Northern Ireland Would Block a United Ireland, DUP Says

(Bloomberg) -- Northern Ireland would vote “overwhelmingly” to remain in the U.K. in a referendum on a united Ireland, DUP Leader Arlene Foster said.

“If there were to be a referendum in relation to our membership of the United Kingdom, overwhelmingly people would vote to stay,'' Foster, whose party holds the balance of power at Westminister, said at an event in London on Wednesday. “So we shouldn’t mix up the Remain-Leave argument with whether we want to be in the United Kingdom or we don’t want to be in the United Kingdom. The two are completely separate.”

Fifty-six percent of Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU, and now, anti-Brexit forces in the region are calling for a referendum on the issue within five years. However, there’s little prospect of the U.K. government agreeing to a vote anytime soon, as politicians on both sides of the border say a vote could stir up sectarian tensions.

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