:00:25. > :00:29.This programme contains scenes of Good evening. Unionists and
:00:29. > :00:33.loyalists can relax - the union is safe and supported by a lot of
:00:33. > :00:35.Catholics. Those are the indications thrown up by a special
:00:35. > :00:39.spotlight poll which asked people how they would vote in the
:00:39. > :00:42.referendum. The last few weeks have been among the most turbulent odd
:00:42. > :00:46.that our recent history with protests about the Union flag
:00:46. > :00:48.bringing violence and world attention back to our streets.
:00:48. > :00:53.Loyalists believe their identity and culture are under attack and
:00:53. > :00:58.that the other side is winning. But our poll shows most Unionists think
:00:58. > :01:03.the protest should stop. We will discuss the findings in detail with
:01:03. > :01:06.our political editor Mark Devenport and political parties. What began
:01:06. > :01:11.with the Council vote to limit the flying over the Union flag over
:01:11. > :01:14.Belfast City Hall from 365 to just 18 designated days has spiralled
:01:14. > :01:18.into disorder that has brought city centre businesses to their knees.
:01:18. > :01:24.Steven Dempster assesses the fall- out.
:01:24. > :01:28.This is the image Belfast's Lord Mayor is keen to show off. A
:01:28. > :01:33.celebration of Chinese New Year, sending out the message that
:01:33. > :01:38.Belfast is a diversity, will bring -- welcoming all its people. But it
:01:38. > :01:43.weeks ago, there was a very different mood at City Hall. In
:01:43. > :01:51.December they came to proclaim their loyalty to their flag. But
:01:51. > :01:55.expressions of identity turned nasty. Trouble began after a vote
:01:55. > :02:00.at Belfast City Council to limit the flying of the Union flag over
:02:00. > :02:08.City Hall to 18 days. This council should adopt the practice of flying
:02:09. > :02:12.the Union flag, designated days. The outpouring of anger has lasted
:02:12. > :02:17.two months. Across Northern Ireland, loyalists occupied the streets with
:02:17. > :02:22.daily protests and sporadic rioting. The bill for policing and lost
:02:22. > :02:28.business is over �20 million. Businesses in the City say they
:02:28. > :02:33.have been hit very hard. While Belfast is trying to recover, this
:02:33. > :02:37.restaurant in the Cathedral Quarter says trade is still down around 50%.
:02:37. > :02:44.A during the week it is really quiet. People are going home. We
:02:45. > :02:49.are not getting a reputable teatime early bird trade. Larry Mawhinney
:02:49. > :02:53.says he is on the brink of calling in the bank. You can only sustain
:02:53. > :03:02.yourself for so long. You still have your brakes and rent to pay,
:03:02. > :03:09.your wages... -- York rates and rent to pay. At some point, it will
:03:09. > :03:13.be breaking point. It is difficult to see a way out. While the
:03:13. > :03:21.protests have been scaled down and the tactics changed, the anger over
:03:21. > :03:28.flags has not gone away. In the heart of east Belfast, the Office
:03:28. > :03:32.of Alliance MP Naomi Long is still the focus for most of that rage.
:03:32. > :03:37.has been quite volatile. Staff have been subjected to verbal abuse by
:03:37. > :03:41.some of the protesters. There have been attempts to film and
:03:41. > :03:45.photograph staff. We have had members of staff followed to their
:03:45. > :03:51.cars and people shouting at them. It has been an unpleasant and quite
:03:51. > :03:58.difficult experience. Alliance voted with Sinn Fein and the SDLP
:03:58. > :04:01.to reduce the number of days the Union flag flies over City all. And
:04:01. > :04:06.or offers was burned out in Carrickfergus. Councillors' homes
:04:06. > :04:13.were attacked and party members threatened. In all, Naomi Long has
:04:13. > :04:17.received three death threats. at home in bed. The police came to
:04:17. > :04:21.our front door and they told me that they had received a call to
:04:21. > :04:27.say that if I returned to my constituency office, or if I
:04:27. > :04:31.remained at my home, I would be shot. So why exactly did all this
:04:31. > :04:34.trouble begin? It is a long-term republican objective to remove
:04:34. > :04:39.British plants and emblems everywhere and Sinn Fein and the
:04:39. > :04:44.SDLP called for the Union flag to be taken down permanently from City
:04:44. > :04:49.Hall. When or refused to back this plan and opted for a compromise of
:04:49. > :04:55.designated days, Unionists were squaring up for a fight. It was on
:04:55. > :04:59.Peter Robinson's mind at his party's conference last November.
:04:59. > :05:06.Just in case there is anybody from the Alliance party in Belfast here,
:05:06. > :05:10.can we see those flags? Unionist councillors mounted a leaflet
:05:10. > :05:15.campaign urging people to complain to the Alliance Party offices in
:05:15. > :05:22.east Belfast and to Naomi Long. She claims the leaflet was inflammatory
:05:22. > :05:25.and made her a target for loyalist anger. The DUP denies this. Naomi
:05:25. > :05:28.Long and the Alliance Party are trying to distract attention away
:05:28. > :05:33.from their culpability. The Alliance Party have brought about
:05:33. > :05:38.this situation along with the SDLP and Sinn Fein. Know a land of
:05:38. > :05:41.wriggling will get them off the hook. -- no amount. This
:05:41. > :05:46.journalists are just there was a bigger political game behind the
:05:46. > :05:50.leaflet. The UUP and the DUP decided when the flag that was
:05:50. > :05:56.coming and bass or they could not win it how they could play this.
:05:56. > :06:02.The way they played it was to blame it Alliance for the defeat that
:06:02. > :06:07.they were about to suffer. But why did the leaflet focus on Naomi Long
:06:07. > :06:12.and east Belfast in particular? The answer may lie in the fact that in
:06:12. > :06:16.2010, she took the Westminster seat from Peter Robinson. They were also
:06:16. > :06:23.mindful of the growth of Alliance in Belfast so they distributed a
:06:23. > :06:27.leaflet saying that this party is not part of the Union and they are
:06:27. > :06:32.against the Union flag and that was a way of connecting with working-
:06:32. > :06:35.class freedom. Naomi Long is not a councillor and can see no other
:06:35. > :06:39.reason why the leaflet drag her into the dispute. This was less
:06:39. > :06:42.about the flag at City Hall and more about Westminster. I have not
:06:42. > :06:50.really had a convincing denial or rebuttal of that from anyone who
:06:50. > :06:54.was involved and a leaflet. -- Int the leaflet. It is about the flag
:06:54. > :06:58.flying in the City Hall. It is entirely a matter for Naomi Long to
:06:58. > :07:01.put forward her record at the next election like every other
:07:01. > :07:05.politician and we needed to the people to decide who gets elected.
:07:05. > :07:10.Loyalist who voted for Naomi Long next time have vowed to unseat her
:07:10. > :07:16.in two years. Meanwhile, the police continued to protect her office 24
:07:16. > :07:22.hours a day. The MP is under personal and political pressure but
:07:22. > :07:27.says she will not be deterred from doing her job. I do not see any of
:07:27. > :07:30.the constituency as a no-go area. I grew up in it in east Belfast in a
:07:30. > :07:35.loyalist working-class community and for me, it is not about no-go
:07:35. > :07:41.areas. It is about how I go in those areas. It is about when I go
:07:41. > :07:45.in those areas. Obviously I have to be thoughtful and mind. It has
:07:45. > :07:48.greater difficulties that, there is no doubt. While we know the Union
:07:48. > :07:52.flag will fly again tomorrow over the City Hall to mark the Queen's
:07:52. > :07:57.accession, the flag row continues and with the marching season just
:07:57. > :08:02.weeks away, nobody yet knows where this will end.
:08:02. > :08:08.That is how we got to where we are today. We asked our interviewees
:08:08. > :08:12.and respondent in this poll - 1046 of them - about the flag dispute.
:08:12. > :08:18.Mark Devenport is with me to look at them and analyse them. Good
:08:18. > :08:22.evening. Good evening. We asked our respondents which of these options
:08:22. > :08:30.in relation to the Union flag at Belfast City Hall do you most
:08:30. > :08:34.support? As you can see, we gave the option to our interviewees the
:08:34. > :08:38.same kind of options that based city councillors before they came
:08:38. > :08:42.to that decision in early December. You whipping by looking at the
:08:42. > :08:46.response we got that Belfast City Council got it about right because
:08:46. > :08:51.the most popular option was the 18 designated days compromise,
:08:51. > :08:55.favoured by 44% of the people we talked to, compared to about 35%
:08:55. > :09:00.favouring retaining the flag all year round. 10% were looking for
:09:01. > :09:04.the flag never to fly. You may say what is the big deal if they pick
:09:04. > :09:10.the most popular option? Why was there such a kickback on the
:09:10. > :09:16.streets? It was not popular with everyone. We analysed what our
:09:16. > :09:19.Unionist interviewees said and this is what we found. The flying of the
:09:19. > :09:24.flag really polarises Unionists and nationalists because Unionists very
:09:24. > :09:29.strongly were sticking to the 365 days a year option. Just less than
:09:29. > :09:34.a quarter were opting instead for the designated days compromise
:09:34. > :09:39.which Alliance and the nationalist councillors ended up voting for.
:09:39. > :09:43.we might expect a mirror image of that but we do not get quite a
:09:43. > :09:48.mirror image when we look at what nationalists think. Very little
:09:48. > :09:51.support for retaining the flag all year round. Quite significant
:09:52. > :09:55.support for the 18 designated days compromise. The interesting thing
:09:55. > :09:58.was that the nationalist parties set about initially calling for the
:09:58. > :10:02.flag to come down altogether, which is the practice in some other
:10:02. > :10:06.councils that are not have a flag. Only a 5th of their supporters
:10:06. > :10:10.actually opted for that. Nationalist voters appeared to
:10:10. > :10:16.regard the designated days compromise as the way forward.
:10:16. > :10:23.vote itself sparked protests that very evening, which lasted for a
:10:23. > :10:27.couple of months. We asked when the flag protests began, to what extent
:10:27. > :10:30.to go interviewees agree or disagree? There is significant
:10:30. > :10:34.support for the right to protest and in the actual question that was
:10:34. > :10:37.asked of the interviewees, it did talk about whether people were
:10:37. > :10:41.right to protest. That is the only way I can explain the fact that
:10:41. > :10:44.there is greater support for the protests taking place in their
:10:44. > :10:51.early December than there was for keeping the flag all year round.
:10:51. > :10:54.Some people may be did not favour keeping the flag but thought that
:10:54. > :11:01.people had a right to protest out on the streets if they oppose the
:11:01. > :11:11.policy. We are not talking about violence but just protests. Let's
:11:11. > :11:13.
:11:13. > :11:17.break that down. What tedious say? -- what did Unionists say? Strong
:11:17. > :11:22.support given the fact that they favoured keeping the flag 365 days
:11:22. > :11:27.in the first place. It is not as loyalists because they would be a
:11:27. > :11:34.small section of this Unionist lot of interviewees. So that is right
:11:34. > :11:39.across Unionists. 83% support in all the Unionist parties. They are
:11:39. > :11:43.being asked at the end of January but about their views when it all
:11:43. > :11:48.kicked off. They are saying they sympathise with it when it kicked
:11:48. > :11:54.off in December but then there is a shift in opinion. The next question
:11:54. > :12:00.- do you think the protests should now stop or continue?
:12:00. > :12:04.interviews were carried out in late January. By this stage, a lot of
:12:04. > :12:07.people had seen the violence that was barred by the protests and
:12:07. > :12:13.there had been a call by Unionists in east Belfast backed by loyalist
:12:13. > :12:16.paramilitaries for the violence to end. The majority of Unionists, 54%,
:12:16. > :12:20.think that the protest should stop. But still a significant proportion
:12:20. > :12:25.of Unionists, even at this late stage, think that the protest
:12:25. > :12:33.should continue. I think it is food for thought for the Unionist
:12:33. > :12:37.parties have called for this to end. Let's see how that have fits into
:12:38. > :12:41.the overall population in our sample response. In terms of the
:12:41. > :12:44.general populace, by the end of January you can take it that they
:12:44. > :12:47.were pretty much that up with what had been happening over the cause
:12:47. > :12:51.of those few weeks because you are adding nationalists and others into
:12:51. > :12:55.the equation and you have a very strong majority. More than three-
:12:55. > :12:58.quarters of those we talked to said it was time to call it a day as far
:12:58. > :13:03.as the protests were concerned and the reasons they gave way of
:13:03. > :13:06.violence, damage to business, traffic disruption and so on.
:13:06. > :13:12.the results emerge in the course of the programme, we are keen to hear
:13:12. > :13:16.what you think. You can textiles on 81771. You can phone and e-mail us
:13:16. > :13:20.and put us on #SpotlightNI. Calls cost five pence per minute from
:13:20. > :13:25.most landlines. Calls from mobiles may cost considerably more and
:13:25. > :13:28.texts will be charged at your standard message rate. It is fair
:13:28. > :13:31.to say that as long as Northern Ireland has more Protestants and
:13:31. > :13:35.Catholics it will stay part of the UK but does the narrowing gap
:13:35. > :13:40.between them in the latest census mean a united Ireland could be
:13:40. > :13:48.coming into view? Sinn Fein thinks so and that is why they are
:13:48. > :13:53.pressing for the border question to be put to the vote.
:13:53. > :14:03.Sinn Fein launched their campaign for Border poll. Gerry Adams police
:14:03. > :14:04.
:14:04. > :14:07.people are increasingly embracing their national -- Irish identity.
:14:07. > :14:13.the mood is shifting towards thoughts of a united Ireland? The
:14:13. > :14:17.Good Friday agreement allows for a referendum. If Westminster believes
:14:17. > :14:24.there may be a majority in Northern Ireland who want to end partition.
:14:24. > :14:28.So far, the response to Mr Adams has been blunt. My feeling is that
:14:28. > :14:38.the conditions which require a border poll are not present in
:14:38. > :14:49.
:14:49. > :14:52.Northern Ireland and we have no For Sinn Fein, however, this is
:14:52. > :14:55.simply a delay en route to the longer-term target of a poll by
:14:55. > :14:58.2020. Because while republicans never saw the Good Friday Agreement
:14:58. > :15:01.as a final settlement. This is part of the British state temporarily or
:15:01. > :15:07.permanently bore only conditionally for as long as a majority of the
:15:07. > :15:12.people want that to be so. This was not from a shin. -- Sinn Fein point
:15:12. > :15:22.of view, a settlement. It was an agreement on a journey, and the
:15:22. > :15:25.core of it, it is a Road Map towards democracy and equality.
:15:25. > :15:28.future direction of Northern Ireland, be it sticking with the
:15:28. > :15:32.Union or move to Irish unity, has traditionally been predicted by a
:15:32. > :15:34.sectarian headcount. It's been assumed that Protestants are all
:15:35. > :15:42.unionists, Catholics are all nationalists, and as long as
:15:42. > :15:44.Protestants are the majority, the Union will remain. That has er been
:15:44. > :15:47.a pretty crude way of trying to work out what the current levels of
:15:47. > :15:55.support are for a united Ireland, or for northern ireland remaining
:15:55. > :15:57.within the UK. I think in recent years er there has been certainly
:15:57. > :16:02.considerable evidence that there's also this emerging other category,
:16:02. > :16:05.people who say that they're Northern Irish. A sign of this
:16:05. > :16:08.change came in the recent Census figures which revealed 1 in 5 now
:16:08. > :16:11.say they are primarily Northern Irish, rather than British or Irish.
:16:11. > :16:14.It suggests they don't conform to type and their votes are up for
:16:14. > :16:20.grabs and it has opened-up a new battleground between unionism and
:16:20. > :16:26.nationalism. The phrase Northern Irish, I suppose, is, in some ways,
:16:27. > :16:30.very ambiguous. And both sides sort of try to claim them as either for
:16:30. > :16:37.a united Ireland or for the United Kingdom. In truth I think people
:16:37. > :16:40.don't really know how those people would vote in a border poll.
:16:40. > :16:45.this new landscape, Sinn Fein argue the Census indicates the pieces of
:16:45. > :16:50.their plan are coming together. unionists are relaxed about calling
:16:50. > :16:52.themselves Irish, albeit Northern Irish. The question is, can
:16:52. > :16:58.republicans convince these people to share their goal of a united
:16:58. > :17:01.Ireland? Sinn Fein has a huge challenge to persuade unionists
:17:01. > :17:04.that their future is best in an all-Ireland context. I don't
:17:04. > :17:13.minimise that for one second. But I think there are lots of indications
:17:13. > :17:22.that people out there are at least up for those arguments. So are
:17:22. > :17:25.unionists up for the debate? After Gerry Adams called for a poll, the
:17:25. > :17:35.DUP surprisingly said they were considering it. I think the DUP
:17:35. > :17:40.
:17:40. > :17:43.floated this idea seemingly intentionally. Arlene Foster quite
:17:43. > :17:47.deliberately said that the DUP could be persuaded to call Sinn
:17:47. > :17:49.Fein's bluff on this but I think that there has been considerable
:17:49. > :17:52.rowing back since then and there's certainly very little indication
:17:52. > :17:55.that the DUP are serious about this. But with tensions already high over
:17:56. > :18:02.the flag, there are those who would see the calling of a border poll as
:18:02. > :18:05.likely to further destabilise unionism. It would really, I
:18:05. > :18:08.suppose, send people back to the trenches in many ways and that
:18:08. > :18:11.would be a huge decision to take, particularly at a time when Peter
:18:11. > :18:14.Robinson has been making much of the fact that Northern Ireland's
:18:14. > :18:18.position is settled, we're secure within the union. Publicly at least,
:18:18. > :18:21.the DUP is bullish. Republicans asking for a border poll makes
:18:21. > :18:26.turkeys voting for Christmas look like a carefully considered
:18:26. > :18:29.strategy. But are the DUP right to make their own assumption, that
:18:29. > :18:32.there is a significant block of Catholics, who don't vote unionist
:18:32. > :18:37.in elections, but would actually back the Union? Richard Doherty is
:18:37. > :18:43.a practising Catholic, from Londonderry, who is also pro-Union.
:18:43. > :18:46.His father was a British soldier and he was in the RUC Reserve.
:18:46. > :18:55.Being a Catholic never excluded me from being pro-Union. I think
:18:55. > :18:58.there's a large number of people like that. I think a large number
:18:58. > :19:05.of Catholics would say they feel they're better off socially and
:19:05. > :19:11.economically within the union. are talking about British identity?
:19:11. > :19:15.It is a British again today, what remains is still under seas. Pretty
:19:15. > :19:20.she might be but he has never voted for a unionist Party. So does that
:19:20. > :19:25.mean Gerry Adams could at least engage, on the idea of a united
:19:25. > :19:32.Ireland? There is not anything Gerry Adams could say that would
:19:32. > :19:39.convince me that a united Ireland would work, particularly with in a
:19:39. > :19:43.position of power. A representative is this you? As the census showed,
:19:43. > :19:46.the new Northern Ireland is embracing Malta poor and mixed
:19:46. > :19:56.identities of people no longer designate themselves as either
:19:56. > :20:00.
:20:00. > :20:08.We come to the most interesting part of the opinion poll. We asked
:20:08. > :20:15.This has been pored over by the politicians and the British and
:20:15. > :20:17.Irish governments. And those surveys tell us : that the
:20:17. > :20:27.Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud would vote if there was a referendum
:20:27. > :20:31.
:20:31. > :20:37.This is similar wording as was used in the 1973 border poll. The same
:20:37. > :20:41.number there who would not vote. This is an opinion poll and not a
:20:41. > :20:47.referendum, so there is that Cav the art, and there is a margin for
:20:47. > :20:51.error in this exercise, but it is a pretty big lead. Gerry Adams talks
:20:51. > :20:54.about the Good Friday Agreement being an agreement on the long
:20:54. > :21:02.journey, will it will be a long journey of these figures are born
:21:02. > :21:09.at it. We will look at the committed voters and look at that
:21:09. > :21:13.throws up. As we will see as we move through the results, there are
:21:13. > :21:17.more people on the Catholic side of the divide who are telling us in
:21:17. > :21:23.any case that they will not vote rather than on the Protestant side,
:21:23. > :21:33.and that is why, when you take out the non-voters, you get a hardening
:21:33. > :21:33.
:21:33. > :21:42.of that majority, almost 80%. the similar to other recent surveys.
:21:43. > :21:50.73 opted to remain in the UK, over a united Ireland, so it is in line
:21:50. > :21:57.with that. The big one, what did Catholics say in response to this
:21:57. > :22:02.question? Stephen Dempster was talking to one or Catholic, and he
:22:02. > :22:06.is not unique in holding that you Foster 38% of the cat books said
:22:06. > :22:11.that there was an opinion poll tomorrow they would have -- boat to
:22:11. > :22:18.remain part of the UK. Whilst that is not a majority, it is larger
:22:18. > :22:22.than the proportion, 35%, who voted for a united Ireland. So that towns
:22:22. > :22:28.some of the traditional assumptions on their head because it is a
:22:28. > :22:38.larger section of the Catholic population voting for the status
:22:38. > :22:42.
:22:42. > :22:48.And a larger percentage there, 18%, saying that they would not a boat.
:22:48. > :22:55.And we have these people who, in the senses, described themselves as
:22:55. > :23:00.Northern Irish. We asked how they would boat. When the census come
:23:00. > :23:07.out, I took calls from politicians who said they were talking about
:23:07. > :23:14.being Irish. In answer to this question, we found a large
:23:14. > :23:19.proportion voting to remain in the UK. Again, quite a strong
:23:19. > :23:24.proportion in terms of not voting. This new category of the Northern
:23:25. > :23:28.Irish, seemed to be comfortable with the Northern Ireland, but
:23:28. > :23:33.comfortable to retain the constitutional status quo. Lots of
:23:33. > :23:42.fascinating stuff there, thank you very much for your analysis. Don't
:23:42. > :23:51.forget, you can contact us by text, you can Collis or you can use
:23:51. > :23:55.Twitter. We have a collection of political representatives gather.
:23:55. > :24:01.Jerry can be, your Road Map is going nowhere - you should join the
:24:01. > :24:04.Alliance Party. I will not be doing that any time soon. He said during
:24:04. > :24:10.the conversation that this is an opinion poll and not a referendum.
:24:10. > :24:13.The last thing it was tried out scientifically we were up front and
:24:13. > :24:17.the reports -- an approach that you want an Irish republican people
:24:17. > :24:25.vote for us in huge numbers. If you want to be signed to forget about
:24:25. > :24:30.it, go to the last election. Peter Robinson has talked about turkeys
:24:30. > :24:35.at Christmas, well, then, let's have it, let's bring the referendum
:24:35. > :24:39.and put that to the test. The argument during the referendum or
:24:39. > :24:45.during the election is an entirely different process to sitting here
:24:45. > :24:54.after doing an opinion poll. election is also different from a
:24:54. > :25:00.referendum. In fact, 22% of Sinn Fein respondents said they would
:25:00. > :25:04.vote to stay in the United Kingdom. Well, I do not believe that. You do
:25:04. > :25:10.not think that because Sinn Fein is now a party with a wider appeal,
:25:10. > :25:15.there are people who are not married to the core Republican
:25:15. > :25:20.beliefs? We will try to convince people that a united Ireland is the
:25:20. > :25:24.best place for them. I am a republican. I believe it is the
:25:24. > :25:31.best place for Unionists, republicans and nationalists. That
:25:31. > :25:36.is a debate that we have started and will continue. We're up to that
:25:36. > :25:45.discussion and to put that to the test. And, in the end, that has the
:25:45. > :25:47.final Test. We have a couple of indicators, our opinion poll and a
:25:47. > :25:53.lifetime so be, both showing similar opinion, that people are
:25:53. > :26:02.not crying out for a border poll, and if they are, lots of them are
:26:02. > :26:05.going to say, let's stay where we before elections, it is quite a
:26:05. > :26:09.consistent fact, that we set before elections and underestimate the
:26:09. > :26:16.Sinn Fein Board, over the last number of elections going back
:26:16. > :26:21.years. -- Sinn Fein vote. We're up for the challenge. The conversation
:26:21. > :26:25.has started. It is a huge challenge, to convince a section of Unionists
:26:25. > :26:29.that a united Ireland is the place to go, but that there is the
:26:29. > :26:35.discussion we are having and at least that discussion is being had.
:26:35. > :26:40.We're up for the challenge. Let's put it to the vote. There has been
:26:40. > :26:46.some dithering within the Ulster Unionist Party about this. We just
:26:46. > :26:51.say that now you should have one? - - de Democratic Unionists party.
:26:51. > :26:54.said that Sinn Fein can talk about an opinion poll, but if we had a
:26:54. > :26:59.border poll tomorrow the greater number would vote to stay within
:26:59. > :27:04.the United Kingdom. Gerry Kelly can talk about Sinn Fein been
:27:04. > :27:09.underestimated in elections. You are right about that. It is not an
:27:09. > :27:13.election. It is a referendum. And people would be very clear about
:27:13. > :27:17.their economic and social benefits of being in the United Kingdom.
:27:17. > :27:22.That is why people said clearly that he wanted to stay in the
:27:22. > :27:26.United Kingdom. They are not convinced by the vision of the
:27:26. > :27:30.Democratic Unionist Party. Less than 1% of Catholics would vote for
:27:30. > :27:34.them. That was a challenge for us. We want to reach out to Catholics
:27:34. > :27:40.were happy with in the United Kingdom. That was the context of my
:27:40. > :27:50.party leader's speech back in November. Our flag protests the way
:27:50. > :28:02.
:28:02. > :28:05.to convince Catholics to join The combined decision of the
:28:05. > :28:11.party's who have very serious crisis Trust and sells... Clearly,
:28:11. > :28:14.the victory that was proclaimed by the leader of the Alliance Party on
:28:14. > :28:20.the night of this vote is a hollow victory because in terms of
:28:20. > :28:24.electoral terms, all the aggro on there were within the Unionist
:28:24. > :28:29.community. Most people think the compromise is the right answer.
:28:29. > :28:33.This has come at a very high price. This has upset political relations.
:28:33. > :28:37.It has affected community relations and it has been a recipe for
:28:37. > :28:44.disaster. I am afraid to the Alliance Party are absolutely
:28:44. > :28:50.nowhere. 38% of Catholic say they want to stay in the UK. The kind of
:28:50. > :28:54.scenes we have seen as a result of this protests are likely to make
:28:54. > :29:01.them say they want out. It is counter-productive. The people who
:29:01. > :29:04.have most to lose as a result of this poll, followed on by the
:29:04. > :29:11.recent census and lifestyle studies, clearly on the leadership of Sinn
:29:11. > :29:16.Fein. Their strategy has gone. It is in tatters. There is no prospect
:29:16. > :29:21.of a united Ireland, there is no support... But whereas the
:29:21. > :29:26.generosity from the Unionist community? 23% of Sinn Fein's own
:29:26. > :29:30.supporters do not believe it is achievable. But why is there not
:29:30. > :29:35.more generosity of spirit? Are you have this vast number of Catholics
:29:35. > :29:38.who wish to stay part of the UK and you are scaring them off. Why have
:29:38. > :29:43.you and other Unionist leaders not be able to convince your own people
:29:43. > :29:47.that actually, the union is safe? believe we are reaching out.
:29:47. > :29:51.while there are figures coming up which show that you are not. On a
:29:51. > :29:56.Northern Ireland basis, we are able to reach out and particularly to
:29:56. > :30:02.the Unionist Party. None of a Catholic respondents would vote for
:30:02. > :30:08.the UUP. Centrist and moderate Unionist opinion... And not one.
:30:08. > :30:14.How can you say that? Will provide the necessary leadership that will
:30:14. > :30:19.link all of the people. It will bring people into the real issues -
:30:19. > :30:25.the issues of jobs, the economy and health and education and that is
:30:25. > :30:31.whether prosperity is. That is the underlying secret and necessity for
:30:31. > :30:36.the executive half. Alex Attwood, did you represent the 30% of
:30:36. > :30:38.Catholics who wish to stay in the UK? Are they all convertible,
:30:38. > :30:44.middle-class Catholics who are looking to their economic benefits
:30:44. > :30:49.and wish to stay where they are? I had been sitting here 20 or 30
:30:49. > :30:51.years ago, he would have said to me it was a pipe dream to persuade
:30:51. > :30:56.people to join a partnership government if that is what we have
:30:56. > :31:02.today. You would have said it was a pipe dream that we would have
:31:02. > :31:06.brought about the policing we have now. While they may be a snapshot
:31:06. > :31:11.in this poll, the challenge to all of us is to convince others about
:31:11. > :31:14.the best way forward and we have demonstrated unambiguously and
:31:14. > :31:18.overwhelmingly that when you apply yourselves and work up the
:31:18. > :31:24.arguments, you can change how people think. And now you have
:31:24. > :31:32.changed it, do people think it is not so bad here and we should stay?
:31:32. > :31:36.Aboard a poll, if it were to happen - I think it should happen... We
:31:36. > :31:42.have a period of time to bring about the situation... Or what
:31:42. > :31:52.would you tell them? Catholics look to the south and see economic
:31:52. > :31:58.
:31:58. > :31:59.distress the stock they feel more How would I do it? I would
:31:59. > :32:02.accelerate the process of national acceleration and healing so that
:32:02. > :32:07.the legacy of the past will be dealt with and the truth of the
:32:07. > :32:17.past will be dealt with. I would accelerate and built up economic
:32:17. > :32:24.
:32:24. > :32:34.opportunity so that people will five years. -- differently than we
:32:34. > :32:38.
:32:38. > :32:40.opportunities here in the north. Let me finish. In that way, you can
:32:40. > :32:46.change how people see our politics. We will not go back to the flag-
:32:46. > :32:53.waving... You are not only have to convince the overwhelming territory
:32:53. > :33:00.of the dubious population -- majority of the Unionist population
:33:00. > :33:05.but the Catholics as well. If they said 20 or 30 years ago... Your
:33:05. > :33:12.campaign has been unsuccessful. SDLP argument prevailed in terms of
:33:12. > :33:16.power sharing. The SDLP argument prevailed in terms of... People
:33:17. > :33:21.want to stay in the UK. Stephen, one of the commentators said that
:33:21. > :33:25.there was a fear that even the thought of proposing a border poll
:33:25. > :33:29.would send people back to the trenches but the evidence of this
:33:29. > :33:34.poll - and it is only a poll - shows that people would not go back
:33:35. > :33:39.to the trenches. There is a very clear message coming across from
:33:39. > :33:44.the poll as a whole. People are concerned about tensions around
:33:44. > :33:47.flags both before and after the vote. They also see a border poll
:33:47. > :33:53.has not been terribly relevant our situation at present and that may
:33:53. > :33:58.well send the book to the trenches. But the vast majority of people are
:33:58. > :34:01.focused on making Northern Ireland work and building a shared future,
:34:01. > :34:04.addressing the quality considerations. If we are an
:34:04. > :34:08.outward-looking society we can have a positive relationship with the
:34:08. > :34:12.rest of the UK and a relationship with the rest of Ireland, the
:34:12. > :34:19.European Union and the rest of the world. All those opportunities are
:34:19. > :34:22.on our doorstep but the real danger of what has happened over the past
:34:22. > :34:27.six months - the entire political system has risked tipping back into
:34:27. > :34:30.the old politics of the past. We have a real challenge and close to
:34:30. > :34:34.make over the coming weeks. Are we going to continue on the road of
:34:34. > :34:38.the good work of the political peace process of the past decade?
:34:38. > :34:43.I'll be going to press on and address a shared future? Of we
:34:43. > :34:51.going to focus on the economy? The issue of whether we are going to be
:34:51. > :34:55.in the UK becomes less relevant because Northern Ireland works.
:34:55. > :35:00.have had plenty to say. The notion of a shared future - huge damage
:35:00. > :35:05.was done by the Alliance Party and their participation in City Hall.
:35:05. > :35:12.What happened at Belfast City Hall was a compromise. The nationalist
:35:12. > :35:15.parties backed a compromise. Danny Kennedy... Let me speak, please.
:35:15. > :35:19.64% of nationalists thought that the designated days was a good
:35:19. > :35:23.solution. If Unionists had played this right, they would have
:35:23. > :35:27.recognised that for the first time, and nationalist parties poll to be
:35:27. > :35:31.voted for the flag flying from Belfast City Hall and we have the
:35:31. > :35:38.same outcome that is standard policy elsewhere in the UK. How
:35:38. > :35:41.that is a threat to British identity is utterly beyond me.
:35:41. > :35:45.Unionists have failed to convince their own people that actually
:35:45. > :35:49.things are going their way. Can we talk about consensual politics
:35:49. > :35:53.because there has been a lot said about it tonight? Consensual
:35:53. > :35:57.politics was working and we all were moving forward in Northern
:35:57. > :36:03.Ireland for what we saw at City Hall was a move away from
:36:03. > :36:08.consensual politics. The SDLP and the Alliance Party moved into a
:36:08. > :36:12.majority position and then they were not talking about jobs,
:36:12. > :36:17.education or economic benefits for Belfast. They were removing the
:36:17. > :36:22.flag of the nation from the capital city of Northern Ireland. The same
:36:22. > :36:25.as the rest of the UK. It is no different. You can shout at me if
:36:25. > :36:30.you want but it is not the same as the rest of the country. If you
:36:30. > :36:35.lived in the west of Northern Ireland, as I do, there is no
:36:35. > :36:43.designated days. Would you call for designated days for the flying of
:36:43. > :36:52.the Union flag? Yes. I welcome that an thank you for it. Things like
:36:52. > :36:55.the flags are not helping. When the Unionists were in charge, they did
:36:55. > :37:02.not allow the Irish nurse of the people. All this debate centres
:37:02. > :37:06.around Britishness. It centres around identity generally. And it
:37:06. > :37:11.centres around Britishness. point I am making is it should. It
:37:11. > :37:17.is disrespectful to Irish. If you are going to City Hall, as we said
:37:17. > :37:21.today, over 95% of all the paraphernalia and emblems... Were
:37:21. > :37:30.we are in a British city. It does not matter. We are in his city
:37:30. > :37:35.which is supposed to be shared... Consensus is gone. Gerry, 38% of
:37:35. > :37:42.the people in this poll are quite happy with that. Let me say this
:37:42. > :37:48.because Arlene has been putting the perspectives of her party. We
:37:48. > :37:53.Onneley in a 50-50 situation. The City Hall and the councillors are
:37:53. > :38:00.supposed to represent that shared city. That shared city is almost
:38:00. > :38:08.half Irish and therefore, Irish... In that is lazy sectarianism. It is
:38:08. > :38:11.not. The first Republican mayor of Belfast in many years did not
:38:11. > :38:19.trying take anything else but he put up a try colour. He wanted to
:38:19. > :38:24.show that it was a shared city. Demanding that it remains 95%
:38:24. > :38:27.British is not consensual. The removal of the flag from City Hall
:38:27. > :38:31.is not the only issue where there is a lack of consensual politics.
:38:31. > :38:38.We have, within the last two weeks of the executive, the beating of a
:38:38. > :38:43.national crime agency by Sinn Fein. If you want to go into that
:38:43. > :38:52.argument... I do not think we do because it is not about identity.
:38:52. > :38:58.Why are you afraid... After signing up to the Good Friday agreement,
:38:58. > :39:02.why are you afraid of the accountability being put on... At I
:39:02. > :39:08.am not going to pursue this argument. Danny, I am not going to
:39:08. > :39:14.pursue that argument. Danny! I am not pursuing that argument - it is
:39:14. > :39:18.a different argument. I think this is the fundamental issue of
:39:18. > :39:22.political leadership in the North at the moment. It is a challenge to
:39:22. > :39:26.Unionism and I have to say it is a challenge to me and democratic
:39:26. > :39:29.nationalism and it is simply this. The new order of politics that has
:39:29. > :39:36.come through the various agreements since the Good Friday Agreement
:39:36. > :39:40.means that we have to say to our people - Unionists to the Unionist
:39:40. > :39:43.community and nationalists to the nationalists - that Northern
:39:43. > :39:48.Ireland will look and feel different. Listen to this! It
:39:48. > :39:52.sounds exactly the same for the last 40 years. That is why I am
:39:52. > :39:55.making this point. The new order of politics means that things will
:39:55. > :40:05.look and feel different but in looking and feeling different, it
:40:05. > :40:10.does not mean that people have lost all won. -- lost fog won. Danny
:40:10. > :40:15.Kennedy, please keep quiet! This is the crucial point and that is why
:40:15. > :40:22.Abbott aspic of stubbornness and for a moment. -- I would ask people
:40:22. > :40:31.to stop and listen. Things are going to be different but that does
:40:31. > :40:35.not mean that Unionists have lost the national identity or
:40:35. > :40:40.political... Where is the opportunity? The facts of the
:40:40. > :40:46.survey, the facts of the census and the facts of previous studies
:40:46. > :40:50.confirm that Northern Ireland's constitutional position is secure
:40:50. > :40:57.and settled within the UK and that is not a threat and should not be
:40:57. > :41:03.considered as a threat to nationalists who have to live there.
:41:03. > :41:08.Accept a dollar credit vote in City Hall. The consequence of Danny's
:41:08. > :41:12.assertion of the Unionist confidence has to be not to tell
:41:13. > :41:16.people that when the flying of the flag is changed to designated days
:41:16. > :41:20.that somehow you have lost your identity, some power you have lost
:41:20. > :41:25.out, somehow your worst fears have been confirmed. That was the moment
:41:25. > :41:31.of bad leadership. Let's regroup and show good leadership. This is
:41:31. > :41:37.the point, Arlene. From my point of view, and as this survey shows, the
:41:37. > :41:41.democratic nationalism accepts that the politics of accommodation may
:41:41. > :41:47.mean that the Union flag flies not in a way that I would necessarily
:41:47. > :41:50.opt for in the first instance but in the wake of the designated
:41:51. > :41:55.days... It shows that we are prepared to respect your identity,
:41:55. > :42:05.accommodate it and not in any way raised it. Although you did want to
:42:05. > :42:17.
:42:17. > :42:26.It was quite clear that when Sinn Fein were in majorities in cases in
:42:26. > :42:31.the West, then the flag went. We're not going to be ludicrous...
:42:31. > :42:36.you're arguing they are and which they could easily have put up...
:42:36. > :42:43.Gerry Kelly will let me finish. The reality is this. If Jenny says that
:42:43. > :42:47.he accepts that Belfast Agreement he must and -- accept the principle
:42:47. > :42:55.of consent that Northern Ireland will remain within the United
:42:55. > :43:01.Kingdom unturned -- until such times as we can leave it. I am
:43:01. > :43:05.challenging him to do to say, I challenge him to say in the west of
:43:05. > :43:12.the province they should recognise Unionism on designated days.
:43:12. > :43:17.Gentlemen, we are going to move on Forest's second. We have another
:43:17. > :43:21.issue to address. There is a feeling of disaffection and
:43:21. > :43:31.loyalism that they are losing out to the other side so how is that
:43:31. > :43:36.
:43:36. > :43:41.reflected in the opinion poll? We But as Stephen Dempster found out,
:43:41. > :43:44.once again, below the surface, opinion is even more deeply divided.
:43:44. > :43:47.The Malone Road, South Belfast. Once the preserve of the unionist
:43:47. > :43:53.middle classes, but as the emergence of St Bride's Church
:43:53. > :43:58.suggests, increasingly home to the Catholic middle class too. And it
:43:58. > :44:00.is places like this thatcould be preserving the Union. According to
:44:00. > :44:04.the Spotlight poll, affluent catholics, like the people who
:44:04. > :44:07.worship here, are more likely to vote to stay in the UK than they
:44:07. > :44:14.are to choose a united Ireland. They are one important reason why
:44:15. > :44:17.the poll suggests such a big margin in favour of staying in the Union.
:44:17. > :44:19.And that's probably related to another finding of the poll -
:44:19. > :44:25.middle class Catholics overwhelmingly think the current
:44:25. > :44:31.political settlement is fair to both sides. But that view isn't
:44:31. > :44:36.shared on this side of town. Rush hour in east Belfast, last month,
:44:36. > :44:40.and the streets are eerily quiet. Protesters have gathered to block
:44:40. > :44:48.the Albertbridge Road, a main route in and out of the city. Among them
:44:48. > :44:51.are local mothers Julie Ann Workman and Sharon Kirkwood. We felt the
:44:51. > :44:55.need to come out on the street because nobody was listening to us,
:44:55. > :44:58.and we thought the best way to get people to listen to us was to come
:44:58. > :45:02.out on to the street. We don't want our culture trampled on, we don't
:45:02. > :45:06.want our culture disappearing $YELLOW The taking down of the flag
:45:06. > :45:09.was the last straw. It's not just about one issue, there is a lot of
:45:09. > :45:14.issues. It's Sinn Fein-IRA, they are just eroding our identity,
:45:14. > :45:16.taking our communities down brick by brick. Sharon and Julie Anne
:45:16. > :45:18.believe the political process is weighted against their community on
:45:18. > :45:23.things like parading and historical enquiries. But how representative
:45:23. > :45:33.are they? Is this disquiet among hardline loyalists or something
:45:33. > :45:36.
:45:36. > :45:39.On that question over whether people think the political system
:45:39. > :45:41.favours one community or another, over half of unionists feel it's
:45:41. > :45:43.imbalanced in favour or nationalists. And that view is
:45:43. > :45:48.strongest among the unionist lower middle and working class what
:45:48. > :45:50.pollsters call groups C2 and DE. This sense of unfairness may be
:45:50. > :45:57.more perception than reality, according to Professor Richard
:45:57. > :46:02.English. He says the Union is secure but loyalists feel
:46:02. > :46:05.threatened by the success of republicanism. Some sections of the
:46:05. > :46:09.loyalist working class simply feel disadvantaged. Feel that they are
:46:09. > :46:11.second class citizens. They look over the sectarian fence and see
:46:11. > :46:14.Sinn Fein being very well oiled and well heeled. Well funded and very
:46:14. > :46:18.professional. And they feel a certain envy towards that in terms
:46:18. > :46:21.of not having that kind of representation themselves.
:46:21. > :46:26.Dissatisfaction with the unionist leadership has also been voiced
:46:26. > :46:29.throughout the flag protests. Nobody has no trust in them and to
:46:29. > :46:32.be honest with you nobody believes a word comes out of their mouth,
:46:32. > :46:38.because we are just pushed aside, pushed aside More specifically,
:46:38. > :46:41.they blame the DUP. Everybody has lost faith in them and let me tell
:46:41. > :46:44.you, my family all through the years voted DUP, my grandmother, my
:46:44. > :46:50.granda, my mother, my father, but now we know what they are, they
:46:50. > :46:53.don't get our votes, and they never, ever will get our votes again.
:46:53. > :46:57.the DUP argue they are taking a lead on voicing unionists concerns
:46:57. > :47:03.on issues like the flying of the flag and are confident of their
:47:03. > :47:06.electoral support. We have met a range of people who say we have
:47:06. > :47:13.been DUP voters all our lives and we will never vote for the DUP
:47:13. > :47:15.again. Well, I heard that too. And election, and I have heard it
:47:15. > :47:18.before previous elections. And we don't take anything for granted or
:47:18. > :47:28.are not complacent in any way shape or form. But we need to be careful
:47:28. > :47:31.here. The fact of the matter is, that overwhelmingly the vast
:47:31. > :47:34.majority of unionists who voted in Belfast where we have 16
:47:34. > :47:37.councillors. Is that the vast majority of the unionist people in
:47:37. > :47:40.all areas did vote for the DUP, and do support the DUP. But if some
:47:40. > :47:42.loyalists and unionists reject the DUP's leadership, who will provide
:47:42. > :47:45.them with a voice? Already divisions have emerged within the
:47:45. > :47:52.new Ulster People's Forum, led by Willie Frazer and Jamie Bryson.
:47:53. > :47:56.will no longer be driven into the corner by certain politicians.
:47:56. > :47:58.is too early to judge if a loyalist political grouping will prosper on
:47:59. > :48:03.the back of the protests. But journalist Brian Rowan believes the
:48:03. > :48:06.number of people on the street shouldnot be overplayed. I think we
:48:06. > :48:16.need a context and we need a perspective. This is not a people
:48:16. > :48:17.
:48:17. > :48:20.being on that scale of the 70s when you had the Ulster Workers Council
:48:20. > :48:28.strike, the 80s after the Anglo- Irish agreement or the 90s and all
:48:28. > :48:30.of the fallout that was associated with Drumcree. However, the
:48:30. > :48:33.Spotlight poll, which suggests 45 per cent of unionists still support
:48:33. > :48:36.the protests, eight weeks after they started, may concern the DUP.
:48:36. > :48:39.And Brian Rowan says both the DUP and UUP leaderships have a PR
:48:39. > :48:45.problem when they are targets for loyalist criticism. Have you seen
:48:45. > :48:48.them walk the streets of east Belfast,? You know that, that they
:48:48. > :48:51.would be as much a target as, as Martin McGuiness or Gerry Adams
:48:51. > :48:54.would be if they walked the Newtownards road. Do you accept
:48:54. > :48:58.though that Peter Robinson is unwelcome among a section of his
:48:58. > :49:00.own community in east Belfast? look, there are always people who
:49:00. > :49:05.are opposed to certain politicians. There will be people opposed to
:49:05. > :49:12.every politician who has ever got elected. But under the DUP
:49:12. > :49:15.leadership unionism/loyalism is demoralised. Why? No, I don't
:49:15. > :49:19.accept that at all. I don't accept that. Some people will say that,
:49:19. > :49:21.and some people will try to say that because some of them have
:49:21. > :49:27.their own vested political interests. They are not weakening
:49:27. > :49:30.the DUP, they are weakening the Union. And First Minister Peter
:49:30. > :49:35.Robinson's dilemma seems clear, 46% of the general population think
:49:35. > :49:38.he's handled the controversy badly, according to our poll. But what's
:49:38. > :49:40.even more worrying for Peter Robinson, is that more DUP
:49:40. > :49:50.supporters think he's handled the flags controversy badly, than
:49:50. > :49:51.
:49:51. > :49:54.well.37% say he's done badly, to But Richard English predicts the
:49:54. > :50:00.issues within Loyalist communities could be a problem for decades to
:50:00. > :50:03.come and he says Peter Robinson and the DUP have a dilemma. I think
:50:03. > :50:10.this is a difficult situation for Mr Robinson because there is the
:50:10. > :50:13.question of his own electoral support. Because on the one hand he
:50:13. > :50:16.wants to make sure that he looks like the most credible Unionist
:50:16. > :50:19.leader who can bring delivery of good to his own community. There is
:50:19. > :50:22.also the question of how he looks as somebody who is not just the
:50:22. > :50:25.leader of one party, but is effectively the prime minister of
:50:25. > :50:30.Northern Ireland. The Spotlight survey asked about the performance
:50:30. > :50:34.of several politicians during the flags crisis. No one fared
:50:34. > :50:36.particularly well. Naomi Long, Alliance deputy leader, got the
:50:36. > :50:46.highest positive rating. 30% of the population think she's handled
:50:46. > :50:47.
:50:47. > :50:50.things well. But 33% think she's done badly. But she needs unionist
:50:50. > :50:53.votes to hang on to her Westminster seat, and 59% of unionists think
:50:53. > :51:03.she's handled the flags controversy badly. The worst rating of any of
:51:03. > :51:06.
:51:06. > :51:10.the politicians we asked about. But if people think this means it will
:51:10. > :51:13.be easy for the DUP in East Belfast, they should also consider that 45
:51:13. > :51:15.per cent of unionists still support the flag protests and, as our poll
:51:15. > :51:18.suggests, a very significant percentage of unionists think the
:51:18. > :51:21.current political settlement - agreed by the DUP - is unfair. And
:51:21. > :51:26.nowhere will those views be more stridently expressed than by the
:51:26. > :51:31.loyalist working classes. More food for thought. Do you accept the
:51:31. > :51:38.Alliance has lost the East Belfast seat? The innings in the penis say
:51:38. > :51:43.that it has been badly handled. Naomi Long has handled the
:51:43. > :51:49.situation great dignity and integrity. Not according to 59% of
:51:49. > :51:55.Unionists. Pensions have been inflamed. Accusations have been
:51:55. > :52:04.laid against us, pensions have been whipped up by other parties. --
:52:04. > :52:10.tensions. The message is that we won the seat last time round, and
:52:10. > :52:17.how we will seek to retain the seat. Naomi Long will work for everyone
:52:17. > :52:21.in that constituency. The office is under 24 hour police protection.
:52:21. > :52:27.And we still have constituents wishing to engage with us because
:52:27. > :52:30.of the record of hard work on the ground in dealing with everyone.
:52:30. > :52:35.How would you seek to get those Unionists back on board?
:52:35. > :52:39.addressing bread-and-butter issues, issues a round jobs, training,
:52:39. > :52:44.educational under-achievement, in East Belfast, that have to be
:52:44. > :52:49.addressed. Things that aren't close to my heart as minister for
:52:49. > :52:55.employment and that Naomi Long cares very much about as well which
:52:55. > :53:00.are of relevance to the entire community. 37% of DUP voters say
:53:00. > :53:04.that Peter Robinson has handled the flags issue badly. There is a
:53:04. > :53:08.section of our community who does not feel part of the peace process.
:53:08. > :53:13.Professor Richard English got it right - it is about perception
:53:13. > :53:17.against reality. When you look at the amateur investment going into
:53:17. > :53:21.east Belfast, looking at the investment bodies constituency,
:53:21. > :53:26.east Belfast gets more money spent on it than any other constituency
:53:26. > :53:31.in Northern Ireland. If you look at their unemployment figures and I
:53:31. > :53:38.have heard people say that it is higher than might east Belfast, it
:53:38. > :53:43.is 5.4%, and the average is 7.8%. There is a job of work from a
:53:43. > :53:49.unionist forum point of view. We are engaged on that. I spent two
:53:49. > :53:53.evenings last week engaged on that form. But there were Gate weeks of
:53:53. > :53:59.rioting. P Bull have the right to protest and we have seen that very
:53:59. > :54:02.clearly coming through. Why did it take you this crisis to sit down
:54:02. > :54:07.with the working-class people of East Belfast and say that actually,
:54:07. > :54:12.you are not doing too badly. have constituency offices right
:54:12. > :54:17.across Northern Ireland, and we are there to serve the people. Actually,
:54:17. > :54:22.if you look at Sinn Fein and working-class nationalist areas,
:54:22. > :54:26.they have a considerable Disconnect From politics. It is not just about
:54:27. > :54:31.Unionist disconnection, it is nationalists as well. But they are
:54:31. > :54:36.not out on the streets writing. They still have that this affection
:54:36. > :54:40.and I think we should look at. Gerry Kelly, is it good for you
:54:40. > :54:44.that there was this disarray, because it helps your argument that
:54:44. > :54:49.Northern Ireland is not workable even though we have opinion polls
:54:49. > :54:56.showing that many nationalists think that it is workable. Witney
:54:56. > :55:00.repeat something you said earlier on which struck me.-let me. That
:55:00. > :55:07.nothing has changed. We have a power-sharing government. We're
:55:07. > :55:13.moving ahead. We're going to try to bring in direct investment. We're
:55:13. > :55:17.making an effort in the economic downturn, to do all of that. The
:55:17. > :55:23.difficulty is that we are discussing things like flags, when
:55:23. > :55:30.the other work is still going on at the same time. You pushed it.
:55:30. > :55:36.be clear about this. Let's nail this. This was over the East
:55:36. > :55:44.Belfast seat. They were out there against Naomi along. She was not
:55:44. > :55:47.even in the City Hall and the Alliance have got it right. Let me
:55:47. > :55:54.bring in Danny Kennedy. Is it not true that the leaders of Unionism
:55:54. > :55:57.have lost their flock, 42% think Mike Nesbitt has handled it badly.
:55:57. > :56:07.The DUP would butte rightly concerned about your overall
:56:07. > :56:08.
:56:08. > :56:12.ratings. Int -- would be rightly concerned. I have to say that Mike
:56:12. > :56:16.Nesbitt's approval ratings are on a par with Peter Robinson's. There is
:56:16. > :56:20.a challenge within Unionism to give leadership and we are attempting to
:56:20. > :56:28.do that, and that is why we're engaged and involved in the
:56:28. > :56:36.Unionist forum. It has been a very good sounding board, let me say,
:56:36. > :56:45.for Unionist representatives and politicians. Engage with the whole
:56:45. > :56:52.community, don't just talk about your cells. Let me bring in Alex.
:56:52. > :56:56.If you step back, this is where we are. We need to consolidate
:56:56. > :57:01.stability of devolution and consolidate against terror. We're
:57:01. > :57:06.not living up to the full ambitions and values of agreement politics.
:57:06. > :57:11.And unless we do, we're going to have a season of like disputes,
:57:11. > :57:15.parades disputes, and other disputes. It is time to take stock
:57:15. > :57:20.and move on, but to move on to the full purpose of the Good Friday
:57:20. > :57:27.Agreement. You were calling for flax to be completely taken away
:57:27. > :57:32.from city hall. And democratic nationalism work it through. In
:57:32. > :57:38.order to demonstrate the politics of accommodation. The Alliance
:57:38. > :57:43.Party work boot room. In the past, of nationalism and Republican has
:57:43. > :57:49.some have said we accept that the politics of accommodation...
:57:49. > :57:57.Sinn Fein and SDLP had been in the majority in Belfast City Hall, with
:57:57. > :58:03.it have been flown on designated days? Please answer that question.
:58:03. > :58:08.I will were fruit. Are we going to work on the politics of
:58:08. > :58:12.accommodation... If you had been in the majority there would have been
:58:12. > :58:18.no flag flying over City all. Is that true or not? It is not true.
:58:18. > :58:23.The politics of accommodation would have prevailed. Look what happened
:58:23. > :58:27.in Newry when republicans and nationalists combined to name a
:58:27. > :58:31.children's park... Thank you very much for watching. We must leave it