A United Ireland. Opening up the discussion.

[Rossfan]

There will still be people who vote for and against regardless of the detail, but I believe the vote will be won or lost on the "sensible" voters who base their vote on practical information.

Absolutely!
The "others" will be the decision makers.

[seafoid]

I think when it comes to it, the majority of people will vote based on economics and health. Will they be better off financially and will they get better health care in a UI.

Economics will not cause Unionists to vote for a united Ireland. The 26 counties was an economic basket case for a long time and yet there was never any thought of trying to rejoin the UK.

If you think they would vote on economics try a little thought experiment. Imagine Brexit is a great success (yes I know, but humour me). The Tories manage to create an off shore tax haven booming economy and the North ends up more successful than the south. Do you think there would be any great push for the 26 to rejoin the UK?

South Tyrol was allocated to Italy after WW1 even though it is majority German speaking. It should be part of Austria. During WW2 to get Italy onside Hitler recognised it as Italian

South Tyrol today is well off and has a lot of autonomy. Everyone is happy
Giorgio Moroder is from South Tyrol.

https://youtu.be/5m4ZkEqQrn0

[armaghniac]

I think when it comes to it, the majority of people will vote based on economics and health. Will they be better off financially and will they get better health care in a UI.

Economics will not cause Unionists to vote for a united Ireland. The 26 counties was an economic basket case for a long time and yet there was never any thought of trying to rejoin the UK.

If you think they would vote on economics try a little thought experiment. Imagine Brexit is a great success (yes I know, but humour me). The Tories manage to create an off shore tax haven booming economy and the North ends up more successful than the south. Do you think there would be any great push for the 26 to rejoin the UK?

Of course out and out unionists will not be swayed by any data like this, but the rest of the population will. Hard core Unionists are not in the majority in NI, most people are nationalist or are capable of being persuaded.

[tbrick18]

I think when it comes to it, the majority of people will vote based on economics and health. Will they be better off financially and will they get better health care in a UI.

Economics will not cause Unionists to vote for a united Ireland. The 26 counties was an economic basket case for a long time and yet there was never any thought of trying to rejoin the UK.

If you think they would vote on economics try a little thought experiment. Imagine Brexit is a great success (yes I know, but humour me). The Tories manage to create an off shore tax haven booming economy and the North ends up more successful than the south. Do you think there would be any great push for the 26 to rejoin the UK?

Of course out and out unionists will not be swayed by any data like this, but the rest of the population will. Hard core Unionists are not in the majority in NI, most people are nationalist or are capable of being persuaded.

This is what I was trying to get to.
There are extreme views on both sides of the debate and then there is the middle grouping who are small "n" nationalist and small "u" unionists. I think that is a sizeable proportion of the population here and that grouping are more likely to be persuaded based on the bread and butter issues.

In terms of unionists not being swayed by economics, I wouldn't be too sure. Money is still king, look at how many of the unionist politicians in particular are making a fortune from non-political avenues. How often have wee seen the "Christian" unionist being caught out in some money making scandal (Robinsons, Paisley, Arlene) so they have form for abandoning their beliefs for money.
Agriculture is still a massive industry in NI and I would think the majority of "big" farmers are from the unionist tradition. EU subsidies are to be replaced and it is well documented that as a result farmers will be worse off in this regard out of Europe. I would imagine that if those same farmers had access to the EU money, they'd seriously consider what way to vote particularly if there's a mechanism for them still to retain their unionist culture (I hate using that word to describe unionism) in a UI.
The same is bound to be true of other industries too.

[seafoid]

I think it would be very interesting to show how much the Union has cost Unionists since 1950 . In 1950s Unionists were laughing at the South.
In the UK since 1980 peripheral regions have been shafted. Brexit is another kick in the nuts.

[armaghniac]

One hundred years ago there were three concerns for unionists; King and Empire; Money and Religion.

Now King and Empire can't be helped and to be honest one the present Monarch pass on the monarchy may not be worth much. Religion was always overrated, but things have changed enormously there.
On Money, there were two issues, a loss of trade possibilities and a fear of anyone with a few pound being heavily taxed . The trade thing is not a problem, there will be ample opportunity to make a living in the UI. However the demeanour of the main nationalist party in the North is that anyone who does work and earns a few quid will be heavily taxed. Now as people are poor in the North these may mostly be in the south, so the calculation is different.

I think it would be very interesting to show how much the Union has cost Unionists since 1950 . In 1950s Unionists were laughing at the South.
In the UK since 1980 peripheral regions have been shafted. Brexit is another kick in the nuts.

NI has not recovered its 2008 economy, like most parts of the UK. The only two parts of these islands to have significantly moved on beyond 2008 levels is London and the ROI.

[seafoid]

When NI is good it can be top notch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryg7ZB10hKQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRpntHflrNo

A UI would be more likely to generate outperformance.
NI needs a new economic model and it needs to address all of the problems such as productivity and education that have been festering for so long

[Main Street]

More a  question for nordies.
Do you regard President Micheal as your president?

[In hiding]

More a  question for nordies.
Do you regard President Micheal as your president?

Yeah, I consider myself Irish so obviously he represents me
Do you think I am not Irish because I was born in Tyrone?

[tiempo]

More a  question for nordies.
Do you regard President Micheal as your president?

Na, Gerry

[balladmaker]

More a  question for nordies.
Do you regard President Micheal as your president?

Yes, he's the President of Ireland, I was born in Ireland so he's my President as much as he is for anyone else in Ireland, should they be from Cork, Kerry, Armagh or Tyrone. 

[Fear Bun Na Sceilpe]

More a  question for nordies.
Do you regard President Micheal as your president?

Yes.
Dublin my capital.
ROI my national football team.
Hurling my first sport.
Gaeilge my language.

[Rossfan]

More a  question for nordies.
Do you regard President Micheal as your president?

Yeah, I consider myself Irish so obviously he represents me
Do you think I am not Irish because I was born in Tyrone?

The questioner never suggested that so chip off shoulder please.

[johnnycool]

More a  question for nordies.
Do you regard President Micheal as your president?

Yeah, I consider myself Irish so obviously he represents me
Do you think I am not Irish because I was born in Tyrone?

The questioner never suggested that so chip off shoulder please.

I suppose it's up to each individual but why would we not regard Michael D as our president?

I'd like to vote on it for sure and that would be the next step for us.

[GiveItToTheShooters]

More a  question for nordies.
Do you regard President Micheal as your president?

Yes.
Dublin my capital.
ROI my national football team.
Hurling my first sport.
Gaeilge my language.

Yet you write "ROI" instead of Ireland