Former UUP MLA rounds on Lord Kilclooney's prediction that 'united Ireland is coming - unionism will not survive'
A former Ulster Unionist politician has hit out at a claim by Lord Kilclooney that Northern Ireland is going to leave the UK.
Esmond Birnie, a prominent economist who served as a UUP MLA from 1998 to 2007, said that the idea that Irish unity is inevitable is a “dangerous myth”.
He was reacting to an interview in the Irish News with his former boss Lord Kilclooney (John Taylor), who was UUP deputy leader from 1995 to 2001 (and also a former MP, MLA, and MEP).
In it, Lord Kilclooney said that “the majority are going to be in favour of a united Ireland” and that “unionism will not survive”.
Dr Birnie told the News Letter: “The former deputy leader of the UUP tells us we must prepare for a United Ireland.
"He treats the latter as inevitable, but it is not.
"The future is inherently uncertain, and there is no evidence that John Taylor has a better crystal ball than the rest of us.
“In a free society we should have open debate regarding all the options based on evidence.
"Anyone is entitled to have a road-to-Damascus moment, but it would be reasonable to expect some sound evidence as to why unity would advantage more people than the status quo.
"Instead of doing that John Taylor appears to have joined a small but vocal group of ‘ex-unionists’ who all seem to believe that supporting unity places them on what might now be deemed the ‘right side of history’.
"But what is the right side of history and who determines where it is? This brings us back to the myth of historical inevitability.
"And it is not just a fallacy, it is a dangerous myth too.
"After all, those who committed some of the worst crimes of the 20th century, notably Lenin and Stalin, did so in the name of historical inevitability.
"I will always remember David Trimble warning us we should not concede to Irish Republicanism that unity was inevitable.
"Ironically and sadly his former deputy seems to have succumbed.”
Lord Kilclooney, now aged in his late 80s, has sat in the Lords as a crossbench peer since 2001.
His interview in the Irish News was conducted with political pundit Alex Kane, who was UUP director of communications from 2008 to 2010.
The Irish News quoted Lord Kilclooney as saying “the reality [is] that there is going to be a united Ireland” and that “unionism needs to be prepared for that if we are to avoid more violence”.
Alex Kane at one point asked if there is anything unionism can do to underpin the union over the coming years?
Lord Kilclooney was quoted as saying in reply: “I don’t think there is much they can do at this stage.
"I think they are going to be caught on the hop – which may explain why their reaction could include violence. Although it wouldn’t last."
He was further quoted as saying: “The people in Great Britain are no longer interested in Northern Ireland and society in England and Great Britain is changing and at the same time society in Northern Ireland is changing, because the majority are going to be in favour of a united Ireland.”