Richard Boyd Barrett: Brexit Exposes Border, Pushes for Unity
Richard Boyd Barrett argued that the Brexit crisis exposed the irrationality of the border and created an opening for advancing Irish unity. He criticised institutionalised sectarianism in Northern Ireland's political structures and urged common social and economic issues to bridge divisions.
Brexit and the border
He said Brexit has revealed a fissure in unionism between ideological commitment to Britain and economic self-interest - a development he views as favourable to the project of uniting the island and getting rid of the border, and something that should be explored further.
Institutionalised sectarianism and corruption
Boyd Barrett warned that the Northern Assembly's political arrangements institutionalise sectarianism, meaning major issues such as the RHI scandal are debated through a sectarian prism and can be effectively vetoed by one camp. He expressly disagreed with Micheál Martin on this point and compared the Northern structures to Lebanon's quota-based system set up in the 1920s.
Social movements breaking divides
He highlighted recent mass protests in Lebanon over a WhatsApp tax as an example of young people breaking down sectarian divisions. Boyd Barrett argued that LGBT rights, women's rights, the right to choose and shared economic and social issues are the routes by which green-and-orange politics can be challenged and the struggle for a united Ireland advanced.
Elections, Stormont and next steps
He noted the election phase, including UK elections on 12 December, and referred to Sir Geoffrey Donaldson's stated position on the withdrawal agreement and Labour leadership. Boyd Barrett said the special economic arrangement for Northern Ireland in the withdrawal agreement is not intended to threaten its constitutional status - which he said is guaranteed by the Good Friday Agreement - and outlined ongoing engagement between Number 10 and Government Buildings and contacts between the Taoiseach and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He suggested there may be an opportunity over the Christmas and New Year period to work towards re-establishing Stormont ahead of the 13 January deadline.
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I think the Brexit crisis has shown the problem, the irrationality of a border and it has exposed a fissure that has always existed in unionism between a sort of ideological commitment to being part of Britain and then economic self-interest, right? And that has been exposed. In a way, frankly, that is favourable to the project of uniting this island and getting rid of the border. And I think we do need to explore it. And this is where I strongly disagree with Micheál Martin. You see, we have representatives in the North, elected representatives. And the problem with as much as everybody welcomes the peace in the North, right, as an alternative to sectarian warfare, the fact is the political structures in the Northern Assembly institutionalise sectarianism. And it means very important issues like corruption on a scale of hundreds of millions in the RHI scandal would only be debated through the prism of sectarian politics, right? And where, on a sectarian basis, one camp can stop effectively veto effective action in dealing with something like corruption, right? And we need to, in this sense, if you want to look at a country where we could learn something from, look at Lebanon. Look at Lebanon, where the political structures set up in the 1920s were almost exactly the same as the political structures that were set up in the Northern Assembly. Institutionalised sectarianism based on sectarian quotas, right? And it didn't work out very well for Lebanon. But what has? No, it's a very good comparison. And look what has begun to break through it in a very surprising way. Look at all the big protests in Lebanon now where young people have come out together over taxes being imposed on WhatsApp messages, breaking down all the sectarian divisions. Now, that's not an exact analogy, but if you think about LGBT rights, women's rights, the right to choose, common economic and social issues, they are the way in which we can begin to challenge the sectarian divide, the border, the green and orange politics in a way that can actually begin to further the struggle for a united Ireland. OK, Tasia, you have two minutes. I want to thank deputies for their questions and remarks. I think Deputy Helen mentioned that he detected a significant shift in DUP policy on Brexit. I'm not entirely sure if that's the case. I watched Newsnight last night, which was broadcast from Belfast, and I think a lot of people probably did, and maybe detected subtleties that I missed. But certainly listening to Sir Geoffrey Donaldson, he was very much making the case that EUP is for Brexit, is opposed to the withdrawal agreement, and would not support to Corbyn that government, but would consider their options if Corbyn was removed as leader of the Labour Party. We are very much in an election phase. Elections happening on the 12th of December in the United Kingdom and also in Northern Ireland. And I look forward to resuming talks with all of the parties in Northern Ireland next month. I think Deputy Martin is correct to say that the special economic arrangement that's envisaged for Northern Ireland under withdrawal agreement is not a threat to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, and certainly is not intended to be a threat to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. That is guaranteed by the Good Friday Agreement, and can only be changed if there's a referendum in Northern Ireland that seeks to change it. In terms of Stormont institutions, we have an ongoing engagement with the UK government, even during this election phase. So Number 10 is in touch with Government Buildings, and the Taoiseach is in touch with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. And I do hope that there is an opportunity between the elections for Westminster. We'll have the results of them, I suppose, on the 13th and 14th of December, and the deadline for Stormont to be re-established on the 13th of January. I think there is perhaps an opportunity during that Christmas and New Year period to work together, the two governments working close together, and all the parties working close together, to achieve what is our shared collective state of objective, which is to re-establish the institutions in Stormont, and to strengthen negotiations and relations between Britain and Ireland. But as I say, it is an election phase, and I think that work is best done when we know what the results are of the UK elections. Thank you very much.
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