This is an interesting comment from an interesting website. Essentially, Patreon believes that Mary Lou and Mark Carruthers have got it wrong in using the local elections and/or the assembly elections as the yardstick to measure the appetite for a border poll. As he sees it, people vote for parties in these circumstances for other reasons than the constitutional one.
Right, Patreon. Point taken – although don’t underestimate the constitutional sub-current that travels with every vote cast in NEI.
Patreon then suggests that there should be weekly opinion polls (yes. Virginia, I said ‘weekly) asking people if they’d favour a border poll, and do that for about a year. Then you’d have reliable indicators as to whether the calling of a border poll would be justified.
Sorry, Patreon. You’ve missed out on one VEEERRRRRRY big matter, and Mary Lou handed it to you on a plate. This weekly opinion polling would be people expressing views on a border poll while still in ignorance as to what they’re for or against. It’s called Brexit Hara-Kiri.
What needs to happen – and the sooner the better – is for the Irish government to set up a citizens’ assembly to discuss, receive reports from experts and finally issue a report on what a reunited Ireland should look like. Only when we’re conversant with that will opinion polls or other such make sense. And they could send a sign-on-delivery copy of it to the British SoS.
Any blind preference for or against a new Ireland is one mired in ignorance and not just misleading but dangerous.
Very good Jude
Very good
I dont know who that guy Patreon is other than he has a southern accent – might even be a Fine Gael accent lol. If he is so sure that people dont think about the constitutional question during local elections, but only about local matters, wouldnt that likely follow that some unionists might vote locally for a good hard working nationalist politician and likewise, some nationalists might vote for a hardworking unionist who has a reputation for getting things done on the ground? So how would Patreon explain that not happening?
I think that chap with the Dublin 4 accent should get out of his room a bit and away from his computer, and perhaps converse with some people on the street about these matters.
A season or two -or more – of hard, grassroot , preparatory work lies ahead, anchored by the guidance of the fruits of the essential citizens’ Assembly. A NEW Ireland will not fall from the trees via hasty pulse beats at the ballot box, nor will it spring from vested political interests content with tinkering with the status quo.