Contented voters means no border poll or Irish unity

Former UUP MLA Philip Smith advocates a '˜new unionism' which must be inclusive to attract all backgrounds ('˜We need a new unionism fit for a new Northern Ireland,' April 26).
Letters to EditorLetters to Editor
Letters to Editor

Unionism’s problem is that the only thing that unites it is the Union.

Under the bonnet it is a diverse range of incompatible views: right wing, left wing, capitalist, socialist, centrist, Christian, secular.

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It is therefore dissatisfying for voters, especially Catholic ones, to vote unionist.

Do we need a movement called Unionism at all?

Scotland has no dedicated unionist party yet the Union is defended by existing left/right wing parties (Labour, Conservatives, and Liberal Democrats).

Philip Smith thinks that Sinn Fein were frustrated in Stormont by a growing contentment of voters until Brexit, RHI and Martin McGuinness’ death.

Voter contentment increases if the electorate feels relaxed enough to vote for parties that closer reflect their personal social/economic views.

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Even under Stormont’s restrictive mandatory coalition, smaller parties like the Greens and People Before Profit made breakthroughs.

Under voluntary coalition other parties like the Conservatives or Labour Alternative could have breakthroughs too.

The News Letter’s Ben Lowry (April 28) has suggested a Christian Party for traditional Catholics and Protestants to defend the Christian viewpoint.

Voting for parties like these precludes no-one from implicitly supporting the Union also, be they Protestant, Catholic or other.

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In fact it will enhance the Union by making politics more dynamic and enlivening Stormont for people of all backgrounds.

Sinn Fein are not immune to losing out to other parties either, after all People Before Profit took an Assembly seat off them in West Belfast.

Perhaps this is the ‘new unionism’ needed to widen the appeal of the Union, increasing a pro-Union mindset and improving government in Northern Ireland.

Content voters means no border poll and no united Ireland regardless of changing demographics.

This is how I would have liked Stormont to have developed over the last 20 years but poor leadership and polarisation may have put an end to all that.

Thomas Stewart, Belfast BT4