Do you think there will be a united Ireland before the end of the decade?

[KenDodd]

Yabu = no
Yanbu = yes

No. The only reason is for nationalist ones. NI is funded by UK hugely. I'm on the border. The majority there dont want it. It's mostly Republicans who do. I'd imagine the equivalent of another civil war if it happened. Mine you SF got huge vote and it's on their agenda.

Dublin can't afford it, over 30% of people in NI are employed by the state. NI is hugely subsidised by the UK, see attached article, Dublin doesn't have that kind of spare cash.

www.irishtimes.com/opinion/post-brexit-britain-may-not-want-to-pay-for-northern-ireland-1.3723855

Mine you SF got huge vote and it's on their agenda That was a dodged bullet for the public. I am a Republican I am patriotic but I am very thankful SF aren't handling the Covid19 crisis.
I don't think they'll fair in the second election or maybe they will lots of young Irish are nostalgic about the troubles.
SF aim at that.
I think most people were sick to death of everything getting left behind from Brexit talks, With SF in everything will be left behind again talking about a United Ireland.

No, I don't see it happening any time soon or ever.

I voted no, for several reasons.

1, The U.K. government is the Conservative & Unionist party. They are supposed to support the union.

2, The Queen is 94, and I cannot imagine any U.K. government allowing any possibility for the break-up of the U.K. during her lifetime. For the same reason, I don’t think there will be another Scottish independence referendum in her lifetime.

3, The Irish govt know that NI is an economic basket case which is heavily reliant on the support of the U.K. govt. They wouldn’t want to be in the position In which West Germany found itself in 1991, with crippling reunification costs to bear.

This is something that worries me Emerald Shamrock. A lot of young people from both sides in NI who wernt really alive at the time seem to have a fucking awful romantic idea about the troubles. They cant imagine the constant butterflies in stomach feeling and discombobulation it was really all about for normal people.

As things stand, I don’t think so. Certainly, DH’s family (Catholic/Nationalist) have zero appetite for it.

I think a lot hinges on Brexit. If it starts to make economic sense then views may change.

Scotland is an oil-rich nation. I’m not aware of many poor oil-rich nations
I'm aware of loads. The top 30 oil producers include Iraq, Iran, China, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Nigeria, Angola, Libya, Colombia, India, Malaysia, Ecuador, Argentina, Romania, Egypt and Congo.

Too soon to call. Much will depend on brexit and how the economics hold up.

The U.K. government clearly couldn’t give a flying though.

I don’t think the ROI is actually all that keen on acquiring NI is it?

Not the end of the decade but if things continue on the same path I think it will happen eventually.

No. I don't think enough people would vote for it.

This is something that worries me Emerald Shamrock. A lot of young people from both sides in NI who wernt really alive at the time seem to have a fucking awful romantic idea about the troubles. They cant imagine the constant butterflies in stomach feeling and discombobulation it was really all about for normal people.

Something people whinging about a few weeks lockdown might do well to remember ...

I don’t think the ROI is actually all that keen on acquiring NI is it?

Views are very mixed in ROI I think.

The biggest objections are economic. If it made sense politically, I imagine a lot of money could be thrown at it and that might make it more palatable.

But it’s a long way down the line.

Agree with the above- lots of young people with romantic notions of republicanism floating about.

No I don’t think it will but then I didn’t think that Brexit would happen ...

There's absolutely no appetite for it in Dublin

I would query this due to SF performance in the last election , gave me chills & not of the pleasant variety. It’s clear that there is quite a substantial appetite from people on both sides of the border.

The future has a massive question mark above it.

Aye it’ll happen in next decade, as the UK border will become more messy and expensive than reunification.

I agree with others that it’ll follow a devolved government model.

I would query this due to SF performance in the last election

Well I was dumbfounded by the many youngsters I spoke to who voted SF, but don’t want a United Ireland.

I was born in NI, so my brain could barely compute this.

I don’t think there’s ‘no’ appetite for it in Dublin. However SF performance in the Republic isn’t a strong indicator of this. Batshit as that sounds.

Not in the next decade. But I'd like to hope so in my lifetime, yes.

@LaurieMarlow Yes this is very true, once SF lower the smoke screen and return to their actual policies I doubt many will continue to vote.

It's thankfully one for the people on both sides of the border to decide.

As a UK resident, I am wondering if a fully federal solution would be the way to go, along with more devolved power to the English regions. Westminster appears both corrupt and ignorant of any way of life outside of London.

Oh god, I certainly hope not and would never vote for reunification.

I was born and "bred" in N.I. Protestant.. i am an absolute Republican. N-I. (as such) has only existed since 1922 (The Six Counties). The northern geographical point in Ireland actually is a a part of what we used to "The South"

As a UK resident, I am wondering if a fully federal solution would be the way to go, along with more devolved power to the English regions. Westminster appears both corrupt and ignorant of any way of life outside of London.

That would be far too sensible & rational, so no chance.

People just voted for SF because they were a different option to the status quo. They cannily kept fairly quiet about unification and just kept on hammering how they weren't like the grey suits.

But things have changed a lot. The caretaker govt have really stepped up and got shit done in terrible circumstances and SF have been left bitching from the sidelines in a time when there's no appetite for bipartisan divisive talk. They have sounded both whiney and ineffectual. At this rate they'll be lucky to be a part of government in the next five years at all.

And Simon Coveney has poured pretty cold water on any talk of reunification. He's basically said "be careful what you wish for because you have no idea what a logistical and legal nightmare it would be"

So definitely won't happen in the next few years and all talk will be discouraged during the worldwide recession that will follow this.

But when things start to pick up again? 2015 or so? When the UK is seeing post Brexit changes that NI may not like? Then I can see rumblings in Stormont corridors.