Keeping North in UK ‘not as vital as Brexit’
New survey reveals top priority for British voters
ACHIEVING Brexit is a greater priority for British voters than keeping Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom, a new poll has indicated.
The results show that, if forced to choose between the options, 36% cent of Britons think leaving the EU is more of a priority than the North remaining in the UK – which only received 29% support.
Around 22% said neither issue was important, while the remainder did not know which one to prioritise higher.
The data also indicated that those who most passionately wanted to leave the EU also wanted to be rid of the perceived problem of Northern Ireland, with a view among the UK public that the border issue is a stumbling block to progress.
It was found that nearly threequarters of Leave votes – 71% – want to make sure the island of Britain exits the EU, even if Views: Jeffrey Donaldson means the North of this island being left to fend for itself.
Irish politicians were reacting with caution yesterday to the poll, carried out by the respected YouGov organisation, although one commented: ‘It shows the pickle that DUP have put themselves in.’ Arlene Foster’s party campaigned to Leave.
Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP chief whip, said it was up to the peoIt ple of the North whether they remained part of the UK with the island of Britain, not the other way around.
Mr Donaldson told LBC radio, which commissioned the poll: ‘The Good Friday Agreement states very clearly that the principle of consent.
‘It means that it’s for the people of Northern Ireland alone to decide whether we remain part of the United Kingdom.
‘Since the UK government, Irish Government and Brussels have all said that any Brexit agreement must fully recognise all of the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, I really don’t think this is relevant.’
YouGov polled 1,630 adults in Britain, but excluded people in the North from its fieldwork, carried out last week.
There is one year to go before Brexit, which is scheduled for the end of March 2019, but the border continues to be a contentious issue in negotiations.
was revealed last week that the EU and UK have not reached agreement on the border despite ‘decisive’ progress on other Brexit issues. And now, Britain’s Labour Party has pledged to try to push through changes to Brexit legislation that would make a return to a hard border in the North impossible.
The party’s shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer has insisted such a legal commitment is needed to prevent any kind of ‘checks, controls or physical infrastructure’ at the border.
Mr Starmer, who worked in Northern Ireland for five years, said: ‘This amendment is born of necessity, because of the [British] government’s failure to advance a credible solution in Northern Ireland.’
Meanwhile, the UK’s Brexit secretary David Davis will today meet Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae – who is heading an Irish delegation to London. Mr Healy-Rae is chairman of the Dáil’s EU Affairs Committee, which held meetings in London yesterday with the Irish Ambassador to the UK, Adrian O’Neill, and Labour’s Mr Starmer.
‘Shows the pickle DUP is in’