"Inevitable" is a dangerous word

I was struck this weekend by the title of an article which pointed to the problems getting a satisfactory brexit deal fir the interests of Northern Ireland and the republic, called

Why Brexit means Irish unity is now inevitable."

The article made some perfectly valid points, but without wishing to all its' author a fool, I am more inclined to agree with Alex Kane's article in the Belfast Telegraph here, which took the more nuanced view that

"Only a fool would say that Irish unity is never going to happen. In the same way, of course, that only a fool would say that Irish unity is inevitable."

If Brexit and the election of President Trump have taught us anything, it should have been that politics today contains more uncertainty rather than less.

Things which would once have been thought impossible are happening: things which would have been thought inevitable are not.

The breakup of Britain is neither inevitable or impossible and the battle to preserve the United Kingdom worth fighting - but we cannot afford to assume it is in the bag.

Unlikely as it appears that Jeremy Corbyn would ever be elected PM, Conservatives cannot afford to take victory at the next election for granted..

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