Northern Irish politics, and as in the Six Counties, has been on a path of decline over recent decades, their membership in freefall. Perhaps aware that the popular conception of them as religious bigots obsessed with ancient battles no one could care less about, the Order have masterminded several PR offensives over the years, with occasionally hilarious consequences. Meet, for instance, Diamond Dan, the kids’ cartoon character designed to “help win over a new generation of members”, launched amid a blitz of publicity in 2008. Dan was just one of many entries to their naming competition, with “Sash Gordon, Sashman and the Boyne Wonder” also strong contenders for taking the Orange message into classrooms (well, some of them…) across Ulster. More recently though, with ra yoonyin under threatdisplay throughout proceedings: hiding in bushes, filming people up close with massive cameras and searching our pal for going to the shop for Irn Bru. All at a demo calling for women to be allowed to go outside. This template offers an insight into what the legislation was really all about.

As if to make clear the new legislation was never intended to be used to prevent militaristic parades, Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson used the last council elections to “hold his hands up” and admit they had “got it wrong.” He told a hundred cheering Orangemen that his Labour council would rethink its strategy of limiting Orange Walks. During the elections (and the Scottish Parliamentary elections preceding them) Scottish Labour openly courted the support of the Lodge