subscribe to the RSS Feed

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Britain out of Ireland

Posted by Jim on September 9, 2017

——————————————————–
The Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP) has said it is supporting a
‘border poll’ on unity as part of a new campaign for a United Ireland
outside of the EU. The following is the first section of its new policy
document, ‘Britain out of Ireland – Ireland out of the EU’.
———————————————————

Demographics in the north of Ireland are changing.

Conceived by Britain in 1921 as a gerrymandered state with built in
Unionist majority; generational based political shifts in the six
counties have presented a scenario wherein for the first time ever,
progressive sentiment may tip the balance of public opinion in favour of
ending partition itself.

Since its inception, the Irish Republican Socialist Party have
challenged and rejected the right of the six-county state to exist in
any form, this remains our position today.

In 1998, we opposed the Good Friday Agreement, it’s so called ‘principle
of consent’ and the triple lock system which saw the sectarian state
known as ‘Northern Ireland’ consolidated as a quasi-legitimate entity.

Our outlook in this regard remains constant and standing on the platform
of anti-imperialism, we remain committed to the dismantling of the
British state in Ireland, be that by the utilisation of ‘constitutional
methods’ or outside the confines of the GFA if needs be.

THE CASE FOR A ‘BORDER POLL’

Central to the project of revolutionary change however lies a duty to
recognise political and social reality as it exists at every juncture of
historical development.

The IRSP have traditionally held a sceptical attitude towards electoral
solutions to the British imposed border in Ireland and unlike the
parties of mainstream nationalism, we do NOT recognise the Good Friday
Agreement’s ‘principle of consent’ which in reality amounts to a
reactionary veto on progress towards Irish National Liberation, nor do
we believe that there can be any parliamentary road to Socialism.

In the event of any failure to end partition via so called
‘constitutional’ means, Republican Socialists would be under no more
compulsion to recognise the Unionist Veto than we are today, holding
that it was founded upon the fraudulent coercion of the Irish people who
under a state of duress were compelled to accept the unconstitutional
division of Ireland in 1921.

Such a corrupt constitutional set up never has and never will receive
recognition from the Irish Republican Socialist Party.

However, the demographic and subsequent political shifts currently
being witnessed in the north are occurring at a pace unpredicted by any
political party when the Good Friday Agreement was conceived. It is our
belief that rising progressive sentiment (particularly amongst our
youth) which today seeks an end to partition in our lifetime can
conceivably be harnessed to significantly weaken, discredit and
eventually play a part in dismantling the sectarian northern state
itself.

The fact that this momentum may express itself via the Good Friday
Agreement1 (that is via a ‘border poll’ or unity referendum) presents no
ideological or principled difficulty for the IRSP. Progressive popular
opinion is of greater revolutionary importance than the past or current
programs of any political party and for Republican Socialists to ignore
the sentiments of a progressive section of the Irish working class would
represent no less than arrogant posturing on our behalf. We have no
intention of retreating into such an intellectual morass.

Since our inception ours has been a party that has rejected
abstentionism for its own sake, favouring critical engagement with
established political institutions, when and where to do so would weaken
the power of the state and advance the Irish revolutionary position.
Such were the teachings of our founding members James Connolly and
Seamus Costello in whose tradition we today stand.

It is the considered opinion of the IRSP that in the current
environment, there is more to be gained in actively calling for and
campaigning around a ‘border poll’ for an end to the sectarian state
than there is to be lost.

Similar initiatives in Scotland and Catalonia have introduced thousands
of previously apolitical youths to the concepts and merits of radical
politics there, bringing them onto the streets and into the ways of
progressive activism, arguably changing the political landscapes and
future fortunes of those nations forever.

Thus far, no movement on the left has added their weight to calls for a
border poll here, leaving centrist nationalist parties like the SDLP and
Sinn Fein free to promote their own concept of a United Ireland; united
under the flag of the European Union and so subsequently (and
unavoidably) bereft of Socialist principles or values. Such a setup is
anathema to Republican Socialism and or even basic principles of Irish
independence.

In such a dynamic, it is the duty of the left to intervene, not least to
point out the inherent contradictions in a pro-EU/pro-independence
position, but to harness and mobilise those who wish to challenge in a
non-violent fashion, the ongoing partition of Ireland, while rejecting
the constricted and pro-capitalist values of the EU.

The IRSP understand that the prospect of an immediate and successful
outcome in a border poll is not assured, however it is our belief that
the mobilising of significant numbers around such an initiative (along
with the popular public debate which will undoubtedly follow) may with
time set off a popular momentum for Irish unity which cannot be
reversed.

We feel that such a prospect, however remote in the immediate term, is
vastly more desirable and credible than a return to sporadic armed
actions, which in the current environment can offer nothing but a return
to suffering for Republicans and the Irish working class in general.

In recognition of the above principles, the IRSP takes this opportunity
to call for (at the earliest opportunity) a ‘border poll’ on the issue
of partition in Ireland, and declare our intention to campaign
pro-actively and from a revolutionary socialist platform for a
progressive result, namely an end to partition in Ireland.

Leave a comment, and if you'd like your own picture to show up next to your comments, go get a gravatar!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

home | top