English Brexit Vote Has Revived Calls for a United Ireland

4 minute read

An early Independence Day garden party at the residence of the U.S. Consul in Belfast on Friday was a good occasion for Irish nationalists and Ulster unionists to sound each other out on their reactions to the Brexit vote.

Earlier that day, 52% of voters had called for the U.K. to leave the European Union. Scotland, Northern Ireland and London had voted to stay in the the E.U. but their votes were outweighed by English voters.

The cabaret sang Motown and the guests drank champagne but no one could avoid talking about Brexit and what it means for Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The referendum revealed new divisions in Northern Ireland. Catholic nationalists tended to be in favour of staying in the E.U. but Protestant Unionists were divided.

The First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster of the Democratic Unionist Party(DUP) campaigned to leave the E.U. Her rival for leadership of that community, Mike Nesbitt of the Ulster Unionist Party pushed to stay in.

Waking Up in a Changed Nation

"Taken from the headlines of The New Yorker: 'British lose right to claim that Americans are Dumber'." Brexit referendum. London, UK, June 24th, 2016.
Paolo Pellegrin: "Taken from the headlines of The New Yorker: 'British lose right to claim that Americans are Dumber'." Brexit referendum. London, UK, June 24th, 2016. Paolo Pellegrin—Magnum Photos
“It is depressing. Great Britain is an island, but until today it was part of Europe. Meant to be tight. To be bonded to those countries. I need it to be reversed.” St. Pancras Station, London, UK, June 22, 2016.
Patrick Zachmann: “It is depressing. Great Britain is an island, but until today it was part of Europe. Meant to be tight. To be bonded to those countries. I need it to be reversed.” St. Pancras Station, London, UK, June 22, 2016.Patrick Zachmann—Magnum Photos
“Fuck this.” Polling station on the day of the Brexit vote, London, UK, June 23, 2016.
Mikhael Subotzky: “F*ck this.” Polling station on the day of the Brexit vote, London, UK, June 23, 2016.Mikhael Subotzky—Magnum Photos
“The British have always been the best and sharpest contrarians…the irony, the satire, the against-the-grain nature. But this might not have been the time for that…well, I guess as a Norwegian I now should welcome them into the outside-club!” Lips on Old Street, London, UK, June 23, 2016.
Jonas Bendiksen: “The British have always been the best and sharpest contrarians…the irony, the satire, the against-the-grain nature. But this might not have been the time for that…well, I guess as a Norwegian I now should welcome them into the outside-club!” Lips on Old Street, London, UK, June 23, 2016.Jonas Bendiksen—Magnum Photos
“GB for me? No idea how to answer that this morning.” Post Brexit referendum, London, UK, 2016.
Christopher Anderson: “GB for me? No idea how to answer that this morning.” Post Brexit referendum, London, UK, 2016.Christopher Anderson—Magnum Photos
“I have spent half my working life photographing Britain and the British and I have no illusions about the dark side of the nation but I believed the good in the nation outweighed the bad and that gave me pride and respect for my country, but I do feel that the rejection of tolerance, and respect for our fellows that was enshrined in the referendum vote rejecting the EU is a stain on the nation. It is an acceptance of xenophobia and small mindedness. It is the cry of a diminished nation howling NO!!!” Broken eggs on Old Street, London, UK, 2016.
Chris Steele-Perkins: “I have spent half my working life photographing Britain and the British and I have no illusions about the dark side of the nation but I believed the good in the nation outweighed the bad and that gave me pride and respect for my country, but I do feel that the rejection of tolerance, and respect for our fellows that was enshrined in the referendum vote rejecting the EU is a stain on the nation. It is an acceptance of xenophobia and small mindedness. It is the cry of a diminished nation howling NO!!!” Broken eggs on Old Street, London, UK, 2016.Chris Steele-Perkins—Magnum Photos
“Great Britain for me was all about inclusion, a place where immigrants from less fortunate parts of the world are welcome, like the America of Europe. Sadly, today marks the beginning of a different kind of nation, one filled with uncertainty and fear about the future.” Cale Salih, my wife, a British citizen, waking up to the news of the Brexit vote. London, UK, June 24, 2016.
Moises Saman: “Great Britain for me was all about inclusion, a place where immigrants from less fortunate parts of the world are welcome, like the America of Europe. Sadly, today marks the beginning of a different kind of nation, one filled with uncertainty and fear about the future.” Cale Salih, my wife, a British citizen, waking up to the news of the Brexit vote. London, UK, June 24, 2016.Moises Saman—Magnum Photos
“Very sad day from my side.” Parliament to Downing Street a few minutes after the Prime Minister resigned. London, UK, June 24, 2016.
Stuart Franklin: “Very sad day from my side.” Parliament to Downing Street a few minutes after the Prime Minister resigned. London, UK, June 24, 2016.Stuart Franklin—Magnum Photos
“After all those quirky Britts posting ‘Romaine’ all day yesterday.” Day after the Brexit referendum, London, UK, June 24, 2016.
Thomas Dworzak: “After all those quirky Britts posting ‘Romaine’ all day yesterday.” Day after the Brexit referendum, London, UK, June 24, 2016.Thomas Dworzak—Magnum Photos
The day after the Brexit vote, London, UK, June 24, 2016.
Chien-Chi Chang: “I am speechless, is Austria next?” The day after the Brexit vote, London, UK, June 24, 2016. Chien-Chi Chang—Magnum Photos
“Hope it’s not as bad as it seems.” A day after Brexit vote. Borough Market, London, UK, June 24, 2016. Dave Santos, 31 from Canary Islands, works for a Spanish food company. He has been studying here for many years and doesn’t know what he is going to do post October.
Sohrab Hura: “Hope it’s not as bad as it seems.” A day after Brexit vote. Borough Market, London, UK, June 24, 2016. Dave Santos, 31 from Canary Islands, works for a Spanish food company. He has been studying here for many years and doesn’t know what he is going to do post October. Sohrab Hura—Magnum Photos
“There was nobody in the polling station when I went to vote, probably (hopefully I thought) because of the torrential rain coming down outside. ‘Are you documenting the determination to vote?!’ shouted a passer-by. The moment seemed friendly, light and very British. I went off feeling ultimately positive and so I was devastated this morning to wake up to the news that we had collectively made this huge, stupid, irreversible decision.” London, UK, June 23, 2016.
Olivia Arthur: “There was nobody in the polling station when I went to vote, probably (hopefully I thought) because of the torrential rain coming down outside. ‘Are you documenting the determination to vote?!’ shouted a passer-by. The moment seemed friendly, light and very British. I went off feeling ultimately positive and so I was devastated this morning to wake up to the news that we had collectively made this huge, stupid, irreversible decision.” London, UK, June 23, 2016. Olivia Arthur—Magnum Photos

The loss was particularly hard for Catholic nationalists, who are more likely to identify as Irish. Membership of the E.U. has helped suppress desires for the unification of Ireland.

The Republican party, Sinn Fein, which shares power in the Northern Ireland government with the DUP described the contradiction between the Northern Ireland vote and the U.K. as a “democratic deficit.” In a statement issued on Monday, the party said: “English votes threaten to drag Northern Ireland out of the E.U. It is imperative that this democratic deficit is challenged.”

At the garden party, guests huddled to discuss the implications. Some among the unionists were cheerful. The DUP’s Nelson McCausland, a former culture minister, was ebullient on Facebook, “We are now on the road to restoring our national sovereignty, securing our borders and putting the United Kingdom on a better road.”

Other happy unionists included Lord Trimble, the former leader of the Ulster Unionist Party who negotiated the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which helped bring peace to Northern Ireland. Yet, that Agreement was grounded on E.U. support. The E.U. invested millions in supporting peace in Northern Ireland.
The referendum vote also illustrated that the U.K. was not a union of equals. Worse, the prospect of Scotland leaving the U.K. could make Northern Ireland’s position even more untenable.

Lord Trimble said he was not concerned by that possibility. “It will never happen. Not with oil prices so low,” he says. He conceded that if Scotland did go independent then a united Ireland would be “on the table.”

Thousands of Northern Irish and Britons showed their concerns by applying for Irish passports, which would allow them access to the E.U., if it was denied to U.K. passport holders.

Sinn Fein have responded to the vote by reviving long-quiet calls for a united Ireland. Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein leader in Ireland told the Irish parliament that the Brexit vote presents an opportunity to continue the process of ending partition and building a United Ireland.

Adams said: “To have one part of the island inside the E.U. and the other side out, makes no sense. We stand by the vote of the people of the North.”

Other nationalists are more tentative. Claire Hannah of the Social Democratic and Labour Party predicts a more evolutionary approach than a “divisive” border poll. She argues that Britain pulling Northern Ireland out of the E.U. would be in breach of the Good Friday Agreement, which was chaired by Senator George Mitchell.

“The principle of consent would be breached by any forced withdrawal from the E.U., putting Irish unity firmly back on the agenda for those who had been prepared to prioritise stability and prosperity,” she says.

First Minister Arlene Foster has rejected calls for Irish unity but the cause of a united Ireland has been revived, not by Irish nationalists and republicans, but English voters, choosing to leave the E.U., without analysing the impact on other parts of the U.K.

The age-old Irish Question has now moved from the political margin to centre stage.

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