Many of our members may have had an opportunity to look at the 2010 Westminster Elections and formed opinions. This is small analysis just referring to progress towards a United Ireland that may have been made with this election. A United Ireland is the goal of the Constitution of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.
AOH National PEC
2010 Parliamentary Election in United Kingdom
A look at the 2010 Westminster Parliamentary Election in the United Kingdom and the North of Ireland from the view of the Ancient Order of Hibernians would seem to demonstrate that the chosen path of , peaceful political progress, which we endorsed, is moving in an inexorable fashion toward a United Ireland.
The Westminster Parliament will be very involved in its own internal politics, seeking to form a government, and may have little time for the tribal politics of the devolved legislature in Belfast. An opportunity for the 8 DUP MPs to join a Conservative Government and play the Orange Card may be difficult as it looks as if the Liberal Democrats and their 55 seats, will be the “Kingmakers” for either Conservatives or Labor.
It is our belief that a great deal of progress was made toward all of the goals of the Irish Republican Agenda by Sinn Fein in the 2010 elections, though they do have their detractors, they have again gained ground toward a United Ireland.
Sinn Fein has for the second six county elections in a row attained the most votes, which makes them the largest party in the North without question with 25.5% of the vote.
Sinn Fein increased their overall vote again by 1.5% and retained their five seats in a Parliament where they abstain, not voting or swearing allegiance, but working for their constituents.
Michelle Gildernew of Sinn Fein retained Fermanagh-South Tyrone by 4 votes against a consensus candidate for the Unity Unionists she won even though another nationalist SDLP candidate remained in the race, sharing the nationalist vote.
Martin McGuinness’ vote grew by 5% (52% of the vote cast) since the last election. The DUP vote was halved from the previous election level.
Gerry Adams was returned by a vote of 71% of the electorate in West Belfast, almost certainly with some Unionist ballots, to a seat which he first won in 1983.
“There have been a lot of lies and untruths, but people have made up their minds and decided I was good enough to represent them. I feel humbled by that.”, stated the Sinn Fein President
Pat Doherty retained his Westminster seat in West Tyrone polling 18,000 + votes.
Conor Murphy also retained his seat in Armagh with almost 19,000 votes.
Peter Robinson, DUP Prime Minister, lost his election to Naomi Long of the Alliance Party, giving Alliance there first MP ever, which bodes well for future relationships in the North as Alliance positions themselves as a cross community political party.
Once again the Unionist vote overall shrank, now far from their 50%+ which was their expectation at the beginning of the Good Friday Agreement in 1996.
The DUP remained the largest Unionist Party with 25% of the vote and still retained 8 of 9 MP seats but the loss by of a seat by Robinson hurt along with their vote going down 8.7%.
The Ulster Unionist Party despite claiming a history every Prime Minister from 1921 until Ian Paisley became PM in 2006 has no MP in Westminster for the first time and is the 4th largest party in the Six Counties behind Sinn Fein, the DUP, and the SDLP with 15.2% down 2.6%.
A desperate attempt to join with the British Conservative Party to increase their vote and curry favor with those in the North who see a larger influence on the Westminster as good for them.
Adding insult to injury their leader, Sir Reg Empey, lost in his bid for a seat against the DUP’s Rev. Willie McCrea. Empey will most likely lose his leadership position.
The UUP’s only sitting MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon, refused to run under the Conservative Tory banner left the UUP and still won her seat as an Independent and will vote Labor.
The SDLP held its own as it retained all five of the seats it was defending with only a small drop in its vote at 16.5% of the total, down only 1%. The Nationalist SDLP is the third largest party in the North.
Mark Durkan again retained the Foyle seat even after stepping down as SDLP party leader this year.
Margaret Ritchie the new SDLP Leader won her East Down Seat with more than 20,000 votes with Sinn Fein second.
In their finest win Alisdair McDonnell was retained with a larger vote than both Unionist candidates combined in South Belfast. Sinn Fein did not stand a candidate.
This is no time for the A.O.H. to pause with momentum mounting. We cannot become complacent and see a United Ireland as inevitable. The A.O.H. needs to double our efforts and work together with other Irish and Irish-American groups toward our goal of a United Ireland by 2016.
A first step toward a “United Unionist Front” was tried in Tyrone-Fermanagh in 2010 and though it did not succeed it definitely came within a whisker with Michelle Gildernew. The Orange Order’s clumsy attempt to have the DUP and UUP in a pact will look much more inviting after the slippage in Unionist support and without question certain UUP politicians will be moving toward the DUP.
From the Belfast Telegraph: “Pressure for a unionist pact in time for next year’s Assembly election is set to intensify, the defeated south Belfast DUP candidate Jimmy Spratt has claimed.” He continued (I’m sure with his tongue firmly in his cheek), “It doesn’t mean there is anything sectarian in the arrangement. It is a myth which should be rightly dispelled. One of the issues continually raised on the doorsteps was the matter of unionist unity and after this election… unionist parties will continue to talk to each other, and rightly so.”
We need to work to organize even more tightly our nationalist/republican community both in the U.S. and Ireland toward our shared goal of a United Ireland by 2016 seeking cooperation between the SDLP and Sinn Fein in the North. “Working together, as a community, great things can happen.”
