British general election: Ireland looks on

Irish people will be looking with more interest than usual at political events in the UK today, as the British electorate goes to the polls. Whatever the outcome of the general election there, it is likely to have a profound effect on many people on the island of Ireland.

Leaders of the main parties are engaged in a frantic last drive for votes in a general election that both the ruling Tories and opposition Labour have described as the most important in a generation. Final opinion polls have suggested that while the Conservatives remain out in front, they were still not guaranteed an overall majority in the new parliament.

The last two December UK general elections — in 1918 and in 1923 — had profound effects all over Ireland. The first saw the rise of Sinn Féin, while the 1923 election also had an impact in determining the structure of the border, as it solidified the rights of unionists, under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, to opt not to join the Irish Free State.

Today’s election could be equally profound in determining the future relationship between Ireland and Britain.