For Ulster,ourselves alone is a viable option. BT December 1 2006 Eric Waugh The burial service of the United Kingdom is frequently read. It is said that the English are sick of the Scots;that the Welsh are fed up with the English,and that all three cannot wait to see off the remaining Irish....
The implications of all this tetchiness for Stormont are clear. If the UK were to break up,must Northern Ireland begin to think of going it alone? A further collapse of Stormont could precipitate radical thoughts, No Goverment,some of whose ministers actively disbelieve in the state they have been elected to govern,can be described as either stable or durable. This leads us to the question of finding a means to translate that state into a form where it could command general confidence. To my mind there is only one such form: the neogotiation of an independent state of Northern Ireland.
The attraction of independence lies in the mutal surrender it would represent: union with the British and union with the Republic would be sacrificed, Instead a new state would arise to which all would be invited to give allegiance. It is a concept important members of the SDLP supported after the failure of Sunningdale. So did James Callaghan two years after he left Number Ten;so did a joint unionist task force after the Hiillsborough Agreement;so did the UDA; so did influential senators in Dublin like T,K, Whitaker and Trevor West and the Independent Fianna Fail MEP,Neil Blaney.
Apart from the delicate task of maintaining peace during the drafting of a new constitution,the second key concern would be economics. Would an independent N.I. be viable? Its champions point to Malta,to Iceland and to Luxembourg as examples of viable small states. I would point also to to the Isle of Man.
Its 78,000 inhabitants maintain an economy based on low taxes and a best-of-both-worlds relationship with important neighbours like the UK and the EU. N.I. argues about cutting its 30% corporation tax to the Republic's 12.5%. The Isle of Man's corporation tax is zero. As a result its economy has grown steadily for the last 16 years: the current rate is an enviable 6.3%. Unemployment is below 1.5%.
The IOM has never been part of the UK - nor of the EU. It is not bound by EU law;nor does it pay anything to - or recieve anything from Brussels. But, vitally,it has a free trade treaty with the EU. Externally,the UK is responsible for its defence and international relations and the Queen is head of state.
An independent N.I. would forgo those British links,although nothing would exclude treaties with either Dublin or London to mutal advantage. But it would be the IOM's finicial sector - 36% of the economy - which would be the target to imitate. With its own currency,NI would be free to devalue,making it a desirable site for outside investors and rendering the products they would manfacture within it more competitive abroad.
In the meantime, though, the new state would require bolstering for up to 20 years by the UK,the EU - and possibly the US and even the Republic. Each of these would gain something by settlement of a political running sore. Independence is part of the future agenda for serious debate.
Admittily this (as you can see) was 4 years ago,but still maybe topical today. Wales recently has voted overwhelmingly to take more powers for itself. And I heard on TV this morning that Gary Speed the Welsh manager wants his players to learn to sing the Welsh anthem in Welsh. Only three players at the moment can do this. I think an eye on the UK and how its panning out is a must in relation to our own situation.
