Conclusion: Belfast Labour, Civil Rights and the Politics of Disloyalty

Abstract

The case studies demonstrate that a moral economy of loyalty was the ‘rules of the game’ in Belfast and Northern Ireland politics in 1921–39. Essentially, Labour and class politics could not have overturned the Ulster Unionist Party’s dominance. Decisions made in London resulted in a regionalised state and a peculiar political culture. In this regionalised culture, the power holders became self-perpetuating and utilised an essentially plebiscitary democracy. This ensured a secure state by 1939. Labour in Belfast in 1921–39 was a victim, alongside Catholics, Irish Nationalists and Republicans, of the moral economy of loyalty constructed in the region. The moral economy of loyalty resulted in a society controlled by domination and coercion rather than hegemony.