There must be a united Ireland if majority votes for it, says Durkan

A UNITED Ireland would not necessarily require unionist “consent and assent”, the SDLP said yesterday. Rather, party leader Mark Durkan argued, it “is clear there must be a united Ireland if a majority in the North votes in favour” of it in a referendum.

The Good Friday Agreement provides that the British Government must negotiate with the Irish Government to provide for a united Ireland if a majority in the North vote for it.

Such a referendum should be held once the Northern institutions have “bedded down and are operating stably”, the SDLP believes.