Northern Ireland is divided on the region’s post-Brexit trading arrangements, a poll suggested.
As part of the Brexit deal, Northern Ireland effectively stayed in the European Union’s customs area and much of the single market, while the rest of the U.K. exited. Some 43% of people agreed the protocol is good for Northern Ireland, while 44% disagree, according to the survey for Queen’s University Belfast.
On the wider question of Irish unity, 49% want to remain part of the U.K., while 43% want o exit, a poll for the BBC showed.
After the Riots, What’s Next for Northern Ireland?
The survey highlights the split in Northern Ireland over how the region is treated by the Brexit agreement. Most unionists, who want the region to remain part of the U.K., are against the protocol while most nationalists, who want a united Ireland, are in favor of the device, which was designed to avoid reimposing checkpoints on the island.
The poll came as tensions simmer in the region, fueled at least in part by Brexit. Northern Ireland this month endured some of its worst violence in years, with over 70 police officers injured in rioting in mainly pro-British, loyalist areas.
The poll of a weighted sample of 2,100 respondents was carried by LucidTalk. The margin for error was +/- 2-3%.
