Nomenclature for that part of the Union is quite the shibboleth, and as a conviction Unionist it is Ulster that is part of the United Kingdom
(1). For Westminster politicians from the mainland, news journalists and the like it is Northern Ireland, whereas Republicans will insist on referring to it as 'the North', or the 'North of Ireland', the crystal clear implication being that the entire island should be ruled by Dublin.
And why drag up matters Ulster when the Fenians are not doing much killing at the moment and Westminster is not apparently intent on any new attempt to give the barge on which the good people of Ulster have been sold down the river on another hefty shove? Because of
this interview in the 'graph with the head of Labour, Scottish Division, Wendy Alexander, covering Barnett, the West Lothian question et al:
"The message of the last 10 years is that the British constitution has proved infinitely more flexible than anybody had expected. I mean, are we also going to remove all the North Irish, are we going to remove London MPs for votes that are covered by the GLA? There is no simple answer here and I think we should allow Westminster to continue to act as the British parliament."
Nice to know she is such a doughty supporter of the Union. Given that her father (and that of brother Wee Dougie) is
referred to as a Reverend, it seems reasonable to assume that she is not a Roman Catholic, or otherwise strongly identified with matters Hibernian.
(1). Yes, I am well aware that Ulster contains only six of the nine counties that comprise the historic province of Ulster, but then four départements in North West France continue to be called Bretagne, despite being shorn of Loire Atlantique in 1941 (by guess who...) , which département includes Brittany's historic capital of Nantes. Labels: Ulster
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posted by Croydonian
