Wallace Thompson: Far from being weak or defeatist, I have entered the debate about Northern Ireland's future with confidence

We then had a useful and respectful discussion on Nolan on Radio Ulster a few days later (May 14).

I was quite surprised by the tone of the News Letter piece, and I appreciate the opportunity to respond to some of the comments and observations.

If, as Ben says, too much weight is being given to my views, perhaps that is because some people genuinely believe that I have something worthwhile to say and that I am adding value to the debate about the future.

The editor asserts that, by my own admission, I made “colossal misjudgements” over the years. That’s not quite correct. I supported Terence O’Neill for a period in the mid-1960’s but, once the civil rights movement began, I feared the worst.

Ian Paisley was giving voice to my concerns and fears, and I became a Paisley man, both in political and spiritual terms. I remain so to this day. He didn’t get everything right. Of course he didn’t. But hindsight is a wonderful thing. As LP Hartley said: “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”

Our reactions to events can seem right at the time, but in reassessing the many crises for unionism over the years, I have mixed views on how we responded. Indeed, I have mixed views on many aspects of our history since 1921. But that’s nothing to be ashamed of. It is a Christian virtue to admit mistakes and to say sorry if we got it wrong. Both sides need to repent! What a cathartic impact that could have.

In relation to allegations of some people that I am a Lundy (the editor disputes that that term is widely used), some of those denouncing me now said the very same things when I supported the DUP decision to share power with Sinn Fein in 2007. I freely admit to dishing it out over the years, and I can take it on the chin now!

Ben refers to Brexit. I voted to leave but did not foresee the fallout. I am disgusted at the way in which Northern Ireland has been treated. We were sacrificed so that English nationalists might ‘get Brexit done’. That betrayal will stay with me for the rest of my days, and it is one of the key reasons why I am now questioning the future of our broken Union.

I accept that a sizeable minority of the Roman Catholic population might vote to remain in the UK. But I still believe that the demographics are increasingly stacked again us, and we must see the writing on the wall.

Finally, I think you might have partly misunderstood my comments about how our forefathers fought for a Protestant country that no longer exists. I was referring to their commitment to a Protestant UK and Empire. The Protestant cement which held it together has crumbled away. There is no Empire, and the UK is secular.

NI still has a larger church going population than the rest of the UK, but I accept that that too continues to decline as secularism takes root. However, as an evangelical Protestant, I will promote and defend the Christian faith at every opportunity. Constitutional arrangements will come and go, but the Word of God will stand forever.

That is why, far from being weak or defeatist, I have entered the debate about the future with confidence. And I trust the debate will continue.

Wallace Thompson, Belfast BT5