OPTIMISM about the state of the "peace process" is greater in Britain than anywhere else in these islands.
That is the first, and most striking, feature of the most comprehensive survey of opinion since the resumption of the IRA's bombing campaign.
Only 10 per cent of those interviewed believe the process is finished for good, while 46 per cent think it is continuing (in contrast with 23 per cent in the Republic and just 14 per cent in the North).
Equally striking, perhaps, is that while there is overwhelming support for the decommissioning of arms before or during talks, the British public believes strongly that the IRA, alone, does not bear responsibility for making the first move to resume the process.
The majority of those interviewed 38 per cent say the IRA should make the first move by resuming the ceasefire.
But this is surprisingly low, given that bombs have been going off in the capital and members of the royal family are believed to be at risk from IRA attack.
Twenty six per cent say Mr Major should make the first move by setting an early date for all party talks.
That powerful wish for peace is also reflected when it comes to the allocation of blame for the present breakdown, with 74 per cent of those interviewed in Britain blaming the IRA (73 per cent in the Republic blame Britain).
However, a surprising 45 per cent of the British sample blame their own government, while 34 per cent blame Dublin and 32 per cent the unionists.
That said, when asked to apportion blame among the various parties, 58 per cent of British respondent laid the main blame for the breakdown of the peace process at the door of the IRA.
But the poll findings are hardly a tale of unremitting joy for Sinn Fein. Only 11 per cent of the respondents in Britain agree with its demand that talks should take place without preconditions.
Thirty two per cent say the IRA must resume its ceasefire, while a total of 55 per cent say the IRA should decommission all weapons before talks start (28 per cent) or gradually decommission as talks progress (27 per cent).
And 50 per cent say they believe Mr Gerry Adams knew the IRA was planning to end the ceasefire and said nothing about it.
While 26 per cent thought Mr Adams was kept in the dark and knew nothing about it, a further 24 per cent offered no opinion.
If Mr Adams cares about the state of British public opinion, and his personal credibility, then this is emphatically not a good result for the Sinn Fein president.
The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, by contrast, will be delighted to discover that his proposal for a referendum commands significantly more support in Britain than Mr Major's for an election in the North.
Fifty three per cent say the Hume proposal would play an important part in restoring peace, while only 30 per cent say the same of the Prime Minister's election plan.
At a glance, it is possible to see a similarity in the findings on the election idea and those on the intervention of Senator George Mitchell.
Only 27 per cent in Britain saw him playing an important part in helping restore peace, while a further 42 per cent thought he would make little difference either way.
A first impression might suggest the International Body and the election proposal have simply not penetrated the public consciousness in Britain, where people are altogether less absorbed with the details of the process.
However, an alternative explanation could be that Mr Major's election plan has been perceived in some quarters as a contributor to the collapse of the ceasefire, and that the British simply dislike the idea of American involvement in their "internal" affairs.
For unionists in Northern Ireland, meanwhile, the most troubling news is that the British public on these findings at any rate do not think of the North's future in terms of an "internal" United Kingdom solution.
The poll shows only 14 per cent would prefer Northern Ireland to become part of a united Ireland. But only 17 per cent say they would prefer it to remain part of the United Kingdom.
The largest number 32 per cent say they would prefer the North to become an independent country, while a further 18 per cent say it should be linked both to the United Kingdom and the Republic.
Only 6 per cent said they believed the Border mattered and that people should be prepared to fight for it if necessary.
While a further 37 per cent said mattered but was not worth risking any lives for, 44 per cent of respondents said it did not matter and was not worth arguing about.
At one level, these findings offer the majority in the North immense reassurance the British are not seeking to drive them into the arms of the Republic.
But the sub text is equally clear. The British don't think the problem worth the war and they would like to see a solution which distances them from the problem and which, by definition, cannot accord with exclusively unionist terms.
