They were concerned that the people of Northern Ireland 'were being reduced to mere spectators at their fate' and they felt that an independent commission of inquiry with no limitation on ideas submitted to it would help answer 'a widespread desire among all kinds of people for a new means of expressing their views and hopes about the future'. Ideas came in from all over, including Sinn Fein and Republican prisoners in the Maze and Crumlin Road Prison - although the Commission was boycotted by the Democratic Unionist Party. Both communities in Northern Ireland should have an equal voice in making and vetoing laws' - Both communities in Northern Ireland should have an equal voice in making and vetoing laws and should equally share administrative authority. The communities in Northern Ireland will agree to independence. The United Kingdom will withdraw from Northern Ireland under pressure of violence.
Irish unity is a realistic prospect in the foreseeable future.
The nationalist community has no obligation to agree to it and has the critical mass to prevent its imposition. The unionist community will not accept an administration for Northern Ireland that gives an executive role to anyone outside the United Kingdom. Support for this option could be encouraged. The most striking evidence in the book to my mind comes from those arguing the case for independence. His 1979 document, 'Beyond the Religious Divide', argued for negotiated independence.