Mr. William Graham:

I am not a politician. I am an ordinary citizen, probably with a small “u” in unionist affiliation. I am probably one of the silent group that Ian Marshall referred to. This type of forum and subject are new to me so I thank the committee for allowing me to come along and to make my contribution. It includes some similar themes to those I have heard.

I will give a bit about my background to show where I am coming from. I was born in Northern Ireland to Protestant parents. I went to Rainey Endowed School, Magherafelt, a mixed school, boys and girls, Protestant and Catholic. I have a degree in electrical engineering from Queen's University Belfast, a degree in Business Studies from Ulster University and I completed the general management programme at Harvard Business School in Boston. I worked in Northern Ireland Electricity and retired after the company was sold to the ESB. It was completely amicable. I was chief operating officer. I have served as a non-executive director of a number of public sector boards in the North and currently serve on the board of the Northern Health and Social Care Trust. I feel I have a British heritage but also an Irish heritage. I describe myself as Northern Irish. I have both a British and an Irish passport. I have no particular political affiliation but more recently, I have voted for the Alliance Party. I am not wedded to any particular constitutional future but in any debate, would hope that any future change would be better than what we have now, that my Northern Irish identity would be recognised and my personal family circumstances and those of people in Northern Ireland would not be adversely affected. My cousin, Edgar Graham, was a modern moderate unionist politician and law lecturer in Queens. He was shot dead by the IRA in 1983. Nobody was charged with the murder but I think that we have to find a way of moving on from those tragedies. I have to say, though, some of the events of the past week and some of the glorification of the past do not help with that and do not help people like me.

On the current debate, the last thing that we need in the near future is a referendum on a united Ireland whatever the model proposed. I believe this will be incredibly divisive and whatever the result would leave a significant proportion of the population unhappy or worse.

It would also divert attention from the many important issues that face our society and impact on everyday lives. Unfortunately, many of our politicians in the North are much more comfortable with the sectarian-type issues as they have little idea as to how to address the complex societal issues facing us. Any vote in the near future would likely be along emotional and idealistic lines with those voting unlikely to understand the significance nor implications of their vote, which is a bit like Brexit was.

If a referendum were to be proposed, I have heard two options mentioned or variations around these Option 1 is have a vote and then, depending on the result, sort out afterwards how things would work. I think that option would be very problematic. Option 2 is work out things upfront how might things and the implications, and make this information available to the population who would be voting. That option seems more sensible but when the debate starts around the constitutional future for Ireland, one side of the political spectrum in the North tends not to engage as this would suggest an admission that constitutional future change was going to happen.

Is there another option? Would it be possible to start a debate sooner rather than later around what is best for the people of Northern Ireland? How can we make Northern Ireland successful and, indeed, Ireland in general? The context is that Northern Ireland is currently within the UK, is located on the island of Ireland, and there are close links with the Republic of Ireland but it retains close links with the EU. If we could somehow ignore some of the constitutional barriers or at least identify them but within the above context consider the most advantageous arrangements with regard to the most important issues that face us all on these islands, what would make Northern Ireland and, indeed, Ireland most successful for the people who live here? Things like the economy, health and welfare, education, security and policing, the environment, agriculture, energy and we already have an all-island electricity market, and housing. I am sure that we have many cross-Border bodies currently operating that I am not aware of and I understand that it would be a massive challenge but if we could make it happen. What is best for us all? The process and outputs might indicate a different constitutional future that at least would have some objective arguments attached to it.

With regard to my expectations, unfortunately, given the politicians and political system that we have in the North, I do not have any great expectations that an objective and rational approach would be taken when considering the constitutional future within Ireland. I do not know how it, even realistically, could be taken forward when one side of the spectrum will likely refuse to engage.

As I mentioned, if we could move the debate away from a top down constitutional future to a bottom-up approach to what might make us most successful, then might this be more acceptable to a wider group of people, might we get more engagement, and might we be able to arrive at a position as regards a constitutional future that would be underpinned by objective arguments? I live in hope but I will not hold my breath.

I have heard some discussion around a civic forum. I do not know how that would work with the existing governance structures nor if it could have any standing but I am interested in hearing the views of the committee. I am a glass half full person and I live in hope. I thank members for taking the time to listen to my contribution. It is much appreciated.