Poll shows strong majority favour Union with Britain…
Well, maybe. The new Life and Times survey certainly marks a falling away in self definition as ‘Nationalist’ or ‘Unionist’. It also reports that the Union is currently “favoured by 54%, compared to 30% who want a united Ireland”. But, as Liam Clarke noted in yesterday’s Sunday Times, it is not good news for proponents of constitutional change. Though it also indicates that were such change were to come about, then 84% of Protestants would be prepared to live with it.By Liam Clarke:
IRISH unity is not likely to command majority support in Northern Ireland for the foreseeable future, a survey has found. Most people want the province to remain indefinitely as part of the United Kingdom. This is favoured by 54%, compared to 30% who want a united Ireland.
The annual Northern Ireland Life and Times survey, conducted by the province’s two universities, has found that traditional constitutional issues are concerning people less. Some 40% of those surveyed — including 30% of Protestants and 42% of Catholics — said they were neither nationalist nor unionist.
Support for remaining in the UK is nearly unanimous among Protestants (85%) and commands the support of 22% of Catholics, of whom just over half (56%) favour Irish unity. If a united Ireland never comes, some 86% of Catholics say they would accept the popular will. On the other hand, if there is a majority vote for Irish unity, 84% of Protestants would either happily accept it (31%) or could at least live with it (53%).
As the marching season approaches, there is evidence of strong opposition to its traditional activities: 76% of Protestants and 86% of Catholics oppose flags being flown, while 12% actively support the idea. Around nine in 10 in both communities would like their neighbourhoods and workplaces to be politically neutral.
There is hope that sectarianism is declining: only 4% of people think Catholic/Protestant relationships are likely to deteriorate over the next five years. Many expressed willingness to form friendships with people of other Christian denominations; only 15% said they would object strongly if a relative married someone of another religion. Large majorities in both communities say they would like to see more mixed neighborhoods, schools and workplaces.
Only a tiny minority (5%) think that either Catholics or Protestants are “generally treated unfairly when compared with other groups”. By contrast 39% thought ethnic minorities were treated unfairly and 31% felt that bisexuals, gays and lesbians were discriminated against.
This also came through when people expressed their attitudes to interracial marriage. Three out of four wouldn’t mind a close relative marrying someone of another religion but 87% said they wouldn’t readily accept a relative marrying a traveller, while 84% wouldn’t accept a marriage to a Muslim and 75% one to a person from an ethnic minority.
In the poll, 53% wouldn’t find travellers acceptable as Northern Ireland residents, and 82% would not accept them as friends.
I am another one who has never been polled and I am no spring chicken.And I have yet to meet someone who has been polled. I wonder do they have their own secret club for those who have been. Then again how would they know each other if its secret.Do the pollsters have a secret handshake.And how do you recognise a secret handshake. I’m going back to bed, this is all too much to think about.
So some 86% of catholics don’t care if we remain in the UK and 84% of protestants don’t care if we end up in a united Ireland.
Is this the impact of the EU, the troubles, or has it always been that way.
So we are expected to believe that one third of nationalist voters in NI don’t actually want a united Ireland. Total bunkum!
Reminds me of the following opinion poll before the Repuplic’s election:
http://www.sluggerotoole.com/index.php/tomorrows-poll-results-today/
FF were apparently only 3pc ahead of FG. In the end FF got approx 50% more votes than FG. So much for opinion polls.
Sam – opinion polls are of the entire electorate.
The percentages you are talking about compare votes actually cast. Big difference.
The [b]IRISH UNITY[/b] survey by social science departments at both NI Universities was carried out by [b]EMPIRICAL[/b] data that are produced by professional experiment or observation.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empirical#_note-0
PS: Empirical does not refer to empires (e.g. Roman Empire); it is sometimes used erroneously in this fashion.
I love it when people highlight surveys that suit their propoganda, and reject them as “cack” when they don’t fit the agenda.
I’m sure many Uber Chuckys look at the survey and are gutted.
Where’s that guy that banged on and on about repartition? Maybe his day will come?
Maybe the true “united” Irelanders will redouble their efforts to persuade?
I’ve seen “within 10 years”, now being substituted with “in this century” on one republican orientated site.
Nothing quite like good management of expectation.
I’m rather shocked that, if this survey is true, that we have such a huge underrepresentation of Catholics in the unionist body politic.
After all if over 20% of Catholics support the union, and have done for a substantial period of time, surely we would have some Catholic unionist MLAs or MPs.
How many UUP or DUP MLAs are Catholic? More than zero?
Either this survey doesn’t represent the reality or unionist parties aren’t representative of the reality.
George,
I think that your opinion on the border and the party you vote for are quite different things. While many catholic voters are apparently ambivalent about the border, it would appear to be more a case that the unionist parties put them off due to their history of discrimination against catholics, and the nationalist parties are more representative of their needs – i.e. strong opposition to the unionists. So voting is more about tribal loyalty, but the actual border doesn’t affect the tribe.
Put it this way – A hypothetical catholic civil servant may never vote for the DUP/UUP due to their constant banging on about the right to parade down his street and how he was never discriminated against. However, if it came to the union, his civil servant job may be directly at risk – so he is ambivalent or actively against unification. I know people like this, and I’m sure others do too.
Essentially, for all the talk of Sinn Fein and their sectarian baggage, the unionist parties have their own sectarian baggage which is putting off a lot of catholic voters.
The party that should be worried is Alliance – why haven’t they tapped into this group of voters? Maybe if Alliance was stronger on parades and collusion they might attract this group.
“Either this survey doesn’t represent the reality or unionist parties aren’t representative of the reality.”
george – our politicians are unrepresentative of the day to day reality – because they exist in such a poisonous orbit. That’s why the GFA places the Unification issue outside of party politics and in the hands of the electorate via a referendum.
“84% of Protestants would be prepared to live with it.”
Hardly a surprise – the vast majority of protestants believe in democracy and now that the Southern state has moved away from it’s terrible past unification is no longer seen as abandonment and betrayal akin to what happened behind the Irosn curtain post 1945.
Cruimh – I think that you’re right: there is no big opposition to unification among the protestant masses (politicians are another matter), but there is even less push for unification among the catholic masses. In essence, the prevailing attitude seems to be “things are OK as they are – why bother with the hassle”.
I wonder what percentage of southerners wouldn’t mind becoming part of the union again….
DK
I assure u that wud be a very low percentage if there was even one person. There would be nothing to gain fromit. It would basically be handing the control of our own destiny, be it the economy etc…, to another country.
It would not make any sense
I wonder what percentage of southerners wouldn’t mind becoming part of the union again….
I wouldn’t say there’d be too many, to tell you the truth. We have a much valued prize now, our independence and our own head of state plus a thriving economy, money in our pockets, roofs over our heads, swanky cars under our arses, numerous holidays a year, etc… etc… the famine days are long gone.
But I suppose one could say that we are in a way a part of the UK regarding the economy, entertainment, sport, the everyday common use of the English language etc..
But look at the amount of Irish folk over there in Britain who have Irish relatives and sure look at all the successful Irish people in the UK today in the business, entertainment and sports fields etc…Phenomenal!
The ties are very close between Ireland and the UK , with UK visitors/tourists to the ROI being one of the highest. One should see the amount of English stag and hen parties in Dublin and around the rest of the country each weekend. Local folk join in the craic.
According to the last ROI census there are about 250,000 UK residents living/working in the ROI today.
But the US has taken top spot from the UK as our chief trader in goods ie (exports etc…)