Most of the media focus after Friday's Westminster
election results has centred around the DUP's slaying of the Ulster
Unionist Party, and the resignation of David Trimble.
However, for the readers of the Andersonstown News there are
other aspects to the election results that are no less interesting and
are expected to be replicated in today's local government count.
As recently as four years ago there were 14 unionist MPs of
various hue, often making political deals with various British
governments whenever a Westminster vote necessitated it; frustrating
the peace process in Ireland. After Thursday's election there are now
only 10 unionist MPs with a record eight nationalist MPs in the North.
In all the commotion in recent days in the mainstream media
regarding the DUP's strengthened political mandate, it has been
conveniently forgotten that unionism returns to Westminster in a weaker
position than when it left.
In fact there was a time when the BBC and UTV during their
election coverage used to show the political map as results came in,
covered in orange, except for pockets of green in West Belfast, Foyle,
Newry and Armagh and South Down. Now they no longer show the map in
case it offends viewers in Bangor and Carrickfergus and forces them to
confront the realities of the new political landscape in the North. If
that map was to be shown today it would show that along with the four
aforementioned constituencies South Belfast, West Tyrone, Mid-Ulster
and Fermanagh and South Tyrone would also be painted green. In crude
mathematical terms that's roughly two-thirds of the six counties.
Expect a similar situation after today's local government count.
If the DUP spend the next months frustrating any progress in
the current political process then Sinn Féin and the SDLP must take the
initiative.
The SDLP has no great love for Westminster. Figures show that
the party has the worst attendance record of any party in the British
parliament. In the coming months the party must join with Sinn Féin and
push for speaking rights in Dáil Éireann.
The border has been blurred since the IRA ceasefire in 1994; let's blur it some more.
