As the debate around Irish reunification gathers pace in Socialist Voice and elsewhere, we must not leave unity as an open goal to the British and Irish governments. We must build a left case for unity: the people’s unity of Ireland with the priority being the needs, wants and desires of the people, not those of Imperialism.
Irish reunification is not just about a piece of land: it is about the unification of our people and bringing an end to the manufactured divisions created by the British in the part of Ireland that they still occupy. If the needs of the people are prioritised and brought to the forefront of all discussions rather than the needs of the ruling class, this will open up the cracks in the imperialist plans for their “New Ireland” .
We must not be distracted by the economics of Unity as that is playing right into their hands: they will offer multiple reasons why things cannot be done for economic reasons. The opening shots of this narrative have already being fired by the €10 billion price tag put on unity by John Fitzgerald, a stalwart of the ruling class. This is the road the ruling class want to lead us down as we move towards reunification. There is never enough money for the needs of the citizen but an abundance available for the needs of capitalism: think back to the 2008 global financial crash. We must keep the focus on the needs of the people.
There is one sure way of uniting the vast majority of the people of Ireland behind reunification. This is when Irish reunification brings with it an end to poverty, inequality, underfunded services and a permanent end to conflict and lasting peace for the people of Ireland.
What does that mean? The ruling class will attempt to bring the re-unification of Ireland down to costs; we on the left must bring the focus on the needs of our people. Irish unity without an economy for the common good is in nobody’s interests but those of the ruling class.
Yes some changes will cost money, but they can be done if the needs of the people are prioritized for example:
- The building of a fully funded all-Ireland healthcare service, free at the point of entry, from the vradle to the grave and everything in between, from childcare to retirement home. If a poor country like a Cuba can do it, so can a rich country like Ireland.
- An all-Ireland, state-owned construction company to build public housing, universally accessible as a right to housing for all citizens, for income-linked differential rents. It’s been done before, both here and in Britain.
- A sustainable Ireland, ending fossil fuel usage and a rapid conversion to sustainable green energy and transport. We don’t have a choice it’s either this or climatic catastrophe. Irish unity can be a catalyst for the transition.
Other priorities will be political and against the wishes of the ruling class but will find overwhelming support from the people of Ireland for example:
- A neutral Ireland. This means an end to military flights in and out of Shannon and end to all NATO forces north of the border.
- A complete overhaul of all anti- worker legislation to tip the balance of power to workers and away from capital.
- A state-owned National bank. This was done in Ireland and Britain when banks were nationalised in 2008, only for them to be sold back to the capitalist class when they became profitable again.
To kick-start the building of a left reunification of Ireland, neutrality is the weak link for The Ruling Class. The ongoing genocide in Palestine has exposed the lie that is NATO. An all-Ireland campaign for neutrality will be a declaration of war on imperialist hegemony. It will mean not only an end to military flights into Shannon and Aldergrove but the returning of all British military forces from Ireland back to their barracks in Britain. A declaration of neutrality for the whole country north and south.
Of course Unionism will rage against this but this demand will expose the reality of British imperialism. Let’s have that debate. Which part of “the Union” do unionists want: is it an imperial army with billions of pounds to supply weapons and troops in multiple wars around the world at the same time as starving the health service and cutting the winter fuel allowance for pensioners? Is it British politicians scuttling a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, leading to untold deaths and misery? Is it the likes of the Balfour Declaration? Are unionists just white supremacists, as some would say, and want to see the British army once again enforce the orange state in Ireland, or is it time to build the case for all-Ireland neutrality?
Of course some of the older generation of unionists are imperialist to the core. The time has moved on from Empire and many young people from a unionist background are awakened and have began to see reality differently from how it has been presented to them for centuries. They are appalled at the ongoing genocide in Palestine and know of Britain’s complicity in it. This has brought home the reality of all the the other imperial wars that Britain has been involved in for centuries.
We must learn from our history and not repeat the mistakes of the past. If it’s left to the politicians the people will pay the price. Imperialism has solutions to everything so long as the people are willing to pay for it and tow their line. This time the ruling class must pay the cost of 100 years of Partition and 850 years of interference.
John Fitzgerald should go off now and put a price on reparation payments due to the people of Ireland for the damage done down through the centuries by British Imperialism.
Irish unity without class struggle is business as usual.
