The financial firepower of the United Kingdom has helped Northern Ireland to get through the Covid crisis

The UK’s central bank predicted that the economy will shrink by 2% in this final quarter of 2020, on top of the other disastrous falls in a range of economic and financial indicators since lockdown was first introduced in March.

The bank also decided unanimously to keep interest rates at the historic low rate of 0.1%. To get a sense of how serious that is, consider the fact that the bank is toying with negative interest rates, which could lead to people having to pay to hold savings, instead of earning interest on such lump sums.

The last eight months has been a daily reminder of how fortunate Northern Ireland is to be part of the United Kingdom. It is fashionable to say, post Brexit, that the UK is a declining mid ranking country with delusions about itself, but it isn’t true. It is the sixth wealthiest nation on earth in terms of the size of its overall economy.

Even in terms of per capita GDP (wealth per person), where some small countries such as Qatar and Switzerland take places at the top of the list, the UK is one of the 20 richest countries in the world (in which there are almost 200).

The firepower of the Treasury has sustained the generous furlough scheme, which has been extended for another month. Every day, Stormont ministers, who do not raise money, announce fresh grants to spend it, funded from London.

Yet you will have to search hard to find even a unionist politician, let alone a nationalist one, who expresses any gratitude for all this largesse, that is only possible because of our place in the UK. But you will not have to search hard at all to find unionists join nationalists in demanding yet more money to be pumped into NI

The Union has enabled this Province get through the financial storm caused by Covid, and every person of influence who wants that Union to survive should be saying so.

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