IN 2016 Geoff Bell, the Belfast-born writer and film-maker, wrote a book titled Hesitant Comrades looking at how the British left, including trade unions, responded to the Irish national revolution of 1916-21.

Unfortunately, the conclusion is that the movement has not clothed itself in glory, its lowest point when leaders of British trade unions were complicit in Belfast loyalist sectarianism.

This failure stands in stark contrast to the foundational principles of socialist thought.

Karl Marx himself argued that “a precondition to the emancipation of the English working class [was to] to transform the present forced union (ie the enslavement of Ireland).”

Frederick Engels described Ireland as “England’s first colony,” and indeed, it served as the laboratory of empire. The tactics of counter-insurgency, displacement, and coercive control that have been inflicted on populations across the globe were first perfected in the towns and villages of Ireland.

Imperialism, at its core, is about the acquisition of territory and the maintenance of control over that territory through settler colonialism, violence and coercion.

The horrors we see playing out today in Palestine we first saw in Balbriggan and Belfast. It is no historical accident that many “Black and Tans” — constables recruited into the Royal Irish Constabulary as reinforcements during the Irish War of Independence 1919-21 — later formed the Palestine Gendarmerie.

This shared experience of colonial subjugation explains, perhaps, why we have seen ongoing solidarity for Palestine that flows from Ireland.

While the British left rightly champions self-determination for Palestine it must also recognise that part our near neighbours still strive for their right to decide upon their own fate.

The continued partition of Ireland is a festering wound that impedes social, economic, and political progress, sustaining division and instability that have plagued the island for over a century.

The Good Friday Agreement faces a precarious moment, challenged by two recent initiatives from the British government (the agreement is a political deal that brought the end to 30 years of violent conflict in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles; it was signed on April 10 1998).

First, its plan to introduce “Brit cards” has been condemned by Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill as “an attack on the Good Friday Agreement.” Second, its Troubles legacy deal has been widely criticised as an attempt to shield British state forces from accountability, with Gerry Adams, former president of Sinn Fein, noting it “changes the rules to suit its own agenda.”

Together, these actions, set against the backdrop of a post-Brexit landscape, have opened a Pandora’s box of political and constitutional tensions.

Despite, or perhaps because of all of this, many are now being forced to admit the inevitability of a border poll.

It is in this context that we have launched a new group, Educators For Irish Unity, within the National Education Union (NEU), under the banner of Knowledge, Unity, Progress.

The group’s immediate aim is to pass a motion at the NEU conference in April next year instructing the NEU executive to develop comprehensive, politically informed, and anti-sectarian educational resources for schools and colleges on the history of Ireland — the impact of partition — and the debate on Irish unity as well as emphasising working-class solidarity.

And, in addition, to providing continuing professional development for NEU activists and educators on Irish unity, liaising with progressive bodies like Trademark Belfast (an independent social justice organisation) and other cross-border trade union groups.

To actively promote trade union and political activism across the labour movement to campaign for a workers’ rights-based and environmentally sustainable united Ireland.

Finally, to mandate NEU representatives to the TUC and petition comrades in the ICTU to actively lobby for a worker-led path to unity that prioritises public services, collective bargaining, and the elimination of poverty and exploitation.

As educators, we have a unique responsibility and opportunity. We can ensure this debate is informed by historical context, not just headlines.

We can challenge stereotypes and equip both ourselves and our students with the knowledge to engage thoughtfully and peacefully.

There are many concerns about what a new Ireland will look like post-unification. This ranges from the mundane concerns around how to integrate public services and whether a new Irish flag and anthem are needed to the more serious concerns about the cost of reunification and the potential for a revival of past sectarian conflicts across the island.

This is why we must prepare the next generation in Britain and on the island of Ireland for a life in a new nation.

Genuine Irish unity must be tied to a programme of economic and social justice, recognising that worker exploitation, North and South, is rooted in ongoing capitalist interests.

We affirm James Connolly’s principle: “the cause of Labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of Labour.”

Robert Poole is a workplace rep and assistant district secretary for Bolton NEU. 

EFUI is a cross-community collective of educators from Britain and the island of Ireland. You can find out more and download a copy of the motion to submit to your NEU district here: linktr.ee/educatorsforaunitedireland.