Two-thirds of voters in Northern Ireland believe there should be a border poll…

Lucid Talk have been busy little bees. Hot on the heels of their poll in yesterday’s Tele, they have another poll in today’s Observer. The subject this time is our old favourite – a border poll. From the article:

Two-thirds of voters in Northern Ireland believe there should be a vote over its place in the UK, but only 37% want it to take place within the next five years, according to a new poll for the Observer.

Some 31% of voters said there should be a vote at some point about Northern Ireland’s place in the UK but after 2026, the LucidTalk poll found. A further 29% said there should never be such a vote. There is currently a seven-point lead for Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK should any vote take place.

Asked to state how they would vote, 49% said they would back remaining in the UK, while 42% backed being part of a united Ireland, with 9% saying they did not know. Other recent surveys have put support for a united Ireland much lower.

Is this the first time a poll on staying in the UK has dipped below 50%? More bleak news for Unionism.

The issue for Unionism is once they concede to a border poll then it basically becomes a countdown to unity. It will be like Scottish Independence: if the first vote fails there will be another vote every 10 years until it eventually succeeds.

Reunification turns into a waiting game; it becomes a matter of not if, but when.

The problem in all this is that the unity debate sucks up all the political oxygen and all the boring day to day stuff like health and education gets pushed to the side.

Meanwhile, the good ship Northern Ireland drifts rudderless with no one at the helm. I am reminded of another famous big ship from Northern Ireland: what happened to it again?

Brian O'Neill

I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.