FORMER Impartial Reporter editor Denzil McDaniel recently took part in an online discussion organised by Ireland’s Future, a group that promotes discussion and debate about a new constitutional vision for the island of Ireland.

The online event comprised a panel of people from Protestant or Unionist backgrounds discussing what the future holds for the people on this island.

Chaired by journalist Andrea Catherwood, Denzil was joined by MLA Trevor Lunn, Mark Langhammer, Glenn Bradley and Reverend Karen Sethuraman.

In introducing himself to the discussion, and in response to what he is thinking about when it comes to a Border poll, Denzil said it was not so much about who ‘wins’ or ‘loses’ a Border poll as it is about trying to involve people “in making this a better society for everyone”.

Denzil went on to say that there is a disconnect between civic Unionism and political Unionism, and they are not having conversations between themselves.

“What tends to happen is, if a Unionist expresses an opinion that’s outside the norm, there’s this insidious shaming.

“People just keep their head down and remain anonymous.

“We have a classic example [recently when] there was an article written on the Shared Island podcast by Choyaa, who’s a Fermanagh Orangeman, where there was nothing [contentious in it] really, and it was a really interesting read.

“But what tended to happen was he was suddenly accused of being a Republican plant, or whatever.”

Denzil says Unionism needs to convince people that what they are proposing is better for the future, and the matter comes down to much more than whether Northern Ireland should remain as part of the UK, or become a part of the Republic of Ireland.

“I think we get too bogged down in the constitutional arrangement. I would say, there was this great talk about, you know, how do we learn from our history, and it’s not about a line on the map, it’s about people’s hearts and minds?

“Well, if that’s really true, certainly taking away the line on the map isn’t going to solve it – it’s not going to bring people together. That’s the real crux of it.

“That, to me, is the best way to not go back to those awful, violent days – [we need] to have a better future for everybody.”

This newspaper’s former editor told the discussion that he believes the South’s attitude to a possible Border poll and reunification of Ireland is of a “certain indifference”, and that among The Establishment and the general media, there is a kind of “Partitionist attitude”.

In terms of a fear of Loyalist violence coming to the South, Denzil felt it was important to put such a threat into context, and that there may be an “overblown fear of a Loyalist violent reaction”.

Looking to the future, and a possible date for a Border poll, Denzil raised concerns about the fixation on a date for such a poll.

“I think most observers would say a Border poll is inevitable. So we can’t just pluck a date out of thin air and say, ‘let’s have it then’.

“What we need to do is, we need to have a conversation about what we’re actually voting on.

“I think we need a conversation about what sort of society we’re going to vote on – is it a simple binary choice of unity with Ireland, or unity with Britain?”

That is not where society is yet, according to Denzil, who believes the question has to be really nailed down.

He looks back to the Brexit and Scottish referendum votes, which had unclear outcomes for voters, as being matters to learn from.

“We really do need to put the groundwork in before we actually have the [Border] referendum. The date isn’t as important for me as what are we voting on? What sort of society do we want to have here?”