From the Irish News:
The public should be given clarity on the criteria for calling a poll on Irish unification, Michelle O’Neill has said.
The Sinn Féin vice president said there was a need to fill in the “grey” area of the Good Friday Agreement on the circumstances for holding a referendum on constitutional change.
Her comments come after Tánaiste Leo Varadkar also called for clarity on the mechanism for calling a poll.
Under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, a vote should be triggered if the secretary of state believes that it appears likely that a majority would back constitutional change.
There is very little additional information in the public domain as to what evidence the secretary of state is obliged to rely on to inform this decision.
I think this is a fair enough point, it is very vague.
Actual criteria would also be of benefit to Unionists. It is possible over the next few years you could end up with a Nationalist leaning Labour Secretary of State who would be more than happy to call a border poll.
Specific criteria would help both sides know where they stand.
This issue has also been raised before on Slugger, see: The mechanics of a unification referendum need attention
I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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