FINE Gael is due to present its blueprint for a united Ireland this weekend, while the taoiseach has announced an Irish government body to consider constitutional futures.

One option that no longer needs to be considered is membership of the Commonwealth, as occasionally suggested by nationalists (unionists do not make suggestions about a united Ireland).

The 56-member organisation appears to be in its death throes as the debate over slavery reparations monopolises its agenda.

Most heads of government have stopped attending as they do not want to be dragged into an argument over history, or between the UK and the Caribbean.

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King Charles will be last royal to lead the Commonwealth, as Prince William has made it clear he will not take up the role.

British public and political opinion is at a tipping point, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch saying the UK should withdraw if the Commonwealth becomes “an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash”.

This is good news for nationalism, as Commonwealth membership is hopelessly unpopular in the Republic. The idea simply causes division as people try to guess what unionists want.

But it is also a warning to those whose plans for unification involve assuming Britain will pay for it.

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LONDON and Brussels have agreed a draft deal that will remove much of the sea border.

Fees, inspections and paperwork will be no longer be necessary for food, plants and animals moving between the UK and EU. So they will also be unnecessary between Britain and Northern Ireland, apart from a handful of restrictions that always applied for disease control.

It is a testament to the chaos within unionism that this has barely been acknowledged,........

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