Proposed referendum on Irish unity following Brexit

Following the results of the United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 there was calls by Sinn Fein for a referendum on a United Ireland.

History

Calls for a referendum

Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Martin McGuinness said "there should be a border poll at some point in the future. There was a clear vote by a majority of people in the north by unionists, nationalists and republicans. That cannot be ignored by the British Government. There needs to be special arrangements that take account the democratically expressed wishes of the people of Northern Ireland and the people of Scotland who wish to remain and maintain our contacts and ability to work with very senior officials and governmental authorities in Europe. The border poll was part of the Good Friday agreement and it is something that could be conducted in a cordial and civilised fashion."^[1]

Sinn Fein national chairman, Declan Kearney said “the democratic will of people here in the north of Ireland, republican and unionist, Catholic and Protestant people (who) have voted in favour of Remain. The British government as a direct result have forfeited any mandate to represent the interests of people here in the north of Ireland in circumstances where the North is dragged out of Europe as a result of a vote to leave. The outcome dramatically changes the political landscape here in the north of Ireland and we will be intensifying our case for the calling of a border poll under the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement.”^[2]

Sinn Fein MEP Liadh Ní Riada emphasized the need for unification saying "Having one part of Ireland in and one part out will spell disaster for the entire Ireland - it will effectively repartition the country. Partition was a bad idea in 1921 and to entrench it further after 95 years of abject failure is utter madness. Partition has stunted the growth of this island’s economy for almost a century. We must make it clear to the British, Irish and European governments that we, the Irish people, reject borders, hard or soft, British or European, in our country,”^[3]

Leitrim County Council backed a motion, in which it was proposed that the Irish government would put pressure on the British government to facilitate a referendum on a united Ireland with 12 months.^[4]

Unionist and British government reaction

The referendum call was met with much criticism by the British government and Unionist parties. Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers said “I do not believe that such a referendum would be justified or helpful at present..The Belfast Agreement makes clear that the conditions under which I would be required to hold such a referendum.Those are that I have reason to believe there might be a majority support for a united Ireland..All the opinion surveys and polls of recent years have made it very clear that the majority of people in Northern Ireland support the Belfast Agreement, support the political settlement established and hence support Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom," ^[5] First Minister of Northern Ireland and DUP leader, Arlene Foster stated that “there is no way even if there was a border poll that it would be favour of a united Ireland. People very clearly have moved to the position where they are quite content with the constitutional position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.”^[6] UUP leader, Mike Nesbitt said “If you look at the schedules to the 1998 act which makes provision for a border poll the Secretary of State would need to believe there is a realistic prospect that people will vote for change. There is no such evidence base,” ^[7]

Irish government response

Minister of Social Welfare, Leo Varadkar said he thought the referendum calls were "unhelpful to be honest." and that "The last thing we need now is more division and uncertainty. There is no evidence that there's an increased desire for Northern Ireland to leave the UK. The recent Assembly elections are evidence of that.”^[8]

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister), Enda Kenny said he believed a referendum could happen due to Brexit and if there is a majority in favor of unity, in accordance with the Good Friday Agreement it should be catored for. He also said that Brexit negotiations should take the possibility into account.^[9][10]

Opinion Polling

Weeks after Brexit an opinion poll by Red C found that in the Republic of Ireland 65% said they would vote for unification if a referendum was held tomorrow, while 30% would vote against unification. 5% said they didn't know.^[11]

Party stances

See also

• Proposed Irish withdrawal from the European Union

References