The SDLP is open to the idea of a “new union of Ireland” rather than a “united Ireland”, the party leader has said, following the call by leading actor and Ulster University chancellor James Nesbitt. “Language is important,” said SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, “and it’s very important if we’re talking about people who are afraid of any change. He said a “new union of Ireland” could respect Protestant identity, offer Protestants an equal voice in a progressive, inclusive, diverse and prosperous society where they “can be proud to be from the north of Ireland”. “I think that conversation is extremely important. You can be a proud unionist, a proud Protestant, a proud loyalist and you can still talk about what life would be like if it was in a united Ireland,” he told The Irish Times.

Source: The Irish Times July 08, 2019 18:04 UTC