“No one is ready for a Border poll” and constitutional change would be “destabilising, confusing and ultimately ... disappointing”, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Mike Nesbitt has told his party conference.
Mr Nesbitt used his speech to outline to delegates why a united Ireland would not be in the interests of people on both sides of the Border and warned it could result in unionists holding the balance of power in the Dáil.
“If there was a new Ireland, there could be maybe 60 new, additional TDs representing what was Northern Ireland in the Irish parliament” with “around half of them” unionist and/or British, the UUP leader said.
“So, unionists could hold the balance of power in Leinster House. Why would a proud Irish person want me, or [DUP leader] Gavin Robinson, or Jim Allister [Traditional Unionist Voice leader] choosing their next taoiseach?”
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Addressing several hundred of the party faithful in a south Belfast hotel on Saturday, the MLA for Strangford – who is also his party’s only Minister – rejected the argument that a united Ireland would be “transformational” for the economy, saying “what was transformational was the crash of the Celtic Tiger in 2008, which required a massive bailout.
“Irish finances look good, but one of their biggest sectors is pharmaceuticals, a multibillion-dollar industry that the Republic is heavily involved in, but ... in a manner that deeply displeases Donald Trump. The implications are very clear,” Mr Nesbitt said.
He also argued a United Ireland would not make sense in terms of defence “at a time when geopolitical tensions are so great”.
“The UK is committed to upping our percentage spend on defence; the Republic doesn’t spend half of 1 per cent.
“With an American administration hostile to Europe and – crudely – the accusation European nations are freeloading on the USA’s military, are we really going to divorce ourselves from our greatest protection?
“No, we should increase the capacity of the Royal Navy and the air force to use Northern Ireland to defend our shores and our international interests,” he said.
[ Irish Government must prepare for Border poll, SDLP conference toldOpens in new window ]
Listing a number of “ironies” around the constitutional question, the Ulster Unionist leader said one of these was that “unionists don’t always recognise that one of the people who understands that no one is ready for a Border poll is the Taoiseach, Micheál Martin. Hence his focus on Shared Island [initiative] rather than a referendum.”
Mr Nesbitt warned that the “biggest threat” to Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK was not Irish nationalists, but English nationalism.
He said he had been struck in Westminster “by the number of MPs sporting lapel badges, not with the flag of the United Kingdom, but the flag of St George ... waving the flag of England has become a campaign for many English people.
“Like Brexit, they see it as another campaign to ‘take back control’,” he said, explaining that the “danger” was that English nationalist MPs would object to the billions paid by the UK treasury to Northern Ireland’s annual subvention, which they would feel could pay for hospitals or schools in their own constituencies.
“That’s the real danger of supporting the sort of right-wing parties other unionists currently find so appealing,” he said.
Hitting out at those who “accuse any unionist in engaging in the debate” around a united Ireland “of being a Lundy [traitor]”, he said it should be dealt with by discussing it “openly, transparently and honestly”.
“The problem with constitutional change like Brexit is that it’s destabilising, confusing and ultimately disappointing,” Mr Nesbitt said. “I think one constitutional leap of faith is enough for any generation to endure.”
Mr Nesbitt, who is also Stormont’s Minister for Health, defended his record, saying he had “made difficult decisions ... difficult and unpopular decisions”.
“I did so because it was the right thing to do.”
The Ulster Unionist leader called on the Northern Ireland Executive to “pay the workforce what they deserve” and, regarding the failure to implement this year’s pay award for nursing staff, said it would be “bad faith” for the Executive “who approved pay parity, not to maintain that position”.
“Let’s stop making nurses and healthcare workers feel they are the only ones, right across the United Kingdom, who have to threaten strike action to get what’s theirs,” he said.
