Border poll – a question of time
about 3 years in The Irish Times
Sir, – Further to “No Border poll for ‘very long time to come’, says Johnson” (News, April 20th), based on Boris Johnson’s many previous remarks on Brexit, Irish Sea borders, and the Northern Ireland protocol, does this mean a Border poll is now imminent? – Yours, etc,
LEO E SHARKEY,
Bratislava,
Slovakia.
Sir, – Boris Johnson’s assertion that there will be no referendum on the reunification of Ireland for “a very, very long time to come” is more nuanced that might first appear. He is undoubtedly speaking in the context of “political time”, which is quite different from “time” as it is understood in common parlance. Harold Wilson observed that “a week is a long time in politics.” Should conditions for a Border poll emerge in a medium timescale, as it is understood by the rest of us, Mr Johnson will be in the happy position of being able to explain away his earlier assertion by borrowing an observation from a former Conservative leader and prime minister Harold Macmillan: “Events, dear boy, events.” – Yours, etc,
BRENDAN O’REILLY,
Sutton,
Dublin 13.
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