THE head of an influential London-based right-wing think tank believes it's time for a vote on Irish unity.
Civitas director David Green, who describes Northern Ireland as a "millstone round the neck of the rest of the UK", points to a recent opinion poll conducted by Lord Ashcroft that found a small majority in favour of border poll.
Reflecting what is regarded as the English nationalist perspective most associated with European Research Group, Mr Green points to Treasury figures that demonstrate "it costs the UK more to support Northern Ireland than it does to be in the EU".
"In other words we pay a net £7.8 billion to gain access to a market of about 450 million people (after deducting our own population) and we pay £8.8 billion a year to 1.8 million people in Northern Ireland," he writes in a Daily Telegraph column.
He claims the British government "effectively bribe(s)" the north's population to remain in the UK through lavish public spending.
"Of the four countries that make up the UK, Northern Ireland received the largest amount per head at £11,042. The people of England received £8,898 per head," he notes.
Mr Green also points to social and economic transformations in the Republic, where child sex abuse scandals have "permanently weakened" the influence of the Catholic Church and living standards have soared in recent decades.
"As measured by GDP per head, Ireland is very prosperous," he writes.
"The latest statistics show GDP per head in Ireland of $72,600. The Northern Ireland equivalent is $29,300 and for the UK it is $42,400."
The Civitas head says a customs border in the Irish Sea "remains the best solution" for resolving the Brexit impasse.
"But if the DUP continues to block this obvious remedy, then a referendum on Irish unity will be the best way forward for everyone, in Northern Ireland, the republic and the rest of the UK," he writes.
