David McNarry: Unionism needs two big parties working together - not three parties splitting the vote
A letter from David McNarry:
As we reach the party conference season, brace yourself for Sinn Fein lauding over all they survey. Aggressive agitators taunting unionists with the triumphal message that 'they are in charge now'.
For unionists, elected representation has got to mean more than turning up for the monthly pay cheque. Complacency has morphed into a form of political rigor mortis.
Unionist conference speeches - based on platitudes produced for the optics – will not inspire confidence or challenge rampant republicanism; nor will weak, divided, floundering political unionism without a strategic plan be taken seriously.
The electorate expects the leaderships to declare that reversals to the framework, legacy, ECHR, migration problems, etc. will be ruthlessly pursued to a final conclusive resolution benefitting unionists.
In terms of commitment, Gavin Robinson has set the benchmark for others to follow and surpass.
Robinson, Nesbitt and Allister do not need an abacus to count the numbers revealing that split unionism is a loser all round.
The turning point for political unionism comes from forging a synergy out of necessity. Unilateral decisions taking political unionism out of the mess it has landed itself in have to happen urgently.
One positive line of thinking, close to mine and gaining respectful attention, was floated in the September edition of the Orange Standard.
Succinctly put, the article addresses the issues that patently the political unionist leaderships are running away from.
Effectively - 'Do the TUV traditionalists and leftover DUP intransigents realign as a party? Thus, leaving the remnant rump of the UUP to link up with the larger number of DUP pragmatists forming a super unionist party?
The three parties are cheating unionism by forcing a majority into a split minority. The rules of the assembly recognise only the largest party and not an ad hoc grouping when it comes to majority status and control of affairs.
I trust that expediency will overpower party political selfish interests and that unionists do not abandon devolution and/or the Belfast Agreement – both of which without doubt require modernising reform. But unionism need to put its house in order first!
The Orange Standard article proposes a potential solution to the mess political unionism cannot resolve. Two parties with solid tactical vote management should be able under a single majority party leader to restore confidence and pride back to unionism. Over to you then Gavin, Mike, Jim!
David McNarry, former UUP and UKIP MLA for Strangford