There are many strands to the House of Commons vote on BSE last night, which saw Mr Major's government survive by 320 to 307 after the Ulster Unionists abstained in the vote. It may reinforce Mr Major's instinct that a longer general election campaign, with voting on May 1st, would better suit his, party's interests after Labour's tactical miscalculation on this occasion. The importance of animal health, the nub of the issue in last night's vote on BSE, was reinforced yesterday by news of the disease in Northern Ireland's chicken industry. And it would be a great mistake to overlook the question of how best Northern Ireland's interests within the European Union are served in governmental arrangements, which is highlighted by last night's vote.
Parliamentary arithmetic has dictated the substance of the bargaining that has given the Ulster Unionists such a strong tactical position at the end of this parliament. They cannot be blamed for seeking to extract the maximum advantage from it. On this occasion they have ensured that Northern Irish beef farmers will lead the way towards a relaxation of the EU's export ban on the United Kingdom, which has been held up by the government's reluctance to implement a regional approach for political reasons.
Why it should have taken such a ridiculously long time to reach such a welcome solution must give all concerned, unionists especially, cause to ponder the over centralism of contemporary British government. Nice ironies are contained in the tension between unionist insistence on the case for the North and the Westminster government's argument that the UK's integrity would be jeopardised by such a regional approach.
Northern Ireland's exposure to BSE has been far less than the British and the formula adopted in the Commons last night should help to restore its reputation as a reliable exporter. It shares this interest with the Republic, which exports some 80 per cent of cattle production, unlike England, which is virtually self sufficient in beef and exports only a small proportion of its production. In the meantime the BSE crisis has got worse in the Republic. Important export markets in Russia and elsewhere could be affected if the incidence of the disease continues to increase. The beef industry has belatedly joined the Government in its determination to control and eliminate the disease and is now much more fully aware of how disastrous poor health standards can be.
It took very special political circumstances to wring these concessions from the British government concerning a vital Northern Ireland interest within the EU. The lessons bear further contemplation and discussion, as a timely report published in Belfast yesterday makes clear. The balance of parliamentary numbers at Westminster is not likely to replicate the tactical power unionists have had in recent weeks and, months. The report from Democratic Dialogue argues convincingly that Northern Ireland needs to devote much more strategic attention to EU affairs, how its interests can best be represented in the EU and how best to develop constructive co operation with the Republic in pressing them home.