Quote:
Originally Posted by prometheus
And if the UK as such falls apart? (I mean independence of Scotland and Wales)
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This is the question that worries Ulster Unionists: what will Ulster's legal and constitutional position be if the Union between England and Scotland is dissolved?
One must remember that since the partition of Ireland and the inception of Northern Ireland as a state, it was never fully integrated with Britain, in the same way Wales or even Scotland were, though of course in union with it. It remained a quasi-autonomous and partly-separate entity for decades with its own prime minister, parliament, government, with Unionists pretty well completely running the show.
Since direct rule was introduced from London in 1972 or 73, time dims the memory, there have been various constitutional models proposed for NI a few of which have been adopted under the various agreements made in recent years; but regrettably, these failed. The intransigence of both Nationalists and Unionists have made working out a suitable constitutional solution for Northern Ireland very difficult. Sometimes I wonder if compliance with the terms of the Belfast Agreement will last. As always in Ulster, as everywhere else, time will tell.