Less than a third of voters in the north would support Irish unity in a referendum with just over half preferring to remain part of the UK, according to new polling.
An Irish Times/ARINS survey found 30% would vote yes to unification, compared to 51% who would support the status quo. Some 5% said they would not vote and 15% didn’t know how they would vote.
Last year 27% advocated unity compared to 51% against, with the remainder saying they either “don’t know” or would not vote.
In the Republic, almost two-thirds (64%) said they would vote for unification compared to 16% who said they would vote for Northern Ireland to stay in the UK, while 13% said they did not know how they would vote and 7& said they would not vote.
Three-fifths of northern Catholics say they would vote for Irish unity, while four-fifths of Protestants say they would vote to stay in the UK. There is a much larger proportion of pro-union Catholics (one in five) than pro-unification Protestants (4%).
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Among northern Catholics there has been an increase in support for holding a referendum. In 2022, 74% were in favour of having a referendum and 12% were opposed – a balance in favour of 62%. This year 81% are in favour and 10% are opposed – a balance in favour of 71%.
Two fifths of northern Protestants support a referendum, while in the south three quarters advocate a border poll.
