look at it analytically – it cannot become just a tribal response.

The current arrangement has undoubtedly provided continuity for the Union and has granted a lot of security for the unionist population in legislation – and I think that has been undersold. But the point is, and this is where we have to find certain fault with those republicans who, in support of the Agreement and in order to sell their case to the grass roots, have actually over-played the potential for a United Ireland in the short term. It is a very short sighted opportunistic message, and by doing so have needlessly alienated the one side of the unionist population that feel most vulnerable to this type of settlement.

We have got to look at the perception of alienation, which is very real, in the light of the very real economic situation – and that is we are going to have to look at it – yes from a class basis – yes, denying the tribal basis – and yes, we must take some very radical options. We really have to grasp the nettle and ask if can we turn this economic situation around within the economic climate and template that is set down on us by the London economists and the London Government.

Roy: There is a problem within working class people about job opportunities. They feel that because of equal opportunities such as employment they are being discriminated against because they are Protestants.

Billy: One of the biggest problems in terms of employment for Protestants will come in about ten years time because where we have severe educational underachievement in working-class Protestant areas and higher achievement in many Catholic working-class areas, as jobs are given on merit and the basis of qualifications, a lot of working-class Protestants won¹t qualify and won¹t get the jobs.  And this is where the tribalism comes in – Protestants will say 'they¹re getting the jobs and we¹re not'.

When the heavy industry went the unionist leadership didn¹t have the foresight to say look, world economics is changing, heavy industry is going, we need to put something in place for future generations¹ – that didn¹t happen, and now we¹re left with a Protestant working-class with high underachievement in terms of education, low job skills and little hope for the future.

Sean: I would actually argue that those who have benefited the most are those in the Catholic middle-class, which is expanding. These figures of better¹ exam results are because people are moving into the middle-class, which will naturally expand because of quotas and more jobs. If you look at the likes of Turf Lodge, etc, you¹ll see that there is no great achievement in the schools. It would be as bad as your area. 

Roy: But the working-class Protestants are losing out more - just for the fact that they are Protestants. I actually suggested at a lecture in Queens that there should be equality legislation in relation to class – and the lecturer replied that that was a contradiction in terms – that you just can¹t have that. If you could tackle it from a class issue you wouldn¹t stimulate all this sectarian rhetoric.

Tommy: At the end of the day, the way to tackle it is to ensure that there is a decent well paid job for every citizen in the state. This can only come about through a different economic system.

Billy: I think we need to have some form of forum, where we can come together. We shouldn¹t have to set aside our unionism or our republicanism – in fact I believe that if I can engage with Tommy and Sean and others as a confident unionist, and they can engage with me as confident Republicans, then at least we are coming together as confident people. And that is far better than me going in as a half baked Prod¹ and them come in as a half baked republican¹

. If we can come together as confident people, confident in our own beliefs and in our own identity, we could sit down and say we have problems here, lets solve them.

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