Order raises questions on unionist unity
THE Orange Order has questioned the logic of unionist unity in every election, warning that those who call for such unity fail to understand the range of views among pro-Union people.
The editorial in this month’s Orange Standard welcomes the recent performance of Orangeman and unionist unity candidate Nigel Lutton in last month’s Mid Ulster Westminster by-election.
The leading article supported his call for increased unionist “cooperation”, but added: “However, while we should expect the various unionist parties to consider agreed candidates in constituencies where there is no chance of a unionist [winning] if the pro-Union field is divided, it is equally sensible to assume that there will not be singular unionist candidates across the board.
“If unionist unity were such a simple political proposition, we would have had it a long time ago.
“Those who call for a political unity are disregarding the very different viewpoints expressed by the main unionist parties on social, economic and other issues.
“While unionist political unity is unlikely, a unionist united approach to the key issue of the Union should be encouraged.”
The editorial stands in contrast to a 2010 keynote speech of the then Grand Master, Robert Saulters, who said: “Personally, I believe there should be one big unionist party which represents all the views that I hear.
“It must be a party that is big enough and modern enough to allow people with conflicting opinions to work together for the common purpose of maintaining the Union.”
Earlier that year it emerged that the order had convened private talks between the DUP and UUP aimed at greater unionist unity.
In an interview with this month’s Orange Standard, Mr Lutton defended his decision to decline numerous media interviews and called for “cooperation to continue into all future elections”.
Asked about a single unionist party, he said: “This is the first step in cooperation and maturity. It’s over to the parties now but I believe the experiment was a success.”
