It is conventional wisdom that Boris Johnson has got off to a reasonable start as Prime Minister. There have been no major gaffes, no minister forced to resign, no international scandal...yet. While journalists have talked of a 'government of national unity', led by Jeremy Corbyn, Ken Clarke, Yvette Cooper or Dominic Grieve, this looks unlikely to materialize into reality. Boris Johnson, thanks to the summer break, is going nowhere for the moment.
Except the new Prime Minister has been using the summer break to travel widely around the country to promote the benefits of the union. Just as we are departing one union, the Conservative and Unionist Party wishes to strengthen the union of the nation. Hence Mr Johnson has been to Scotland, where he met the SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and received some negative attention upon arrival. Travelling to Wales was also on the agenda, where he visited the Brecon and Radnorshire constituency, though this didn't help the Tories retain the seat in last week's by-election. And of course a trip across the Irish seas was a necessity to see all the Northern Irish parties, an admirable aim to hear differing points of view, especially when the Stormont Assembly remains out of action. This mirrors the approach of Theresa May, who visited Scotland immediately after becoming Prime Minister. She aimed to show that, in her view, leaving the EU and keeping the UK together were not mutually exclusive. On the principle of the UK as a union, I wholeheartedly agree with the Conservatives. On multiple occasions, I have stated being a proud and unapologetic unionist. The UK is better and stronger together, with the four nations, in a globalised, uncertain world working together to make decisions. This also explains why I supported remaining in the EU as, though I believed many elements of the EU were flawed and remain opposed to federalism, the principle of nation states pooling elements of sovereignty to increase their influence on the world stage seemed sound. It remains a disappointment to me that the country chose something different. Despite Mr Johnson talking the talk of unionism, so far there has been little success. Nicola Sturgeon has stated a second Scottish independence referendum is an imminent prospect. Of course, this would require the approval of the UK government, which David Cameron gave following the SNP majority government in the 2011 devolved elections. I imagine a conflict would arise were Boris Johnson to refuse their request. Nicola Sturgeon believed unions are essential, as long as they are European based and not within the UK. Strange logic I know, but it appears she sees the Brexit process, which the whole UK voted on, as her justification for departure. Do we really think anything would be different were the UK to have voted remain? Or if Scotland as a nation had also voted to leave? Would the SNP have packed up their bags and decided, fine, independence is off the cards? Of course not. The whole purpose of the SNP is to campaign for an independent Scotland. Nicola Sturgeon may state this is because of the flaws of Brexit but, however the nation voted in 2016, the SNP would want out of the UK. While I'm not denying that Brexit has acted as a catalyst for independence, it has not originally fueled it. Even after the SNP lost a third of their seats in the 2017 general election, the calls for independence only simmered. They had not vanished entirely. Thus, whatever Boris Johnson attempted to do as Prime Minister, the SNP wouldn't be pleased. For they would never want anyone from Westminster as their PM. This is mirrored entirely in Northern Ireland. The president of Sinn Fein Mary Lou McDonald has stated that a united Ireland has never looked closer. This of course is all to do with the backstop, Good Friday Agreement, regulations, trade, tariffs and all those buzzwords that we hear so often thrown around in the media. Just think if even a fraction of them had been discussed during the referendum campaign. Sinn Fein state this is due to the Brexit process. But they have always wanted a united Ireland! Whether or not the UK voted to leave, they would continue to campaign, as is their right (peacefully) in a democratic society, for Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join the Republic of Ireland. While their rhetoric suggests Brexit has caused this sudden boost for unity, it was always on the cards for Sinn Fein, indeed, it is at the heart of their ideology. The role of the Labour Party in facilitating the break-up of the UK will be fascinating. In a recent interview, shadow chancellor John McDonnell announced his support for another independence referendum if the Scottish Parliament voted for one. This is of course at odds with official policy, hence the attempt of Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard to distance himself from the remarks made. Labour are officially meant to be a unionist party. Yet both Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have long supported a united Ireland. They both hold a potentially incredible amount of power in this hung Parliament. It will be interesting, and rather worrying, to see how they use it. Brexit was never about retaining the status quo. People were fed up with the state of society and decided the EU were to take the blame. They wished for something different. More than one union could be broken down thanks to the catalyst and magnitude of leaving the EU. But it would be a foolish mistake to say that Boris Johnson and his Brexiteer clan are wholly to blame. The SNP and Sinn Fein are not the sort of folk who would be deterred by an election result or referendum to alter their key philosophy of independence. They hold those principles (wrongly in my view) whatever the policies of the government and whoever was in office. Fundamentally, that's what politics is all about!
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