Sir, – The discussions around a shared island are to be welcomed as Brexit has been an abrupt wake-up call for people in the North about the realities of the UK. It was clear the North was being dragged out of the EU against our wishes and sold out by Westminster.
The choice for people in the North is now clear and it’s one that relates not just to the immediate but the long-term future and where we fit and where we belong.
Do people see their children’s and grandchildren’s future alongside Nigel Farage’s followers, forced to resign themselves to the reality that the Tories, particularly Dominic Cummings and Boris Johnson, are calling the shots?
Do they want to row in with those that will happily break international law to ensure that all links with the EU are severed to satisfy English nationalists? Or do they see their future alongside others on this small island, in a modern, open and welcoming society at the heart of the EU? The choice has become clear.
This also raises difficult questions for the Alliance and Green parties and their voters.
Both parties are ardent supporters of the EU project and its principles but by remaining neutral on the issue of Ireland’s future they support the status quo and union with Britain.
Furthermore, it suggests they value the UK much more than links with Ireland or EU membership, as re-entry to the EU is now impossible if the North remains in the UK.
Post-Brexit, the Scots have also woken up to the reality of being forcibly shackled to the UK, but it is clear they will be denied the ability to decide their future for themselves.
Welcome to the wonderful world of Brexit Britain. – Yours, etc,
DAMIEN BENNETT,
Belfast.