John Laiyard

John Laird believes that he and other Ulster Protestants "struggle" to be heard as nationalist groups wish to suppress their political and cultural beliefs through various methods. He views them as besieged by Irish nationalists, upholding liberal, Ulster-Scots tradition, not unlike how previous generations of Northern Irish Protestant leaders viewed themselves as solely upholding the British Protestant traditions. Laird believes that the BBC and the Northern Ireland civil service are partially controlled by Irish nationalists. He views himself and other Ulster-Scots as a minority, oppressed by Irish republicans. He is proud of his people, seeing them as an obstacle to the nationalists who seek to dominate Northern Ireland. Further, he sees the Ulster-Scots people as voiceless against those in the Irish government wanting to stifle their culture and language. …show more content…
He views unionism as a form of liberalism and that liberalism is an Ulster-Scots tradition. He supports the union with Great Britain while firmly opposing reunification with Ireland. He defines himself as an "Ulster Liberal" to show that he supports the tradition of liberalism and the Ulster-Scots culture against those who do not, in his opinion.
Laird portrays the Unionist cause as a rebel cause fighting against the nationalists. He views his resistance against the Sunningdale Agreement as rebellion whereas it would not have been seen too rebellious by him. In his view, the Unionists were politically oppressed by nationalist groups. The Unionists, while targeted by nationalists, were the majority in Northern Ireland and were not politically suppressed. He casts him and the other Ulster Scots as a minority, also oppressed by the nationalists, though they were not treated differently than the other Ulster