UK election exposes old battle lines in N. Ireland
UK election exposes old battle lines in N. Ireland
- Political leaders in Northern Ireland are casting next week's British election as a referendum on whether voters want to be part of the United Kingdom or the neighbouring Republic of Ireland.
Britain's vote to leave the European Union has raised the stakes in the long and divisive dispute over Northern Ireland's status. Concerns that Brexit will lead to a hard border with EU member Ireland have reinvigorated Irish nationalism and its dream of a united Ireland free of British influence.
That in turn has unsettled unionists, who back British rule and fear their majority is slipping away in the region of 1.8 million people.
- Political leaders in Northern Ireland are casting next week's British election as a referendum on whether voters want to be part of the United Kingdom or the neighbouring Republic of Ireland.
Britain's vote to leave the European Union has raised the stakes in the long and divisive dispute over Northern Ireland's status. Concerns that Brexit will lead to a hard border with EU member Ireland have reinvigorated Irish nationalism and its dream of a united Ireland free of British influence.
That in turn has unsettled unionists, who back British rule and fear their majority is slipping away in the region of 1.8 million people.