Sinn Fein? They have gone away, you know.

[AustinPowers]

Unionists are like the spoilt child  who would rather  burn their toys  than share them  with another.

They would   see direct rule as  a unionist  victory of sorts, a  "running back to mummy" tactic. Eventually though, "mummy" will tell them to  get  back out and play with the other children.

Very interesting times lie ahead  for all parts of Ireland and Britain  if Farage gets in.

[weareros]

Usually LucidTalk have a poll in mid-Feb. will be interesting to see if gap reduces. Think it was 48-41 last year. Imagine will be down to just 5 percentage points 47-42.

[LC]

Westminster does not give 2Fs about this place and if Farage gets into nr 10 he will probably push on accordingly in this regard.

While I imagine they would not shout it from the roof tops I can not imagine Dublin would be keen to take on the wee 6 from an economic perspective https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0415/1507658-esri-economic-growth/.

[Genocide Organ]

Or even from a social perspective. Dublin has never REALLY wanted the six counties. In reality, the Free State probably wouldn't have survived 10 years were it not an homogenous entity.

[Truthsayer]

Or even from a social perspective. Dublin has never REALLY wanted the six counties. In reality, the Free State probably wouldn't have survived 10 years were it not an homogenous entity.

I've read some gibberish here but that bate all  Is no foundation for that theory. Was not Dublin's place to sell off part of Ireland.. albeit a Cork man signed the deal 🤷

[Milltown Row2]

The bickering it seems to be (again social media has a lot to answer for) at it worst state, if it's collapsed again that should be the death nail in the joint..

I'd rather have outsiders in than these gravy chain looking after their own side wannabe internet influencers 

Getting further and further away from a UI no matter how many polls are done

[Tony Baloney]

Westminster does not give 2Fs about this place and if Farage gets into nr 10 he will probably push on accordingly in this regard.

While I imagine they would not shout it from the roof tops I can not imagine Dublin would be keen to take on the wee 6 from an economic perspective https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0415/1507658-esri-economic-growth/.

It seems clear that the rise of Reform is driving a lot of the "culture war" stuff the DUP are dipping their toe in. They've seen that very far right politics is popular so they're riding on the coat tails of Farage. There has to be assembly elections before next May!

[trueblue1234]

The bickering it seems to be (again social media has a lot to answer for) at it worst state, if it's collapsed again that should be the death nail in the joint..

I'd rather have outsiders in than these gravy chain looking after their own side wannabe internet influencers 

Getting further and further away from a UI no matter how many polls are done

I don't think we are. I'm not saying that we are close, but I don't know how you would think a New Ireland is getting farther away. The numbers are slowly ticking in the right direction. If NI was booming and there was enough there to persuade the conservative (small c) risk adverse nationalists, then I could understand it. But at the min, no-one who's independent, could argue the case for NI financially. I have a boss in work, who's an ardent "OWC" fan. Attends every home game, some away ones. But even he is looking at his salary in the south and thinking we'd be better off there. Albeit, he's from a mixed marriage so not a hardened Unionist. His attitude now is basically get it over and done with. Small sample size, but I would say he's not alone.
I think he's the equivalent of the castle catholics that would have happy enough in NI and the status quo in the past. I don't think he'll ever vote for it, but is kind of indifferent to it now. NI's failure is the biggest motivation for a UI of sorts.

*I should add the complete failure of the NHS is another major input. It's got to the stage where everyone has someone in their wider family that is dealing with that absolute clusterf*ck to some degree.

[trileacman]

I don't think it's particularly close either. Would anyone bet their house on a UI in the next 30 years?

[imtommygunn]

It felt like there was a bit of a bounce post brexit but it feels like it's gone away again.

I still think it will happen but I am not convinced it will during my life. Maybe next generation.

[Sportacus]

Demographically it's inching forward, but the absolute state of Sinn Fein in Stormont, they literally haven't a clue. Big O'Dowd Finance Minister, to say he's out of his depth wouldn't do it justice.  It'll happen in spite of them, not because of them.

[LC]

Demographically it's inching forward, but the absolute state of Sinn Fein in Stormont, they literally haven't a clue. Big O'Dowd Finance Minister, to say he's out of his depth wouldn't do it justice.  It'll happen in spite of them, not because of them.

I imagine the Shinners behind closed doors will be happy to kick the UI can down the road for a few more generations, a lot of them would be completely found out south of the border.  O'Dowd and a lot of them not in the same league as Pearse Doherty or Eoin O'Broin.  Why the Shinners have Pat Cullen sitting on the sidelines doing nothing is beyond me.

[seafoid]

Demographically it's inching forward, but the absolute state of Sinn Fein in Stormont, they literally haven't a clue. Big O'Dowd Finance Minister, to say he's out of his depth wouldn't do it justice.  It'll happen in spite of them, not because of them.

https://m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/sam-mcbride/stormont-cant-go-on-like-this-it-is-a-broken-and-a-hapless-administration-whose-rambling-incoherence-is-now-excruciating/a212442138.html
On Monday, O'Dowd stoutly defended the policy from criticism. He lambasted MLAs who queued up to question him and insisted he was standing over the policy.
Just 72 hours later, he abandoned this approach. It was a humiliating reversal of a major government policy, and has additional significance because it came from Sinn Féin's most capable Stormont minister.
What happened this week is significant in itself. But its far greater significance lies in what it reveals about the Executive.
Things in the Executive are bad, and they're getting worse.
Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little Pengelly made clear that this time the Executive should be judged on delivery, not merely praised for having survived. Yet the government they lead now can point to little beyond survival.
It hasn't even moved to end the pollution entering Lough Neagh, much less cleaned up the lough itself.
More than a decade after the Bengoa Report, it still hasn't enacted the sweeping health reforms he envisaged.
Roads are still getting worse. NI Water is flushing vast volumes of raw sewage into our rivers, lakes and the sea but the Executive refuses to bill those who could pay more to upgrade sewage infrastructure.
Even the RHI scheme remains in place, with the plan to shut it involving essentially renaming the scheme and actually reducing the scrutiny which might catch fraudsters.
Far from the radical party many unionists once feared, O'Neill's ministers overwhelmingly just approve what their officials recommend.
Even a Sinn Féin spin doctor would struggle to identify many drastic achievements of the sort which no other party would have achieved.
Yet this acceptance of civil service advice comes at the worst possible time to be deferential to mandarins.
As the Audit Office report on Tuesday laid bare, the civil service is going backwards in key areas. It's not keeping many of its own promises to reform after RHI and is blaming a lack of funding or staff when in fact the reverse is true.

[delgany]

As an ordinary Joe Public , I do despair at the like of Ulster Hospitality calling the shots , & John O'Dowd folding. E.g Galgorm Group made a £8 million profit on turnover of £32 million but cried about having  tp pay £800k extra in rates. I appreciate they are a major employer but lift the load. I'm sure it is tight in other businesses , but this type of thing needs called out.

[Armagh18]

As an ordinary Joe Public , I do despair at the like of Ulster Hospitality calling the shots , & John O'Dowd folding. E.g Galgorm Group made a £8 million profit on turnover of £32 million but cried about having  tp pay £800k extra in rates. I appreciate they are a major employer but lift the load. I'm sure it is tight in other businesses , but this type of thing needs called out.

Galgorm group would be grand, it's the local pub struggling that would be finished with the new rates hike. Margins are tight enough as it is.