Ireland’s unification referenda should only be held with a ‘clear plan for what’s next’, report says

AN INTERIM REPORT on Ireland’s unification referenda has recommended that they only be held with a clear plan for what follows.

The report, produced by leading academics, explores how any future referendum on the constitutional status of Northern Ireland would play out.

He made a number of key findings, including that planning for potential referenda should start well before the vote and should be led by the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

Unification can only take place through referendums in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

The Good Friday Agreement provides the framework for holding a referendum in Northern Ireland. It stipulates that a 50% + 1 majority would be needed to change the status quo.

The decision to hold a referendum in the North rests with the UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. The report concludes that they must act with “visible care and transparent honesty and thus maintain the trust of the public.”

The Secretary of State is advised to weigh a series of tests in arriving at the decision to conduct a border survey, including election results, opinion polls and votes in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

If the North votes in favor of unification, a referendum should be held in the Republic. However, the report notes that voting could take place on the same day.

The group said it would be up to the Irish government to develop proposals for the shape of a united Ireland. He suggested that a model could be proposed in advance, or that the government could propose a process through which a model would be developed later.

If voters back unification, the Irish and UK governments would negotiate the terms of the sovereignty transfer. The report advises governments to consult widely and seek the most consensual approach possible.

The task force also warned that the rules for referendum and election campaigns are very outdated in the UK and Ireland, and urgently need to be strengthened.

The document was created by a working group created by the Constitutional Unit of University College London. The group consists of 12 academic experts from universities in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and the United States.

The chair of the group, Dr. Alan Renwick of the UCL constitution unit, said: “We have embarked on this work not because we think that the referenda are imminent, we do not, but because the whole process must be thought through. well in advance.

The years of acrimony following the Brexit referendum illustrate the dangers of a vote called without proper planning.

“Holding another referendum without a proper plan would risk the legitimacy of such a vote and political stability on the island of Ireland.”