A majority of people would vote for Northern Ireland to remain part of the union with Britain if a poll on a united Ireland were held now, a new survey has found.
The Ipsos MORI poll of more than a 1,000 respondents for last night’s BBC Spotlight programme found that 65 per cent of people would vote for the North to stay in the UK while 17 per cent would vote for a united Ireland.
Twelve per cent would not vote and one in 20 did not know how they would vote.
This is the first such survey since Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams called for a referendum on a united Ireland.
The poll also found that slightly more Catholics – 38 per cent – would vote for the North to remain in the union compared to 35 per cent who would vote for unification.
More than nine out of 10 Protestants – 92 per cent – would vote in favour of the union with just 2 per cent favouring a united Ireland.