Lisbon broke Irish norms with voters divided by class

VOTERS divided along class lines for the first time in Irish politics when they voted in the referendum on the Lisbon treaty, according to an analysis of the result.

The survey of who voted and the reasons for their decision threw up several unexpected results, according to EU expert and UCD academic Professor Richard Sinnott.

Support for the treaty was spread equally between urban and rural voters and while the greater number of women voting no was statistically significant, it was not politically so, he said.