Political Parties in Northern Ireland and the Post-Brexit Constitutional Debate

Abstract

The implementation of the 1998 ‘Good Friday’ or ‘Belfast’ Agreement entailed the stabilising of Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom. Although anti-Agreement unionists and pro-Agreement republicans claimed that the Agreement was a stepping stone to Irish unity, the addressing of Irish nationalist grievances through the reform of governance in Northern Ireland, alongside growing North-South links and British-Irish co-operation, ensured that Northern nationalist interest in Irish unity in the short term remained relatively low. This equilibrium was upset in 2016 by the desire of the UK –predominantly England –to leave the European Union. This prospect imposed a new binary on Northern Ireland politics which interacted with the constitutional divide in complex ways. This interaction is the focus of this chapter. It begins by reviewing the position of the five main parties on Europe prior to 2016. It explains the parties’ stances during the referendum campaign and examines how the parties responded to the referendum result. Following this, the chapter argues that Brexit produced constitutional restlessness in Northern Ireland because the vote lacked legitimacy according to the standards of consent contained in the Agreement. The chapter then traceshow the new constitutional debate became established, highlighting how, although the debate was initiated by Brexit, it was intensified by subsequent developments in British and Irish politics. The chapter also explores key dilemmas that the debate posed for the political parties. The conclusion suggests that constitutional deliberations look set to continue but possibly at a lower intensity. Their direction will be shaped by developments in 2019-20 including the Boris Johnson Brexit agreement, the new Irish government, the restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland, and the coronavirus crisis.