Ahead of next week’s Assembly election, we’ve heard calls for ‘green and orange’ politics to play no part; the electorate must vote middle of the road to make Stormont work. Society, they say, must break from old polling habits and vote for fresh, new, non-constitutional-centred politics.

I find this rhetoric problematic, condescending and short-sighted; the attack on identity politics hinders our society more than it helps.

If you consider yourself an Irish nationalist with aspirations for a 32 county Irish Republic, that should be accepted. If you are a British unionist and believe Northern Ireland should continue to remain part of the United Kingdom that is ok too.

I dare to say that even if that’s your priority as you make your way towards the ballot box on 2 March, you have every right to do so without condemnation.

In the context of Northern Ireland, why can’t we have a fixed constitutional position yet still focus on realpolitick across all communities?

Perhaps it is not that the electorate needs a lecture on how best to vote, but requires their elected representatives to lead and deliver on real issues nevertheless.

We do not want politics that forces us to forgo our public preference for a united Ireland or stronger United Kingdom. But we do wish to see an Assembly chamber that embodies true parity of esteem, and which accepts the central tenets of these respective identities as a normal part of our society.

In recent times, the co-operation of UUP and SDLP leaders Mike Nesbitt and Colum Eastwood has reminded us that this is entirely possible. It is entirely possible also to vote across nationalistic lines. This isn’t a referendum after all.

Is it so wrong to be orange or green?