Molyneaux, steadfast in pursuit of a single objective — the union

James Molyneaux stood out as old school even in the heart of the establishment, writes Gerard Howlin

ON MONDAY the integrationist unionist tradition died with James Molyneaux. A former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, and the last representative of the officer class to lead unionism, his passing coincides with a critical juncture for the cohesion of the United Kingdom. His lifetime 1920 – 2015 began in an Ireland constitutionally united, under the British crown and governed from Westminster. He lived to see all-island institutions exercise executive authority and Ian Paisley in government with Sinn Féin.

More presciently the very union of Great Britain itself, is now in question. Molyneaux, an RAF officer, was one of the first liberators to enter the Belsen concentration camp. People of an age remember him standing at the Cenotaph beside the prime ministers his leadership coincided with: James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Bedecked with medals Molyneaux stood out as old school even in the heart of the establishment. In one sense the policy of integration he staked his leadership on failed completely. In the longer run perhaps he was right. Devolution in its many iterations, in Northern Ireland, in Scotland and Wales may be the most insidious threat to the union not nationalism on the Celtic fringes. It has via the West Lothian question, certainly accentuated English nationalism. The ultimate counter point to the Union Jack is not the Irish tricolour, but the St Georges Cross.