Four key reasons why unionism in NI should be upbeat

l First, the sad demise of Her Majesty The Queen united all the peoples of the United Kingdom in an unprecedented display of admiration and affection for a monarch who was a true mother of our nation.

This was no demonstration of royal sycophancy but a nation coming together as a truly united kingdom. There can be no question that our Union, and the wider Commonwealth is stronger than it was even a month ago.

l Second, the publication of the 2021 census results appeared to delight nationalists, yet my reading of the results is different.

I see no sign of an emerging crisis for unionism indeed on the basis of the published figures any border poll would be so roundly defeated that it would cause an emergency within the republican movement as it points to their military and political campaigns as being failures. Sinn Fein may be enjoying electoral success among nationalist voters but that has no impact with unionists who regard their national allegiance as inalienable.

l Third, the ‘Future Ireland’ event at the weekend was a ‘Day of Delusion’.

Did anyone ever hear as much nonsense about ‘what might happen if…’ The ‘if’ is if unionists cease being unionists and become nationalists. Does anyone know a unionist who wishes to leave the UK?

l And fourth, last Wednesday evening I attended the premiere of a documentary from the Dalaradian Society which charted the efforts of a group of Rathcoole loyalists to research their identity.

They chronicled the ancient Pretanic (Britannic) peoples of the British Isles and their legacy still extant in Ulster. The documentary explodes the republican fallacy that the British in Ireland were planters. The reverse – the usurpers and carpet-baggers were the Gaels. I commend this documentary for school viewing.

In conclusion, Unionism should not be disheartened. Republicans could never beat us militarily which is why they now resort to misinformation, demoralisation; and electoral manipulation — hallmarks of national socialism; and to undermining Northern Ireland and its place in the UK by stealth. Hence the NI Protocol and the need for its destruction.

l David Campell is chair of the Loyalist Communities Council and a former UUP Chairman