Sir, – Anthony Farrell (Letters, November 24th), argues for a "weighted majority in any Border poll".
However, the Good Friday Agreement is unequivocal that the threshold in a referendum is to be a simple majority – 50 per cent plus one – of those casting a valid ballot.
It would be a clear and serious breach of the agreement to require a higher threshold.
As the nationalist population in the North has slowly but inevitably edged towards a majority, the suggestion advanced that Irish unity cannot take place without the consent of a majority of unionists has emerged. It is designed to ensure partition remains in perpetuity.
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Arguments in favour of a “super majority” in any unity poll are not just against the spirit and letter of the Belfast Agreement but also, in reality, invite a return to the era of electoral gerrymandering in the North.
In plain English, it would effectively mean that a unionist vote is worth more than a nationalist vote.
That, I believe, is a situation that nobody on this island, in their right mind, would wish to return. – Yours, etc,
OONAGH PRENDERGAST,
Dundalk,
Co Louth.