Opinion

Patrick Murphy: There is a way forward for unionism if only they could see it

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy is an Irish News columnist and former director of Belfast Institute for Further and Higher Education.

The Orange Order does not have much to celebrate this year. .
The Orange Order does not have much to celebrate this year. . The Orange Order does not have much to celebrate this year. .

This year’s Twelfth will be different. Instead of celebrating victory, Orangemen are more likely to see themselves as victims of constitutional treason in the form of the Northern Ireland Protocol. Right now they do not have much to celebrate.

But the format will still be the same, beginning with the Eleventh Night bonfires. These are a continuation of the Celtic tradition of lighting fires, which in summer were to celebrate the return of light after winter’s darkness. (Don’t tell them that, because they might be embarrassed, especially if you point out that the Celts had the good sense to build their fires away from domestic dwellings.)

Bonfires, which have no connection to the Orange Order, are often marked by raucous behaviour. This is in sharp contrast to the order’s strict religious observance on the Twelfth, as members tramp their way to the field, displaying a wonderfully Christian superiority over their neighbours with every step.

Although it is tempting to regard the Orange Order as the Morris-dancing wing of unionism, it still carries political clout and Monday’s speeches will indicate at least some unionist thinking.

The problem is that unionism no longer has much political clout. Unlike nationalism, it has no international support, having been largely abandoned by Britain.

Like the Orangemen in Frank McGuinness’s play, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching to the Somme, they might well repeat one of their lines: “We are not making a sacrifice….We are the sacrifice.”

But they have a way forward if only they could see it. Although their court challenge to the protocol was dismissed, the judgment was weakest in relation to their argument that the protocol breaches Article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights. This guarantees the right of people to elect those who govern them. (The Convention has nothing to do with the EU. It consists of 47 European member states, both inside and outside the EU.)

The north is now subject to at least some EU laws and rules, but it has no power to elect those who make those rules. Since the UK has left the EU and since the Good Friday Agreement says we are part of the UK, there is no mechanism for us to elect members to the European parliament. Hence the possible breach of Article 3.

Unionists have a much stronger case on this point than in claiming the protocol damages the union with Britain. But they have not exploited their opportunity. Despite the legal ruling (subject to appeal) it would appear reasonable to argue that the current situation is undemocratic.

So unionists now have a chance to launch a non-sectarian civil rights campaign for democracy for everyone, in what would be an interesting reversal of the original civil rights movement in the late 1960s.

For once, unionists could leave aside their flags and march under the banner of civil rights for all. That would leave SF and the SDLP having to choose between the protocol and democracy. Both parties’ political promotion of the protocol to date would suggest that democracy might have to lose out.

But unionism does not appear to have the insight or the ability to take such an initiative. It would mean on Monday, for example, that a worshipful master might address the crowd:

“Brethren, we normally sing God Save the Queen at this point, but in view of how things are, we will now sing our new anthem. All together now, We shall overcome, we shall overcome, some day…..”

Of course, it is fantasy to expect that this might happen, because like all the parties in Stormont, the two main unionist parties view the world through a sectarian prism. That sectarianism has left us all without a vote.

With some original thinking, a dose of political understanding and an appreciation of our recent past, the Twelfth could have been even more different this year. But as long as Orangemen remain obsessed with the past, they are never going to shape the future.