Henry Hill is a British Conservative and Unionist activist and writer. Follow Henry on Twitter. He is also editor of the non-party website Open Unionism, which can be followed on Twitter here.
Scotland,
Northern Ireland, and Wales welcome their future sovereign
Despite
much American news coverage apparently forgetting
that they existed, politicians from the UK’s devolved administrations have,
for the most part, welcomed the news of the birth of the new prince.
Alex
Salmond, who publicly claims to support the continuation both of the Scottish
monarchy and the union of the crowns if he wins the independence referendum,
described himself as “absolutely
thrilled” at the news. His congratulations join those of many other
Scottish figures, including Ruth Davidson, Anas Sarwar, and church figures. Public
and military officials in Edinburgh apparently restrained
themselves from making a fuss, which is a pity.
In
Northern Ireland the news was, predictably, greeted with less
unanimity. Big-R Republican Martin McGuinness joining such small-r
republicans as the leader of the Green Party in extending his best wishes to “all
parents and new babies born today”. SDLP MLA Conall McDevitt struck
a similar tone: “Many thousands born today will someday share their
birthday with a King.”
Amongst
the traditionally-royalist Protestant and unionist sections of the province,
things were much less equivocal. The difference in emphasis is perhaps best
exemplified by Democratic Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson, who hammered home that
“a Prince and future King of our United Kingdom is born”. First Minister Peter
Robinson, UUP leader Mike Nesbitt and NI21’s John McCallister all offered the
Duke and Duchess their best wishes.
Edward
Stevenson, Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, was particularly
fulsome: “The new-born’s arrival will be celebrated
across the whole of the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and indeed the wider
world.
“Today’s
announcement will be met with great joy particularly here in Northern Ireland,
where the Royal family is held in such high esteem and unrivalled affection.
Members of the Orange fraternity around the globe, including the Republic of
Ireland, will also be heartened by this magnificent news.”
My thoughts go out to the Republic of Ireland’s royalists, whoever they may be.
In
line with recent tradition, Northern Ireland marked the royal birth with
a flag dispute. Due to being governed by different legislation, Belfast
City Hall flew the Union Flag to mark the occasion whilst Stormont, home to the
Northern Ireland Assembly, did not. The former is subject to guidelines set by
the Department for Culture, Media and Sport whilst the latter is governed by a
piece from legislation from 2000. Happily, riots were avoided and Stormont is
apparently looking to review its own flag-flying rules.
With
the inevitable exception of Plaid’s republican leader Leanne Wood, the news was
warmly received by the Duke and Duchess’s “adopted
homeland”, with both Welsh Secretary David Jones and First Minister Carwyn
Jones offering their congratulations. Yet neither of them topped the generosity
of Anglesey’s Asda, which has gifted the royal couple with a specially-reserved
royals-only parking space and in so doing offered perhaps the strangest
commentary on how the younger generation of royals are adapting to modernity.
SNP
woo oil companies whilst downplaying their importance to Scotland's post-Union future
Yet
despite the happiness over the birth, politics doesn’t stop. The SNP have
marked the latest step towards 2014 by producing
a paper outlining what they envision to be the role of North Sea oil in the
future of an independent Scotland.
The
future of the resource, and its centrality to post-Union Scottish government
finance, is hotly contested. For many nationalists oil is a foundation stone of
independence, whether as simply an alternative to current UK investment or the
key a golden, Scandinavian future, where a Nordic-style social state coexists
without growth-choking taxation due oil revenues. The emotive cry of “It’s
Scotland’s oil!” has long been prominent in the nationalist hymn sheet.
Yet
with North Sea extraction on the wane and fossil fuels going out of fashion,
the idea of an independent Scotland dependent on oil taxation to maintain even
current spending is less palatable than once it was. So
the idea of selling oil as a ‘bonus’ to Scotland must be appealing – it
downplays the risks of having a resource-dependent economy whilst keeping the
promise of oil riches to lure voters towards separation.
Yet
the Treasury have issued a “detailed rebuttal” which claims that Salmond’s
estimates are 12 times those of the Office of National Statistics, whilst
others have accused him of conflating the total worth of the remaining oil
under the North Sea with the amount that the Scottish government will see in
tax revenue.
That
oil will be vital to an independent Scotland’s immediate prospects was further
confirmed, in another blow to those who see independence as the vehicle for a
radical new left-wing alternative to British government, by the new plans the
SNP announced alongside their paper. These include an ‘open door’ to
government, advance warning of any relevant legislation, and the promise of no tax
increases.
PSNI
prepare for ‘Northern Ireland’s Olympics’
Northern
Ireland is gearing up for its largest
ever sporting event, as over 7,000 competitors from across the world
converge on the province to take part in the World Police and Fire Games.
Entrants are serving and retired police and fire officers from 67 countries. PSNI
officers taking part in the games (over 700 of them) are being given three days
paid leave to do so.
The
PSNI have also announced they will not be throwing a ‘ring of steel’ around the
event, despite recent violence over Twelfth of July parades and the
ever-present threat of dissident Republican terrorism. Despite weeks of
off-putting news reports there have apparently been no cancellations, although
several contestants have requested that their names and pictures not be used by
the media when reporting the events in which they are competing, citing safety
concerns.