1Since the Brexit referendum, many commentators have predicted the end of the Union. The question of the Irish border crystallised the tensions and revived painful and traumatic memories in Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the SNP government claimed that Brexit constituted a “material change of circumstances” which legitimised the organisation of a second referendum on independence. However, relatively little attention has been paid to the state of Unionism in the UK and in the devolved territories prior to the Brexit referendum. Although Brexit and the threat of “disunion” reflect indeed a constitutional and territorial crisis in the UK, the meaning of the “Union” itself varies, as well as the meaning of “Unionism”. Unionism is a very heterogeneous movement in the UK and encompasses different ideologies and political allegiances. Therefore, it is difficult to provide a comprehensive overview of Unionism in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, given its local variations and histories.
2In order to explore the state of Unionism in the pre-Brexit and immediate post-Brexit context, this article will focus on conservative Unionism and more especially on two case studies, the Northern Irish Unionists and the Scottish Tory Unionists. The early 2010s proved to be a test for Unionists on both sides of the Irish Sea, but in the years leading to the 2016 referendum, they strove to redefine their Unionist vision by endorsing the extension of devolution and a more flexible Unionism.
3In Northern Ireland, Unionism is represented by a number of parties, including small left-wing Unionist parties. But the DUP is the largest one and has been in power for more than a decade. Upon her election as leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster told the party conference:
- 1 Foster, Arlene. Inauguration speech as DUP leader, 17 December 2015.
I want people of all religious persuasions, from all social backgrounds to make this Party their home because we are the ones who can create a growing economy, who can best reform our NHS and who can tackle educational underachievement in our working class communities.1
4This statement contrasts with the traditional image of the DUP as a Protestant party, steadfast and uncompromising in its defence of the Union and of the UK state traditional institutions. However, when the Northern Ireland Assembly reconvened in 2007 and according to the power-sharing principle enshrined in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, Ian Paisley took office alongside Martin McGuinness. This was the result of intense negotiations at St Andrews, but more importantly it signalled a restructuring of the party itself, whose Unionist vision also changed, becoming more conciliatory and more constructive.
5In 2011 in Scotland, Ruth Davidson won the Tory Party leadership election. Although she stood as the continuity candidate, she considerably revamped the image of her party and more importantly its distinctively Scottish and Unionist credentials. Addressing the question of Scottish “national identity” and distinctiveness within the Union, she claimed:
- 2 Davidson, Ruth. Speech at Goodenough College London, 8 February 2013.
This idea of national identity is where Scotland differs from areas with secessionist movements elsewhere […]. In Scotland the history of ‘otherness’ the distinction in legal practice, in education has been enshrined in the statue books unbroken through several centuries. The union was also entered into willingly – not through conquest or dominion, but a coming together of nations and peoples to their mutual and lasting benefit.2
6The purpose of this article will be to explain the extent to which the attempts to reconfigure and make Unionism more adaptable and flexible in these two territories have borne fruit. As will be shown, this was far from being a continuous trend and Unionists also faced obstacles and even took steps backwards especially in times of crises when they tended to go back to their more traditional, conservative and uncompromising stance, not least in Northern Ireland. Brexit is one of the crises which have weakened this effort.
- 3 HM Government and Scottish Government. Edinburgh Agreement, 15 October 2012. The agreement is avail (...)
- 4 HM Government. St Andrews Agreement, 13 October 2006. The agreement is available at: <https://www.g (...)
- 5 Sinn Féin. General Election manifesto, 2007, p. 70. The manifesto is available: https:<//www.sinnfe (...)
7A few years prior to the Brexit referendum, held on 26 June 2016, Unionist parties faced considerable challenges in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, the victory of the SNP in 2007, confirmed by its landslide election in 2011, legitimised the organisation of the independence referendum as Alex Salmond made clear. David Cameron’s Conservative government agreed to it and made it possible under the Edinburgh Agreement signed on 15 October 2012.3 Although the “Scottish Question” resurfaced as early as the 1970s, it crystallised in 2012 with the announcement of the referendum. On the other side of the Irish Sea, the early 2010s also marked a brutal resurgence of the “Northern Irish Question”. Indeed, in the wake of the St Andrews Agreement of 2006,4 the DUP and Sinn Féin – long referred to as the “terrorists in government” by Ian Paisley himself – started sharing power, suggesting that Northern Ireland might eventually be on the path to reconciliation after going through a chaotic peace process initiated in the early 1990s. However, tensions arose in Northern Ireland in the wake of the agreement, particularly regarding cultural issues. The Unionists accused the Nationalists and particularly Sinn Féin of engaging in a “cultural war” aimed at dispossessing their Unionists of their British identity. The question of an Irish Language Act crystallised these tensions. It was included for the very first time in Sinn Féin’s 2007 manifesto and listed as one of the party’s top priorities: “Ensure there is an Irish Language Act in the 6 Counties without delay”.5 In addition to the question of the Irish Language Act, another cultural issue caused further considerable tensions in 2012. The Belfast City Council voted to fly the Union Jack on 18 designated days only – which is practise in the rest of the UK and at the Stormont Assembly. The Alliance Party, Sinn Féin and the SDLP supported this policy, but this decision infuriated the Unionists who perceived this measure as an overt attack against their British identity. Although the Northern Irish question and the Scottish question have different origins and can hardly be compared given the sectarian dimension of the Northern Irish conflict, it is worth noting that the early 2010s saw the Unionists facing considerable challenges which forced them to rethink and reshape what Unionism meant.
- 6 Gillepsie, P., 2020, p. 510.
- 7 Also known as the “Commission on Scottish Devolution”.
- 8 Commission on Scottish Devolution. Serving Scotland Better: Scotland and the United Kingdom in the (...)
- 9 Commission on the Future Governance of Scotland. Final Report, May 2014 (p. 4). The report is avail (...)
- 10 Ibid. (p. 2)
8 Indeed in 2014, Scottish Unionism went through what Paul Gillepsie called a “constitutional moment”,6 in other words a time of great test for the Unionists attached to the current constitutional settlement. The Unionist parties allied under the banner of the “Better Together” campaign, headed by the former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling. These parties had very little in common apart from their commitment to the preservation of the UK state integrity. The “Better Together” campaign was illustrative of the very heterogeneous nature of Unionism in Scotland and more generally speaking in the UK. All parties committed to furthering devolution and extending the powers of the Scottish Parliament, some recommendations that had been put forward by the Calman Commission.7 The commission was set up in December 2007 by the Labour Party in the opposition and supported by the Conservatives and the Lib-Dems. It came as a response to the SNP Government’s document entitled National Conversation in which the party exposed its project for Scottish independence. The Calman Commission suggested deepening devolution especially regarding taxation and fiscal power.8 Although they supported the implementation of the commission in the first place, the Scottish Tories eventually distanced themselves from its recommendations, not least those regarding extended financial powers to Holyrood. The party had long opposed the creation of a Scottish Parliament and during the early years of devolution, the Scottish Tories struggled with finding ways to adjust to this new settlement as they still believed that the new power devolved to the Scottish Parliament was no less than a further concession to the Nationalists. But under Ruth Davidson’s leadership, the position of the Scottish Tories changed. In 2013, not long after the Edinburgh Agreement, the young leader announced the establishment of a commission in order to put forward a distinctively Tory programme for devolution. The commission’s recommendations were meant to be brought forward in the party’s General Election manifesto of 2015 and Scottish Parliament election of 2016. The report of the Stratchlyde Commission, published in 2014, committed the party to devolution and aimed to put forward a “modern Scottish conservative ideology”.9 For instance, the report suggested that the Scottish Parliament should be handed full powers over income tax: “The Scottish Parliament should become responsible for setting rates and bands of income tax throughout Scotland”.10 This project represented a U-turn for the Scottish Conservative and Unionist party which was aware of the need to revamp its image and distanced itself from its “English” reputation. Besides, the party had to develop a coherent ideology that was meant to reconcile their Unionism and their Conservatism in the post-devolution context.
- 11 Liddle, A., 2018.
- 12 “Since the signing of the Edinburgh Agreement to the referendum itself in 2014, support for Scottis (...)
9In addition to this clear commitment to devolution and to fiscal powers for the Scottish Parliament, Davidson founded a grassroots movement in 2012 entitled the Friends of the Union when the Better Together campaign was launched. Unionists from all the territories of the UK attended the launching conference in Troon, for example Cheryl Gillan, the Secretary of State for Wales, and David Trimble, the former leader of the UUP. In total, more than 80,000 joined the movement. Through this movement, Davidson managed to reach out to people beyond the party’s base and its 10,000 members in Scotland. The movement raised £250,000 for the Better Together campaign.11 During the campaign, Davidson adopted a patriotic and distinctively Scottish discourse to make the case for the Union in order to strengthen the ideological foundations of Unionism and rebrand the Scottish Tories as a Scottish party, which until then had been seen as an English party with no distinctive Scottish credentials. Support for the Scottish Tories improved by 2 to 3% according to Andrew Liddle in the wake of the referendum campaign, reaching 14/15%.12 Friends of the Union was an attempt at rallying Unionist sympathisers in all parts of the UK. The Scottish Tory party used to be seen as a distinctively Scottish party and Davidson was keen on rejuvenating that brand of Unionism as she defined herself as a “Nationalist Unionist”. From that perspective, the Union could be reconfigured in order to adapt to new circumstances.
10David Cameron supported this initiative and wanted the Tory Party to become the party of Unionism again. He paid many visits to Scotland and Northern Ireland and insisted on the emotional dimension of the Union and the historical links between all the territories of the UK. In 2007, Cameron also addressed the challenge for Unionism in a speech in Edinburgh and told his Scottish audience:
- 13 Cameron, David. Speech in Edinburgh, 10 December 2007.
The challenge now is to renew that sense of belonging by creating a positive vision of a British society that really stands for something and makes people want to be part of it. A society in which we are held together by a strong sense of shared history and common values and institutions we cherish.13
11On a number of occasions, Cameron described the Union as being home to distinctive national identities which shared a common attachment to the Union. Arthur Aughey explained:
- 14 Aughey, A., 2018, p. 92.
He reaffirmed the customary message of the Conservative nation: the Union contributed to the security of all its parts; gave citizens a powerful voice in the world; delivered economic prosperity; and through commonly financed health and social services, based on solidarity, provided for the common good. One may be cynical about political motives, yet the sincerity of Cameron’s unionism cannot be easily discounted.14
- 15 Cameron, David. “Our contract for Northern Ireland”, Speech in Belfast, 4 May 2010.
12Cameron took this idea of reconnecting Unionism a step further in 2009 when he formed an alliance with the UUP in an attempt to normalise Northern Irish politics. He adopted a pro-Union rhetoric and insisted that the Tory Party, which besides was the only party to field candidates in all parts of the UK, would “never be neutral” on the Union,15 a reference to Peter Brooke’s statement, the former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who stated in November 1990 that “the British government has no selfish strategic or economic interest in Northern Ireland”. In 2009, Cameron convinced the UUP leader Reg Empey to work on a common manifesto for the European Parliament election and again for the General Election of 2010. The idea behind this alliance was to put a positive case for the Union and to place Northern Ireland, which had a unique party system, within the mainstream of British politics.
13If in Scotland the announcement of the referendum on independence sparked a conversation on the reshaping of devolution and of the Union among Unionists, not least among Scottish Tories as shown above, the early 2010s also proved testing for the peace process in Northern Ireland. Contrary to Scottish Unionism which has been described as adaptable and perhaps more low-key, Ulster Unionism has historically been resistant to negotiation and has been seen as uncompromising. Northern Irish Unionism has often been defined as a negative and reactionary ideology. Indeed, what has been called a “siege mentality” has permeated the Ulster Unionist discourse over time. Ulster Unionism has been framed as a reaction to a perceived sense of threat and a strong feeling of vulnerability.
14However, since the signing of the St Andrews Agreement in 2006, the two most extreme parties have been sharing power. The DUP initiated a normalisation strategy, Ian Paisley agreeing on sharing power with Martin McGuinness. The Assembly had been suspended since 2002 and finally reconvened in 2007. The Northern Ireland Assembly experienced its longest period of stability between 2007 and 2017, until it was suspended again. This period might have been an opportune time to normalise Northern Irish politics; however it was also a testing time for the region, especially with the flag protests mentioned above. The protests spread quickly in loyalist areas. For Eamon Mallie, an Irish political editor and author, the protest was the sign of a deeper sense of threat and deprivation in loyalist communities that went well beyond the flag issue only. Loyalist communities believed that the peace process had been a zero-sum game for them. Mallie explained:
- 16 Insert is mine.
- 17 Mallie, E., 2012.
Deficits in education facilities, joblessness, poor housing and poor health are all part of these forgotten neglected communities […].We are therefore dealing with a broken fractured Loyalist community and a Unionist leadership which as Alex Kane [a columnist and a former member of the UUP]16 has stated has always remained aloof from people at the bottom of the pile.17
15The two main Unionist parties tried to connect with their base by convening a “Unionist Forum” which aimed at addressing the demands of the loyalist communities. It also purported to increase voter registration and turnout in Unionist districts, strengthen British cultural identity in Northern Ireland, especially the parading tradition, and put forward measures to deal with education underachievement in the Unionist community.18 The flag protest was the overt expression of a sense of cultural threat that spread among the Unionist communities.
16However, despite these persisting sectarian tensions, Ulster Unionism has been increasingly more adaptable since 2007, especially the DUP which has gradually changed it approach. The DUP formed a government with Sinn Féin, which was still unconceivable in 2005, and they now support the extension of devolution to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the institutions implemented under the terms of the successive agreements. The party is also more secular than it used to be. Paisley’s forced resignation as leader of the party brought about changes and the party engaged in a new direction when Robinson took the leadership. References to Protestantism in the DUP’s discourse were less and less numerous, also due to the influx of new party members who left the UUP to join the DUP. The UUP had tried to adopt a discourse on multiculturalism in the early 2000s and it appears that the DUP’s view of citizenship and nationhood also evolved, as shown for instance in the following statement by Robinson who quoted Edward Carson’s speech on 4 February 1921 at the Ulster Unionist Council:
- 19 Robinson, Peter. Edward Carson Lecture in Iveagh House, Dublin, 29 March 2012.
You will be a Parliament for the whole community. We used to say that we could not trust an Irish Parliament in Dublin to do justice to the Protestant minority. Let us take care that that reproach can no longer be made against your Parliament, and from the outset let them see that the Catholic minority have nothing to fear from a Protestant majority...Let us take care that we win all that is best amongst those who have been opposed to us in this community...And so I say: from the start be tolerant to all religions, and, while maintaining to the last your own traditions and your own citizenship, take care that similar rights are preserved for those who differ from us.19
- 20 Foster, Arlene. Speech to the Friends of the Union in Scotland, 28 April 2017.
17The party has engaged on a path towards the middle ground of Unionism. It has never adopted the UUP’s discourse on civic Unionism but it has taken steps in that direction. However, although the flag protests of 2011-2012 did not match the high level of tensions of the Dumcree dispute in the 1990s, it was blatant that sectarianism was still strong in Ulster. During that episode, the Unionist parties did indeed return to a hard-line positon and this period was a real test for the Northern Ireland Assembly and the parties in power. However, the move initiated by the UUP and later the DUP in favour of a more “British” and less “little Ulster” discourse was preserved, and the results of the 2014 Scottish referendum dispelled the Unionists’ fears for some time, in Scotland of course but also in Northern Ireland. Indeed for Northern Irish Unionists, the Scottish dimension is essential to their vision of Unionism and Scotland’s secession now constitutes the most immediate threat to the Union, something Arlene Foster insisted on in her speech to the Friends of the Union: “It is ironic in recent years the UK constitutional arrangements have been in a state of flux not because of the position of Ulster but because of the independence threat from Scotland and Brexit”.20
- 21 Todd, J., 2020, p. 343.
18In the wake of the Indyref, it appears that Unionism and its local variations had been modernised to a certain extent in these two territories. The Scottish Tories had become the voice of a renewed constructive Unionism which Jennifer Todd defined as a Unionism that emphasises the plurality of peoples within the Union state and which is based on the idea of “the reciprocal and egalitarian benefit to its peoples”.21 Unionists in power in Northern Ireland had also gradually adopted a more civic and constructive approach to their vision of Unionism.
19Despite the unrest in Northern Ireland over the display of the flag and the clear momentum in favour of the SNP in Scotland, the 2015 and 2016 elections proved to be a time of Unionist optimism, as reflected in the discourse of the parties under study in this article. The Northern Ireland Assembly and Scottish Parliament elections took place in May 2016, a month before the Brexit referendum.
202016 provided an interesting context for redefining Unionism as Ulster was in the middle of the “Decade of Centenaries” which culminated in 2021 with the celebration or commemoration of Northern Ireland’s centenary. The Unionist parties of Ulster committed to making a positive case for the Union and this was reflected in their manifestoes. In 2016, the Northern Ireland Assembly had been restored for nine years and Northern Ireland had enjoyed the longest period of stable devolution, despite the sectarian tensions in loyalist areas in 2011 and 2012. The rhetoric adopted in the DUP manifestoes was rather optimistic as the party distanced itself from its oppositional discourse. The DUP’s 2015 General Election manifesto exemplifies this evolution and the party’s current hybrid positioning between a more ethnic approach to Unionism and a state-centred one. The section entitled “Strengthen the United Kingdom and protect and enhance our British identity” addressed a number of issues unique to Northern Ireland such as the display of the Union flags or the dispute over parades which have been at the core of the debate on a culture war in Northern Ireland. Yet, this section also promoted the idea of a shared history and shared legacy between all the territories of the UK as the DUP suggested that all the territories of the UK should be involved in the 2021 commemorations. The party also stressed the need to have a stronger voice in the UK’s institutions and in the British government, thereby trying to replace Ulster in the mainstream of British politics. Similarly, this section, divided into two columns, showed the party’s clear commitment to British institutions, which had not always been evident in the past. This was the result of a professionalisation strategy initiated by Peter Robinson but also by the new party members who had been trained by the UUP leadership in the 1990s.
- 22 DUP. General Election manifesto, 2015, p. 31.
Extract from the DUP 2015 General Election manifesto22
21In 2016, the DUP committed to supporting the Northern Ireland Assembly but it also insisted that reform was needed, especially regarding the principle of shared rule and mandatory coalition:
- 23 DUP. Northern Ireland Assembly Election, 2016, p. 31.
We still firmly believe that the best form of government for Northern Ireland would be a voluntary coalition Executive with weighted majority voting in the Assembly of around 65%. This would bring an end to Community Designation.23
- 24 29.2% in 2016 compared with 30.0% in 2011.
- 25 Sinn Féin’s share of first preference votes fell from 26.9% to 24.0%.
- 26 Northern Ireland Assembly. Election Report/Research Paper, Research and Information Service, 12 May (...)
22The DUP was confident to be on the winning side again, and indeed it returned to the assembly with a number of 38 seats, unchanged from 2011, although it had a slightly lower share of first preference votes.24 The UUP retained 16 seats while Sinn Féin lost one seat25 and the SDLP lost two seats overall and finished with 12 Members.26 So indeed, compared with the Northern Irish Nationalist parties, the Unionists maintained their dominating position. The results boosted their confidence, especially the DUP which was about to embark on a pro-Brexit campaign based on the idea of sovereignty of the Union and of its Parliament. Nigel Dodds’s and Arlene Foster’s speeches at the party’s conference provided interesting examples of this new Unionist confidence. These speeches contrasted with the “siege” rhetoric that had permeated the party’s discourse for decades. They adopted a more positive and confident vision for Unionism as well as a group rhetoric. The party welcomed new comers from the UUP in 2016 again, as it already did in the wake of the peace agreement, and its membership continued to grow. It claimed to be the voice of “Unionism” and of the silent Unionist majority. The following quotes exemplified this new Unionist confidence:
Arlene Foster, 29 October 2016
Party conference
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Progress > 3 occurrences
Strong / stronger > 9 occurrences
Confidence > 3 occurrences
Future > 4 occurrences
Group rhetoric :
Together > 4 occurrences,
people > 28 occurrences
We > 66 occurrences
the people of Northern Ireland > 6 occurrences
|
|
Quotes:
- The Union is secure and Northern Ireland is moving forward with confidence.
- Our mandate has been renewed, our opponents defeated and divided, Stormont not just stabilised but secured, and the United Kingdom has voted to take back control of its future.
-Now is time for us to step forward, not just as Northern Ireland’s leading unionist party, but as the party for all of unionism.
|
Nigel Dodds, 29 October 2016
Party conference
|
Superlatives > 12 occurrences (largest / biggest / best party)
Leader / leadership > 8 occurrences
We > 55 occurrences
People > 14 occurrences
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|
Quotes:
- Other parties now define themselves by what they are against. We define ourselves positively by what we are for.
- Support for the Union amongst all sections of our society continues to rise.
|
23Therefore, the 2016 Northern Ireland Assembly boosted Unionists’ confidence after years of sectarian tensions due to the flag protests. This newly gained confidence marked a further step in Ulster Unionism’s normalisation strategy despite persisting sectarian tensions. The DUP’s approach was now more British in the sense that it supported devolution while insisting on the role of centralised institutions in London. This positioning seemed to suggest that the DUP had started to promote a more civic and constructive Union, which could be reconfigured in order to adapt to a new political landscape.
24The Scottish election of 2016 also marked a symbolic change for Unionism in Scotland, and more importantly for the Scottish Tories. The SNP remained the largest party with 63 MSPs, two short of an overall majority. The Scottish Tories came second with 31 MPs and pushed Labour into third place with 24 MSPs. The Tories increased their share of votes by 8.1% and gained 4 additional seats.27 On the very first page of the 2016 manifesto, Davidson made a bold move as she stated that the SNP would win the election without any doubt but that she ambitioned to be the “strong unionist opposition”.28 Thus, she framed the election campaign as a Unionist versus Nationalist campaign with the constitutional future of Scotland at stake. Her position during the 2014 referendum campaign as an ardent “Nationalist Unionist” who articulated a powerful discourse on Scottish patriotism, even more so than the SNP, added weight to the idea that the Scottish Tories had returned to their 1950s legacy as a distinctively Scottish party. So Unionism and patriotism was part of the Scottish Conservatives’ discourse again, as the party committed to furthering devolution. For the second time since the 1960s, the party used the label “Conservative and Unionist party”.29 The idea of endorsing a more local approach to politics was clearly stated in the manifesto as Davidson wanted to revive traditional Scottish Toryism and rejuvenate her party by involving fresh faces and people who had never been involved in politics before the 2014 referendum. Contrary to the Northern Irish Unionists who had to put forward a British discourse in order to replace Northern Ireland within the mainstream of British politics, Scottish Unionists had to take the opposite direction and promote a local discourse on Unionism, rooted in local Scottish communities. Under Davidson’s leadership, the Scottish Tories reasserted their “Nationalist Unionist” credentials and put forward a positive case for the Union, illustrative of the idea of “constructive Unionism” as suggested in the following quote:
- 30 Davidson, Ruth. Speech to the Adam Smith Institute, 25 August 2021.
And I am determined to speak up for the Scots who want an alternative voice to be heard. Not a view which always seeks to put the constitutional question first – which tries to drive a wedge between Scotland and the rest of the United Kingdom. But a voice for the many thousands […] who recognise that Scotland exports twice as much to England, Wales and Northern Ireland as we do to the rest of the world combined. You are not just our neighbour, our brother in this family of nations. You’re our best customer.30
25Claiming that the SNP was merely a single-issue party, Davidson stressed both the historical and emotional dimension of the Union but also the benefits – and in that specific example the economic benefits – of the Union, regardless of one’s constitutional preference. The Scottish Tories have gradually become the voice of a constructive and project-oriented Unionism, in other words a Unionism which aims at building projects and values shared by different communities and people.31
26Therefore, although the DUP and the Scottish Tories represent different types of Unionism, in the immediate pre-Brexit context Unionist parties seemed to be more confident and tried to modernise their Unionist vision. Davidson had managed to become the voice of a strong Unionist opposition, and the Unionists were also comforted in Northern Ireland where they managed to garner as much support as in 2011, while promoting a more civic and constructive Unionism. For Todd,
when unionisms are open to iterative renegotiation, they make separatist nationalisms unnecessary since the separate peoples can attain autonomy and the benefits sought from independence within the changing union.32
27Indeed, the parties under study seemed to have benefitted from this repositioning in 2016 to a certain extent, but this new confidence was short-lived.
28Indeed, this period of Unionist confidence was temporary only. The Brexit campaign and later the negotiation period marked a return to a more hardline position for the DUP. As far as the Scottish Tories were concerned, they found themselves in the difficult position of being taken out of the EU by a Conservative government after campaigning to remain in the EU.
29Unionist parties were divided over the issue of EU membership. In Northern Ireland, the UUP officially campaigned to remain in the EU, although the party made it clear that party members were free to vote as they pleased. Besides, some historical figures of the party, such as Lord David Trimble himself, positioned themselves as Leavers which made it more difficult for the party leadership to become a key player in the Remain camp.
- 33 Foster, A., “Why I Back Leave”, The Newsletter, 18 June 2016.
30The DUP on the other hand remained faithful to its strong Eurosceptic stance and took the leadership of the Leave campaign in Northern Ireland. Indeed it was Lee Reynolds, a special adviser to Arlene Foster, who became the chair of the Vote Leave campaign in Ulster. The cross-party “Leave” campaign brought together the DUP, the TUV and some members of the UUP as well, such as Robin Swann who became the UUP leader in 2017 (until 2019). The Leave campaign in Northern Ireland relied on five key arguments: (i) the preservation of “British sovereignty”, (ii) the reaffirmation of their British identity, (iii) the lack of democratic accountability of EU institutions, (iv) the decline of national vetoes and (v) the cost of EU membership as a net contributor.33 In 2007 the DUP had become a party of government, more consensual and willing to share power with Sinn Féin and to adopt a more constructive Unionism. But the Brexit referendum seemed to reverse that trend. The DUP also refused to compromise on the Irish Language legislation, accusing Sinn Féin of launching a cultural war against Unionism. It appears that the DUP often went back to its hardline roots on a number of occasions, such as during the flag protests and again during the Brexit campaign, living little room for compromise and inclusiveness.
- 34 The Renewable Heat Incentive scheme was an energy initiative established in Northern Ireland to ent (...)
31The scandal over the Renewable Heat Incentive led to the collapse of the Northern Irish power-sharing executive in 2017.34 In the months that followed, Sinn Féin announced that for the assembly to reconvene, legislation in favour of Irish Gaelic ought to be implemented. The DUP’s refusal to compromise on this question meant that Northern Ireland returned to direct rule, eleven years after the signing of the St Andrews Agreement. Although the party had described itself as devolutionist, the return to direct rule back in 2017 confirmed the DUP’s firm positioning regarding the Brexit negotiation and their steadfast refusal to give Northern Ireland a special status within the Union. They favoured a centralised power in London that would treat all the territories of the UK equally, thereby perhaps undermining the will of the people of Northern Ireland who wished to remain in the EU and were concerned about the future shape of the border on the island of Ireland. It is worth noting that the UUP’s leadership adopted the same position as the DUP during the negotiations, although some members of the UUP, including David Trimble himself, are now advocating a reconfiguration of the Union, perhaps on a more federal basis.
32The party’s opposition to May’s backstop and then to Johnson’s Northern Ireland Protocol is grounded in the DUP’s belief that only a UK-wide policy is acceptable. After appointing the very controversial Edwin Poots as leader of the party for a few weeks, Jeffrey Donaldson, a former UUP member and a more moderate figure, is now leading the party. In his inaugural speech as party leader, Donaldson stated:
- 35 Donaldson, Jeffrey. Inaugural speech as DUP leader, 1 July 2021.
The Irish Sea Border is not just a threat to the economic integrity of the United Kingdom; it is a threat to the living standards of the people of Northern Ireland and the constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom. In the weeks ahead our goal is to remove the Irish Sea border and to preserve and protect the internal UK market. This is the route to restoring the constitutional balance that was achieved by the Belfast and St Andrews Agreements and it is the only path to stable and sustainable government in Northern Ireland.35
33The DUP went back to a more hard-line, conservative Unionism according to which the preservation of the UK state and the existing traditional institutions is the prime concern, with little room for change and flexibility.
34In Scotland, the Tories found themselves in the difficult position of having voted against Brexit and belonging to the party that took the UK out of the EU. Two days after the referendum, Ruth Davidson made a speech in which she insisted that devolved governments ought to be included in the negotiation process and be treated as equal in the negotiation, a statement in line with her recent pro-devolution agenda. In the 2017 General Election, the Scottish Tories were relatively successful as they gained 13 seats from the SNP. But the Scottish Tories’ effort to endorse a more local discourse and redefine their Unionist vision was interrupted by Brexit. Davidson eventually resigned for personal reasons but also over a disagreement with Johnson, whom she had vehemently opposed during the BBC “Great Debate” broadcast on the eve of the referendum day. The current leader, Douglas Ross, positions himself in the continuity of Davidson’s leadership but Brexit made it extremely hard for the Scottish Tories to advocate a cultural and historical Unionism which also promotes Scottish distinctive history while the Conservative Party in power is currently centralising powers in Westminster. The constitutional question is now central to the Scottish debate, as the rise of tactical voting suggests and it remains to be seen whether the Scottish Tories have become the “strong Unionist opposition” it purported to be in 2016. John Curtice examined the rise of tactical voting in the 2021 election and noted that:
the importance of the constitutional question in voters’ minds was emphasised by the way in which Unionist voters were willing to ignore the traditional left-right divide, and back whichever of Conservative or Labour was best placed locally to defeat the SNP.36
35Indeed the three main Unionist parties saw gains from tactical voting, and especially the Scottish Conservative Party.37
- 38 HM Government. United Kingdom Internal Market Act, 17 December 2020. The act is available at: https (...)
- 39 Institute for Government. The UK Internal Market Act 2020 – Report, IfG Analysis, “Brexit and Devol (...)
36Yet, although all Unionist parties are committed to the extension of devolution, Brexit has indeed interrupted the devolution process since many of the former powers of the EU institutions now fall under the remit of Westminster, and not of the devolved administrations. For example, the UK Internal Market Act38 limits the remit of devolved administrations which will not be able to regulate goods and service providers that come from other parts of the UK.39 During the Brexit negotiations, the Conservative Party has reaffirmed its Unionist credentials, insisting on the need to restore the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, British independence and on the urge to get Brexit “done”. The policies mentioned above reveal the party’s centralised and centralist vision of the Union, almost as a unitary state, whose focus is on Westminster rather than on the devolved assemblies and parliaments. This vision proves to be at odds with its local branches in the devolved territories.
- 40 Northern Ireland Assembly. New Decade, New Approach, January 2020. The agreement is available at: <(...)
- 41 HM Government. Northern Ireland Act, 1998. The act is available at: <https://www.legislation.gov.uk (...)
- 42 Cochrane, F., 1997.
37Both Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU, which of course raises questions about the principle of self-determination at the core of the referendum process. The calls for a new Indyref in Scotland and for a border poll in Northern Ireland suggest indeed that Brexit has led to a new crisis in Unionism. Prior to the referendum, Unionist parties had already faced a number of challenges at the regional level. In Northern Ireland, the move towards a more constructive Unionism is an on-off trend. When sectarian tensions resurface, then Unionist parties tend to go back to their hardline position. Yet, on 11 January 2020, the DUP and Sinn Féin found an agreement.40 The DUP opposed an Irish Language Act but the party agreed to amend the Northern Ireland Act41 of 1998 in order to grant official status to the Irish Language and to Ulster-Scots and to allow MLAs to speak in Irish in the Northern Ireland Assembly. This recent agreement shows that amid the tensions surrounding the Brexit referendum, the Irish Language Act and the issue of the border, Unionists want the Assembly up and running again and they do not want to see the return of direct rule to Northern Ireland. According to Feargal Cochrane, Unionism develops and evolves in times of crises.42 The case of Scottish Unionism seems to exemplify that idea as well, especially as far as the Scottish Tories are concerned. It was following the 2011 SNP landslide victory that they managed to modernise their vision of Unionism. As far as Northern Ireland is concerned, although the DUP and the UUP returned to their more hardline discourse during the flag protests, both parties came together and tried to find a common solution to the tensions.
38However, the Brexit crisis is of another dimension. Although the Conservative Party presents itself as the historical party of the Union, its centralising measures offended Unionists in the devolved areas. The Conservative Party’s Unionism is of course different from that of the Labour or the Lib-Dems and Unionism is very diverse, but the UK Conservative Party alienated its own local branches in the wake of the Brexit referendum. There are now calls for a new Union, emanating from the Lib-Dems, the Labour Party and many cross-party think-tanks, but also from Northern Ireland where some people now even advocate a federal Union. The current territorial and constitutional crisis has indeed fractured the Union. However, this time might also be an opportunity to reshape the Union and may not lead to the dissolution of the UK along national lines, as Michael Keating noted: “All three devolved legislatures voted against the final EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill. However powerful these centrifugal forces, the United Kingdom is not going to fall apart neatly along national lines. An independent Scotland would undoubtedly gain entry into the EU but the cost would be a hard border with what remained of the UK. Northern Irish unionists are not going to vote for Irish unity and the Irish government itself has shown no enthusiasm whatever for the prospect […]. Brexit has shown that dismantling a complex union is not a simple matter.”43