Northern Irish sovereignty referendum, 1973
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Belfast Agreement (1998) |
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The Northern Irish referendum of 1973 (also known as the Border Poll) was a referendum held in Northern Ireland only on March 8, 1973 on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom or join with the Republic of Ireland to form a United Ireland.
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[edit] Party support
The nationalist parties had argued that the whole of Ireland should be allowed to vote in the referendum, but the British government rejected the proposal. As a result, nationalist parties boycotted the vote. Gerry Fitt, leader of the SDLP, said he had organised a boycott to stop an escalation in violence.[1] The unionist parties supported the 'UK' option, as did the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Labour Party.
[edit] Results
The vote resulted in an overwhelming majority for the Unionist side. The nationalist boycott led to a low turnout of 58.1%. The electorate were asked to indicate:
- Do you want NI to remain part of the UK?
Or - Do you want NI to be joined with the Republic of Ireland, outside of the UK?
| Option 1 votes | Option 1 votes (%) | Option 2 votes | Option 2 (%) | Turnout (%) |
| 591,820 | 98.9 | 6,463 | 1.1 | 58.1 |
In addition to taking a majority of votes cast, the UK option received the support of 57.5% of the total electorate.
[edit] Government response
No action was taken, as the results were in favour of remaining part of the UK. It was followedby the Northern Ireland Assembly election, 1973 on 28 June.
[edit] See also
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Northern Irish elections
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