THE LEAKING of the Labour leadership document 'Options for a Labour Government' in the run up to the Maastricht vote came as no real HOME NEWS surprise.
It was not that the document or the proposals were new; it was prepared in expectation of Labour winning the 1992 General Election.
Of other options" we haven't heard. it contained only one - joint London/Dublin sovereignty over a legally independent Northern İreland for a period of 20 years.
The nine Ulster Unionists led by James Molyneaux saved the Tories from defeat on the Social Chapter opt-out clause in the Maastricht Bill and kept Major in office.
The terms of Major's deal with the UP seem to involve a parliamentary select committee on Northem Ireland and some more consultation on "security.
But most importantly for the Unionists it gives them leverage over policy. "There'll he no more of that John Hume/Kevin McNamara/Dick Spring nonsense' Ken Maginnis of the UUP was quoted as saying.
The Mayhew talks are now seen to be dead. The British can hardly continue the pretence of neutrality; and the Unionist veto is back at the centre of British polttics in a manner not seen since the break up of ine Conservative and Unionist Party of Great Britain and Northern Ire and after Heath abolished the Stormont Government in 1972 The 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. hated by the Unionists because of the involvement of Dublin, is also under Six month deadline The McNamara document tried to break this logjam by threatening that if no agreement was cachco in six monts. a Labour Government would talk to Dublin about joint sovereignty.
The venomous fone which greeted McNamara's document was surprising given the mildness of what was being proposed.
In essence, his proposals mean the continuation of British rule for another 20 years with the active involvement of Dublin, which would be required, in retum, to drop its claim to the North.
The North of ireland would be given independent legal status with EC recognition and governed by a five-person Executive Joint Authority, three elected from the North by Proportional Representation and one each from Lordon and I Dublin.
'Security' would be under joint British and Irish control and there would be a Bill of Rights.
Inbuilt majority
So, instead of a bold step towards facing down the Unionists the Options document is another attempt at a British solution. This is a partitionist solution. The original border was drawn so as to give ine umomss an hourt mayonty and their policies of discrimination.
After 20 years of direct rule from Westminster and with up to 45 per cent of the workforce employed directly or inaireety dyine bausa satc, discrimination in employment has hardly changed.
Several Unionist local councils have recently been prosecuted for their disIn other words, a Labour govemment is simply not going to be able to make the sectarian statelet work in such a way as to bring about its own demise in 20 years. The record of the past 70 years is against it. Sooner or later it would have by sections of the Unionist population.
McNamara's proposals are dangerous even though they may not even be. come Party policy. While they represent for the first time ever an attempt to confront the Unionist veto and break with the bipartisan approach which has characterised British policies since Partition. their effect would be to copper-fasten British rule and partition.
It is this light we must also look at the proposals coming from the Labour Party Irish Society, many of whose members have come from the virtually defunct Labour Committee on Ireland.
"Ireland -Time for Peace' is almost the same as the McNamara document (not surprising. given that some leading advisers to the _Pare also members of the LPIS), the only substantial difference being that the L.PIS call for withdrawal after 20 years of joint sovereignty.
The PTA is not mentioned and the document evades the issue of Diplock Courts, shoot to kill and the whole apparatus of repression which underpins the ing' version of the same policies would be implemented under Labour.
It is not surprising that in the massive policy vacuum following the obvious many other forces should now be attempting to force their way on to the Opportunities The closet Unionists of Democracy Now, the Campaign for Labour Representation and the various 'peace' movements all recognise the opportunities presented by the political upheaval in Supporters of withdrawal and Irish unity in the Labour movement, and there are many, could well face an onslaught ereignty is the only realistic path to unity.
The big danger is that, given the ab. these people will be attracted by the McNamara bandwagon or its lesser version, the LPIS.
The latest crisis of British rule proviacs us with a mistone opportunity, ac shouldn't let it slip.
SOCIALIST OUTLOOK No. 48, September 1993, Page 7