re: #69 Dr Lizardo

For those wondering why a formal Tory/DUP coalition is a cause for concern, I’m going to let this Reddit user answer it, because they did far better than I could.

A British Government reliant on the support of the DUP for their majority is in the same position as one in a formal coalition with the DUP with regard to negotiations in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein and the SDLP already don’t believe that the British Government under May acts as a neutral facilitator for negotiations, not without reason, and if the Government is propped up by the DUP then they simply can’t claim to be an honest, neutral broker.

So the Tories relying on the DUP, even just with confidence and supply, vindicates everything that Sinn Fein have said about British rule in Northern Ireland for decades - that the British aren’t honest brokers, that they can’t be trusted, that they will always side with unionists, that there is nothing in the union for Irish republicans and nationalists, that there’s nothing in the union even for soft unionists who reject the DUP’s corruption and conservatism, that the only option to represent the interests of most people in NI is a united Ireland.

This is very bad news for power sharing. Talks in the past have succeeded because nationalists have accepted that the British Government has no interest in Northern Ireland beyond respecting the right of its people to self-determination. This was certainly the case under Blair, and I think under the coalition too. This principle is the foundation of the Good Friday Agreement. If the Government ends up in a partisan position where they owe their position in the Commons to the DUP then that will undermine the confidence of nationalists in the process and make it much less likely that negotiations will be successful.

And let’s not forget that the negotiations are scheduled to end at the end of June - just in time for loyalist marching season, traditionally the most tense time of year in Northern Ireland. Everyone involved needs to tread very carefully, but May’s government seems to lack any understanding of Northern Ireland and has in the past shown itself willing to be played by the DUP so I don’t for a second believe that they will be at all careful.

So it’s a disaster for power sharing, but Sinn Fein will be loving it. I imagine Gerry Adams is rubbing his hands with glee. Theresa May is handing them a huge win because she doesn’t understand Northern Ireland.