A majority of British voters do not feel connected to the people of Northern Ireland or only feel a little connected, according to exclusive polling conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies for the New Statesman*.
A plurality of 34 per cent do not feel connected to the people of Northern Ireland at all, 27 per cent only feel a little connected, 29 per cent feel moderately connected and only 10 per cent feel very connected.
A minority of British voters say they follow events in Northern Ireland a great deal or quite a lot, with only 8 per cent saying they follow them a great deal, 19 per cent quite a lot, 42 per cent to some extent, and 30 per cent do not follow events in Northern Ireland at all.
These results provide some context for the lack of uproar among the British public at Boris Johnson’s decision to put a trade border down the Irish Sea as part of his Brexit deal – betraying the Democratic Unionist Party and stoking unionist dissent.
[See also: Boris Johnson only has himself to blame for the problems caused by the Northern Ireland protocol]
The polling also reflects a potential complacency in the governing party over what the Irish Sea border means for the integrity of the Union. A stark poll published in 2019 found that Conservative Party members were willing to sacrifice Northern Ireland’s position in the United Kingdom to achieve Brexit, reflecting how far the party officially named the “Conservative and Unionist Party” has departed from its unionist stance.
The UK government is currently attempting to renegotiate the Northern Ireland Protocol, as the end of the grace period regarding trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland looms on 30 September. As it stands, the protocol encourages small businesses in Northern Ireland to expand from north-south into Ireland rather than east-west into Britain, potentially placing greater strain on the Union and boosting pro-Irish unification arguments.
Yet 37 per cent of British voters polled think Irish unification is unlikely over the next five years and just 19 per cent find it likely.
Ultimately, the polling suggests Britain lacks a strong desire for Northern Ireland to remain part of the Union: 38 per cent say they neither support nor oppose Irish unification. This is compared with 30 per cent expressing support for unification and only 11 per cent opposing it (21 per cent don’t know).
*Polling conducted on 29 July 2021, with a sample size of 1,500 eligible voters in Great Britain.
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