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A new poll suggests that the majority of people in Northern Ireland have been greeted with a mixed response from trade unionist and nationalist parties.
DUP Prime Minister Arlene Foster said Sunday that such a referendum would be “absolutely reckless”, while Sinn Féin Deputy Prime Minister Michelle O’Neill said an “unstoppable conversation” is taking place about the future. from Northern Ireland.
The poll was published days after former British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne predicted that due to Brexit “Northern Ireland is already heading towards the exit door” of the union.
LucidTalk’s poll for the Sunday Times found that 51 percent of the 2,392 people polled in Northern Ireland supported a referendum in the next five years with 44 percent against and 5 percent no opinion.
It also found that Northern Ireland voters, by a margin of 48% to 44%, believe that there will be a united Ireland within 10 years.
Under the 1998 Belfast Accord, the Secretary of the North can call a border vote “if at any time it seems likely that the majority of voters will express the wish that Northern Ireland will no longer be part of the United Kingdom of a united Ireland ”.
In this case, the poll found that 47 per cent were in favor of maintaining the Northern link with Great Britain and 42 per cent in favor of a united Ireland, which is well below the criteria required to convene a border poll. .
Nonetheless, Sinn Féin and the SDLP welcomed the findings, while the DUP and the Ulster Unionist Party rejected any move towards a unity plebiscite.
DUP leader Ms Foster told Sky that people should “settle down” and deal with the Covid-19 pandemic rather than discuss a Border survey.
“We all know how divisive a border survey would be. For us in Northern Ireland what we have to do is come together to fight Covid and not be distracted by what would be absolutely reckless at the moment, ”he said.
‘Incredibly divisive’
Ms. Foster said she was not against a conversation about whether a vote should be called. “Not that I am totally against it. I can defend the UK every day of the week because the arguments are rational, logical and they will win, ”he said.
“No one suggests, not even this poll suggests, that we would lose if there were a Border poll. But it would be incredibly divisive, “he added.
Sinn Féin Deputy Prime Minister Ms O’Neill in response tweeted: “More than 50 percent of the people here support a referendum on unity in the next five years. There is an unstoppable conversation going on about our constitutional future.
“It is time for the Irish government to step up preparations. We can overcome the barriers of partition and build a new Ireland. ”
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the finding “showing a majority in favor of a referendum on Irish unity places a solemn obligation on the parties to engage with each community, sector and generation to establish a vision for a new future that meets the needs of all our people ”.
“I truly believe that our interests are best served in a new Ireland and that is reflected in the hours of conversations we have had with people across this island,” he said.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Steve Aiken said that “all political energy should be focused on making Northern Ireland a better place to live, work and raise your family, rather than a divisive border poll.”
“This is yet another survey indicating that the majority of people in Northern Ireland want to remain part of the UK. Despite Brexit, political turmoil and a global pandemic, the best way to serve all of Northern Ireland is to remain part of the UK, ”he said.
Alliance MP for the North Down Stephen Farry said the conditions for a Border poll currently do not exist. “But this is a fluid situation,” he added.
“While the immediate priorities lie in addressing Covid and addressing the direct consequences of Brexit, we stand ready to engage in constructive discussions with an open mind and without prejudice.”
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