Thread by @TomMcTague

Arlene Foster’s intervention raises an old question: to whom are Ulster’s loyalists loyal?

In ‘75 Enoch Powell said a loyalist could not, logically, place “conditions upon his obedience to the Crown in Parliament”

Ian Paisley & the DUP said no—their loyalty *is* conditional 1/8

Ian Paisley’s argument could be Arlene Foster’s today: “If the Crown in Parliament decreed to put Ulster into a United Ireland, according to Mr Powell’s theory we would have to obey if we were loyal. This is utter nonsense.” Sound familiar? 2/8

Should Ulster accept backstop for the good of the rest of UK? That is what they believe is being asked of them, right or wrong

DUP says no, it’s loyalty isn’t to parliament (it’s not even wholly to monarchy—that is conditional on it remaining Protestant—let alone the Tories) 3/8

So who is it to? The complexity of the question gets to the heart of the Brexit dilemma.

Protestant Ulster is not a nation. Nor does it feel as bound by parliament as the rest of the UK.

Its loyalty is to *its* Ulster first 4/8

Take this: In The Spectator, 1975, Vanguard Unionist Glen Barr said the priority of “the Ulster people” is “to keep our country out of the United Ireland, even if it means breaking the link with the United Kingdom.” (h/t Queen’s Rebels, David Miller) 5/8

Danger. Ian Paisley set out the DUP view in the 1970s: “Government is not a one-way street. It is a civil contract in which each party has a duty”

What happens when loyalism feels its loyalty is not being returned? @NaomiOhReally touched on this here politico.eu/article/in-bre… 6/8

Warning. In 1976, a UK govt official wrote a note on the crisis in Northern Ireland: “The history of Northern Ireland has shown that any party representing a sizeable group within the community has the power to bring ordered government to an end.” 7/8

This is a thread on unionist loyalism. Much (certainly no.7) applies to nationalism/republicanism 8/8