UUP leader talks of 21st century Unionism on 95th anniversary of the Ulster Covenant
Marking the 95th anniversary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant on 28th September 1912, Ulster Unionist Party Leader Sir Reg Empey MLA has called for 21st century unionism to reconnect with the Covenant’s bold and generous vision of the Union.
Sir Reg said, “today we commemorate a defining moment in the history of the British Isles, when ordinary people declared that they would not stand aside and allow Parliament to deprive them of their rights as citizens. At the heart of the Ulster Covenant was a determination that ‘our cherished position of equal citizenship in the United Kingdom’ would be maintained for all people in this part of the Kingdom.
At a time when some parties of the right across Europe were speaking the language of aggressive, chauvinistic nationalism and parties of the left were preaching class war, the Ulster Covenant spoke of different and better values – of securing equal citizenship within the constitution of the United Kingdom. Here was an inclusive, pluralist understanding of what it was to be a citizen of the United Kingdom, in which both the material well-being and the civil and religious freedoms of all were protected.
Almost a century later, this must again be the unionist vision. Our commitment to the Union is not based on ancient hatreds or a narrow nationalism. It flows from our belief that if Northern Ireland is to flourish as a community, then it must be a community in which opportunities for all are promoted and the rights of all protected.
In the Ulster Covenant, unionism has been given a founding charter of which to be immensely proud. Unionism must now reconnect with the Ulster Covenant’s values, to inspire a new generation in the 21st century to promote the Covenant’s bold and generous vision of the Union”.