87% of people in the north-east of Ireland who voted in favour of the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union in 2016 would willingly jeopardise the Irish-British peace process in order to achieve their goal. That is one of several depressing statistics from a new study, This Other Eden: Brexit, England and the Future of the Tory Party, by the University of Edinburgh and Cardiff University, using polling work carried out by YouGov in the UK and Lucid Talk in the Six Counties. The comprehensive survey found a similar weight of opinion among Leave voters in Britain, where 83% of respondents in England, 75% in Scotland and 87% in Wales were prepared to risk a return of the Troubles, of violent political conflict, if it meant a successful implementation of Brexit.
The largest bloc of voters who apparently place isolationism before peace are to be found among supporters of the Democratic Unionist Party and other pro-union groups in the British outpost on the island of Ireland, and among supporters of the Conservative Party and the United Kingdom Independence Party in Britain. Which perhaps explains the DUP’s determined advocacy of a “blood red” Brexit and its belief that it can use the process of UK-EU separation to return the Six Counties to their partitioned, unionist-dominated past.
AN SIONNACH FIONN 
we’re just going to have to prevent the DUP from prevailing, aren’t we?
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It might be a justification for Republicans to finally take their Westminster seats which would go a long way in countering the DUP influence.🤔
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But what would the reaction be in the UK to sight of “Sinn Féin/IRA” MPs taking up seats in Westminster, voting down Brexit, then walking out of the chamber and vowing not to return until the next Brexit vote?
The UK media, and not just on the right, would loose the plot. Even moderate left-leaning voters might find themselves caught up in the hysteria that would ensue among the Brexiteer/Tory/UKIP/Lexit camp. I suspect that restrictions on SF MPs sitting in the House of Commons would be suggested pretty quickly by the Brexiteers, coupled with all sorts of legal manoeuvring to keep SF MPs out of future votes.
Then, what of the Irish community in the UK? Or worse, in the UK Occupied North of Ireland? What fate would befall them? There is an instinctive anti-Irish kick in British people, never that far from the surface, that would certainly come in to play with some observers of any SF-facilitated anti-Brexit votes in Westminster.
Would Labour even vote with SF MPs on the same amendment or sit out the vote so as not to be “guilty” by association? Not to be tarred with the “terrorist ally” brush?
I think SF MPs in London is a lot more complicated than them simply turning up and taking their seats. And that is just from the British point of view.
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… “anti-Irish kick in British people.” In my experience far from all of them ASF. Many (and not just those with Irish descent) would be more sympathetic in my experience.
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Yes. I’ve experienced that myself. But there is also a sort of gut or instinctive reaction to the Irish and Irishness in the UK that stems from its popular culture and history. And not a positive one. I’ve even seen it with very liberal London types when it gets onto certain issues. They are quick rather than slow to reach for stereotype or prejudice when certain buttons are pushed. Even when they are just brushed off.
Of course, every nation has its slanted or weird views. Austrians think all homes in Ireland have green painted doors. But the British slant is far more often toxic than bemusing.
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But what plot would they loose?
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That seems like a very creative notion of what could constitute “guilt-by-association”.
If a marginal, regional party merely shows up for seats they’ve held in Parliament, members of the mainstream liberal party are pressured to “scram” and not do their job at this point in British history-extremely toxic dynamic?
Part of the problem, may be that Parliament has such a low quorum!!
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Kudos for bringing our attention to this ASF. It’s an astounding figure – but not that surprising.
It exposes two factors in the Brexit support – learned ignorance of everything but a cartoon of British history through the legacy media, and that Brexiteers are heavily emotionally invested in Brexit, come what may. No amount of evidence of argument is going to budge them.
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It also shows why the DUP believes that it can push the border issue as hard as it is doing. That core vote is positively expecting it.
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To me those figures come across as shocking, confusing, and totally unexpected.
Because I remember that before The Good Friday Agreement, that it certainly seemed like Britons were highly motivated by wanting The Troubles to come to an end, and pretty much hated having that problem under their watch, and on their backs.
I don’t want to speculate too much on what the score is. But it makes almost no sense.
I can tell you that almost everyone I know who has watched the issue for any length of time, is utterly shocked that the Good Friday Agreement could be ripped apart like that.
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