North Belfast DUP Assembly Member Nelson McCausland has said that the nationalist community no longer believes in the inevitability of a United Ireland. Mr. McCausland based his assertion on the findings of a straw poll conducted at last night’s “West Belfast Talks Back” event held in St. Louise’s Comprehensive School on the Falls Road (the event is part of the West Belfast Festival). When asked by the compere, William Crawley did they believe a United Ireland would be delivered within 15 years, a clear majority of those polled did not believe it would happen. Nelson McCausland said, “If a question surrounding the inevitability of a United Ireland had been asked at the West Belfast Festival in 1998 or during the Trimble era, I have no doubt whatsoever that the vast majority of those being polled would have voted yes. The fact that in a Republican heartland like the Falls Road a clear majority of those polled said they did not believe in the inevitability of a United Ireland should provide encouragement to the Unionist community.
What is clear is that the 2016 pipe-dream being pushed by some has now been abandoned. The fact that nationalists no longer believe that it will be realised is a testament to the hard work of the Democratic Unionist Party. The DUP seeks a stable, secure Northern Ireland delivering for all of our community inside the United Kingdom and that is what we are achieving. Stable devolution provides us with an opportunity to persuade people who in the past have been nationalist in their outlook to the advantages of the Union.
What is clear is that the 2016 pipe-dream being pushed by some has now been abandoned. The fact that nationalists no longer believe that it will be realised is a testament to the hard work of the Democratic Unionist Party. The DUP seeks a stable, secure Northern Ireland delivering for all of our community inside the United Kingdom and that is what we are achieving. Stable devolution provides us with an opportunity to persuade people who in the past have been nationalist in their outlook to the advantages of the Union.
What is clear to me from last nights straw poll is that a majority of the non-Unionist community no longer believe that the Union is doomed – that situation has been brought about by the Democratic Unionist Party.”