Northern Ireland

Clear majority in north favour rejoining the EU, poll shows

A majority in Northern Ireland support rejoining the European Union
A majority in Northern Ireland support rejoining the European Union A majority in Northern Ireland support rejoining the European Union

A MAJORITY in Northern Ireland support rejoining the European Union, with a significant number saying the prospect of membership of the bloc would make them more likely to support Irish unity.

A new poll found northerners favouring EU membership outnumber opponents by two-to-one (54 per cent to 27 per cent), with 19 per cent saying they don’t know.

Those from a Catholic background overwhelmingly back EU membership (75 per cent to 10 per cent) ,whereas the majority of those from a Protestant-background favour remaining outside the EU – 43 per cent to 36 per cent, with 21 per cent saying they don’t know.

The prospect of EU membership would make 37 per cent of all northeners more likely to support Irish unity, with 48 per cent saying it would make no difference.

Among Protestant-background voters, 15 per cent say EU membership would make them more likely to support Irish unity, with 10 per cent saying it would make them less likely to support unity, and two-thirds — 66 per cent — saying it would make no difference.

Opinions on the protocol in the north are evenly split but most support a negotiated solution that would retain the agreement but make changes in order to ease its implementation.

Those surveyed in the south are overwhelmingly in favour of the protocol and say it should be implemented as agreed.

The research was carried for the Irish Times and Arins, which is a joint project of the Royal Irish Academy and the University of Notre Dame in the US.

The two opinion polls north and south of the border each surveyed more than 1,000 people, with the margin of error estimated at plus or minus 3 per cent.

It found the division in Northern Ireland on the protocol even. Just over a fifth of all voters (21 per cent) support the post-Brexit trade arrangements, while 23 per cent neither support nor oppose it and 24 per cent oppose it. A slightly larger proportion of voters — 31 per cent — say they don’t know.

Asked which statement was closer to their views on the protocol, 31 per cent in the north agreed that “overall the protocol is good for the Northern Ireland economy because it gives Northern Ireland access to both the UK market and the EU market”.

Some 34 per cent agreed that “overall the protocol is bad for the Northern Ireland economy because it is now more difficult to import from Britain into the region, with 36 per cent saying they didn’t know.