'The working-class Loyalist communities of west and north Belfast are in a probably irreversible territorial, demographic, economic and political retreat...'

And this is exactly where their 'leaders' (sic!) have so badly let them down. As Professor Howe argues, the UUP have long abandoned their working class supporters and now, as the DUP becomes the leading unionist party, they themselves are drifting towards middle class values and have forgotten how to embrace their root electorate. All the old certanties have gone, and with them, the jobs - in Short's, the Shipyard and Mackies, etc. They therefore feel lost - and to whom can they go for help? One party is happy with the 'haves and have yachts' and the other can only offer rhetoric about 'concessions' and allegations that the 'other side have got everything'. The UUP negotiated, relatively successfully, but sat on its hands for far too long thereby allowing the nay-sayers to capture the momentum. The DUP has never negotiated with Nationalists or Republicans and have no experience in this format other than the power of the majority vote. So far, they haven't delivered anything. Rate relief on Orange halls?? Yeah, that's gonna put a lot of dosh and jobs in the Shankill...

One thing is plain. Nobody is going back to the so-called halcyon days of pre-68 where Unionism ruled and the rest kept their heads down. The world has changed, as has the confidence of the opposition. But the main difference now is that *ALL* the elected Nationalist/Republican parties appear to be willing to sit down and negotiate a better future within the present structure of Northern Ireland. It may be time for the DUP to consider this possibility and stop stalling under one pretext or another. I do not ignore the importance of ongoing criminal shenanigans of the IRA in the equation but given the extremely muted response to Loyalist paramilitary crime over the years and to the outbreak of the recent violence, the moral high ground seems to be becoming more and more slippery.

It's about time Unionism started to play ball and not let the carpetbaggers of Westminster jack up rates, close hospitals and bleed the system-structures dry without putting up a fight.