In a surprise development Democratic Unionist Minister Arlene Foster has suggested that her party may actually support Sinn Fein’s call for a vote on a United Ireland – the ‘border poll’.



Sinn Fein have recently begun a campaign to have a border poll held in Northern Ireland to decide if a majority still want to stay within the United Kingdom. The Republican party have been boosted by recent census statistics that have revealed a big reduction in the overall size of the majority of Protestants in Ulster. The party has repeatedly said that it wants a referendum held in advance of the 1916 Easter Rising centenary.

The DUP Economy Minister has stated that she held talks with First Minister Peter Robinson about calling the bluff of Sinn Fein and that any such referendum would produce an overwhelming mandate for remaining within the UK. She claims that Sinn Fein are engaged in ‘fantasy politics’.

This is certainly a very high stakes game. If a referendum were to be held it would doubtless be mirrored by an increase in violence, intimidation and tension within Ulster and would likely empower the more radical extremes of both Protestant and Catholic traditions.

by Michael Green
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