More than a third of Britons would not mind if Northern Ireland voted to leave the UK, a new poll has found.
And while almost a fifth said they hoped Northern Ireland would vote to leave the UK and join with the Republic if a referendum on the border was held, just 36% said they would prefer Northern Ireland to stay in the UK.
The survey, conducted by market research company Ipsos MORI for King’s College London, was carried out online in February.
A total of 1,084 people between 16 and 75 people from across Great Britain were questioned.
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When the British public was asked in a 2014 Populus poll how they hoped Scotland would vote in its independence referendum, 54% said they would rather Scotland stayed in the UK.
Roger Mortimore, Professor of Public Opinion and Political Analysis at King’s College London, said: “When Scotland voted on whether to become independent in 2014, there was a clear majority among the public in the rest of the UK that hoped it would choose to stay.
“But many fewer Britons, it seems, would mind if Northern Ireland decided to leave the Union. Most have never been there, and most have no clear view on how it will be affected by Brexit.”
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The survey found three in four adults who live in Great Britain say they have never visited Northern Ireland, and a further 15% have visited only once or twice.
Just 2% have lived or worked in Northern Ireland, and 4% said they had visited many times.
The poll showed Britons were more likely to have visited the Republic.
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Other findings from the survey included that 32% of Britons think Brexit will make it more likely that Northern Ireland will join the Republic in the next 10 years, with just 6% thinking it will make it less likely, although most questioned thought it would make no difference, or said they didn’t know.
More ‘Remain’ voters thought Brexit increased the chances of a United Ireland than ‘Leavers’.
More also expected Brexit to have a damaging impact on Ireland than a beneficial one.
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Two in five predicted a negative effect on the Northern Irish economy over the next 10 years or so, with 33% expecting a similar impact on the economy in the Republic.
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