Bigots on Parade (03/09/14)
The Better Together campaign must need the support of these religious bigots like they need another hold in the head, right at the moment.
Now for the benefit of the uninitiated Orange Order marches are a 'Protestant only affair' and Scotland's Catholic population are not just not welcome, their defeat in centuries old battles is the cause of great celebration which is a rather odd way for good neighbours to behave.
Admittedly, the widespread sectarianism and discrimination visited against Catholics in the west of Scotland for many years has diminished enormously, but if you ask me this is despite rather than because of the behaviour of people who support the Orange Order.
Yet the fact that they hope to attract only 10,000 people to their tawdry little march is a sign of the times and a signal that the bigots are on their way out.
If there's a counter-demonstration planned to 'welcome' these dinosaurs to to the streets of Edinburgh, then all I can say is count me in.
Orange Order to march in support of ‘no’ vote
The march is being organised by the Orange Order Peter Muhly/Getty Images
By Tom Knowles - The Times
Five days before Scotland votes on independence the streets of Edinburgh will be awash with orange. More than 10,000 people are expected to march through the city in support of Scotland staying part of the UK — though they will have nothing to do with the Better Together campaign.
The march is being organised by the Orange Order, and will include hundreds of Irish Protestants who will have travelled across the North Channel.
Amid the 17th-century battle regalia of drums, flutes, orange sashes and banners, there will be an underlying anxiety about the future.
The break-up of the UK would be a significant blow to the Protestant community of Northern Ireland, which could force a reassessment of their constitutional allegiance to England and question the Union itself.
“There is a real concern among the Protestant community of Northern Ireland,” said Sir Tom Devine, one of Scotland’s leading historians. “There will be a feeling of tremendous sorrow at the departure of Scotland if it’s a ‘yes’ vote.”
Sir Tom, who last weekend came out in support of independence, believes that Northern Ireland’s working-class Protestant community would feel abandoned by society after suffering years of growing marginalisation.
He said: “Elements of the Protestant working class already feel marginalised. Their education standards have slipped compared with the Catholic minority and there is a real sense of deprivation after being the top dogs for so many years. Scottish independence could be the final psychological blow.”
Scotland and Northern Ireland are deeply intertwined after hundreds of years of migration across the North Channel, which is only 12 miles wide at the closest point between the two coasts. The name Scotland comes from the Roman word for Ireland: Scotia. History, culture, sport, religion and language are all connected.
The Orange Order, founded in 1795 to protect Protestant interests, has made it clear that it feels it is its duty to stand by its Scottish counterparts. The claim comes despite Better Together asking for the rally through Edinburgh to be cancelled because it believes that it may alienate some of its non-Orange Lodge supporters.
David Hume, director of services at Grand Orange Lodge in Northern Ireland, said: “We want to show support for Scotland remaining part of the Union. We would very much feel a loss as a community if Scotland became independent. Our view is that it would change the entire dynamic of the British Isles and the United Kingdom.”
Some believe that a vote for independence could be a boost for nationalism, energising Sinn Féin and encouraging demands for a referendum on a united Ireland, which is allowed no more than once every seven years since the Good Friday peace deal in 1998. However, support for a united Ireland in Northern Ireland remains low, and it is unlikely that politicians will use the Scottish vote as a tool to reignite the debate.
Sir Tom said: “I think Sinn Féin will try to make capital of it but the view in the south is that taking on the north would be a great challenge. Southern politicians will try to stand back from all that.”
The Roman Catholic community of Irish descent in Scotland are notably split on the issue of independence. They have traditionally held a tribal allegiance to Labour, which would translate as a “no” vote, but polls have shown a considerable part of the community moving towards the SNP and independence.
Celtic, the Glasgow football club, was established by Irish Catholics who began emigrating to the west of Scotland in the 1840s, while their bitter rivals, Rangers, have always been seen as the Protestant club. Both have a huge fanbase in Northern Ireland.
About 43 per cent of Catholics voted for the SNP in the 2011 election. Many are third or fourth-generation Irish immigrants who no longer suffer the discrimination in the workplace that their forebears did in the 1950s and 1960s, and, consequently, they are more likely to feel comfortable within Scotland.
Sir Tom argues that this change, combined with a feeling of abandonment from Scottish Labour, has led to support for independence, with Catholics more keen to align themselves as Scottish than British.
“The Irish Catholic community have always felt a bit uneasy about Britishness. Their homeland had been colonised by the Brits, and symbols of British identity are the monarchy and the Empire. But with this huge increase in sense of Scottishness, I think that’s made it easier for Catholics to align themselves to that dimension.”
However, it is the stability of the Northern Ireland peace process that is causing perhaps the biggest fear. Working-class Protestants may wonder if their culture is being eroded. Sir Tom said: “That discontented element will certainly not be more contented by Scottish independence. Unless some-thing can be done for these people, they have got nowhere to go except on to the streets. They have really had a kicking, and this will be a continuation of it.”
Five days before Scotland votes on independence the streets of Edinburgh will be awash with orange. More than 10,000 people are expected to march through the city in support of Scotland staying part of the UK — though they will have nothing to do with the Better Together campaign.
The march is being organised by the Orange Order, and will include hundreds of Irish Protestants who will have travelled across the North Channel.
Amid the 17th-century battle regalia of drums, flutes, orange sashes and banners, there will be an underlying anxiety about the future.
The break-up of the UK would be a significant blow to the Protestant community of Northern Ireland, which could force a reassessment of their constitutional allegiance to England and question the Union itself.
“There is a real concern among the Protestant community of Northern Ireland,” said Sir Tom Devine, one of Scotland’s leading historians. “There will be a feeling of tremendous sorrow at the departure of Scotland if it’s a ‘yes’ vote.”
Sir Tom, who last weekend came out in support of independence, believes that Northern Ireland’s working-class Protestant community would feel abandoned by society after suffering years of growing marginalisation.
He said: “Elements of the Protestant working class already feel marginalised. Their education standards have slipped compared with the Catholic minority and there is a real sense of deprivation after being the top dogs for so many years. Scottish independence could be the final psychological blow.”
Scotland and Northern Ireland are deeply intertwined after hundreds of years of migration across the North Channel, which is only 12 miles wide at the closest point between the two coasts. The name Scotland comes from the Roman word for Ireland: Scotia. History, culture, sport, religion and language are all connected.
The Orange Order, founded in 1795 to protect Protestant interests, has made it clear that it feels it is its duty to stand by its Scottish counterparts. The claim comes despite Better Together asking for the rally through Edinburgh to be cancelled because it believes that it may alienate some of its non-Orange Lodge supporters.
David Hume, director of services at Grand Orange Lodge in Northern Ireland, said: “We want to show support for Scotland remaining part of the Union. We would very much feel a loss as a community if Scotland became independent. Our view is that it would change the entire dynamic of the British Isles and the United Kingdom.”
Some believe that a vote for independence could be a boost for nationalism, energising Sinn Féin and encouraging demands for a referendum on a united Ireland, which is allowed no more than once every seven years since the Good Friday peace deal in 1998. However, support for a united Ireland in Northern Ireland remains low, and it is unlikely that politicians will use the Scottish vote as a tool to reignite the debate.
Sir Tom said: “I think Sinn Féin will try to make capital of it but the view in the south is that taking on the north would be a great challenge. Southern politicians will try to stand back from all that.”
The Roman Catholic community of Irish descent in Scotland are notably split on the issue of independence. They have traditionally held a tribal allegiance to Labour, which would translate as a “no” vote, but polls have shown a considerable part of the community moving towards the SNP and independence.
Celtic, the Glasgow football club, was established by Irish Catholics who began emigrating to the west of Scotland in the 1840s, while their bitter rivals, Rangers, have always been seen as the Protestant club. Both have a huge fanbase in Northern Ireland.
About 43 per cent of Catholics voted for the SNP in the 2011 election. Many are third or fourth-generation Irish immigrants who no longer suffer the discrimination in the workplace that their forebears did in the 1950s and 1960s, and, consequently, they are more likely to feel comfortable within Scotland.
Sir Tom argues that this change, combined with a feeling of abandonment from Scottish Labour, has led to support for independence, with Catholics more keen to align themselves as Scottish than British.
“The Irish Catholic community have always felt a bit uneasy about Britishness. Their homeland had been colonised by the Brits, and symbols of British identity are the monarchy and the Empire. But with this huge increase in sense of Scottishness, I think that’s made it easier for Catholics to align themselves to that dimension.”
However, it is the stability of the Northern Ireland peace process that is causing perhaps the biggest fear. Working-class Protestants may wonder if their culture is being eroded. Sir Tom said: “That discontented element will certainly not be more contented by Scottish independence. Unless some-thing can be done for these people, they have got nowhere to go except on to the streets. They have really had a kicking, and this will be a continuation of it.”
