Abstract
With echoes of the dividing lines of the United Kingdom’s 2016 referendum, a majority of voters in Northern Ireland supported pro-Remain candidates in the 2019 European Parliament election. However, whereas the results in many parts of the UK reflected a highly polarised electorate, voters in Northern Ireland appeared more receptive to compromise: a majority of their newly elected MEPs expressed support for the Withdrawal Agreement negotiated by the UK government with the EU – the only constituency in the UK where this was the case. The comfortable re-election of Diane Dodds and Martina Anderson affirmed the Democratic Unionist Party and Sinn Féin as the dominant unionist and nationalist parties respectively. However, a surge in support for the Alliance Party, which saw Naomi Long win a seat at the expense of the Ulster Unionist Party, marked a notable shift towards the ethno-national centre-ground: one in five first preference votes went to a candidate aligned with neither nationalism nor unionism. This report contextualises the election campaign and considers the implications of the results.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Irish Political Studies |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 28 Oct 2019 |
Keywords
- European elections
- political parties
- Northern Ireland
- Brexit
- Withdrawal Agreement
- Europe
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Political Science and International Relations
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Dive into the research topics of 'Remain reaffirmed: the 2019 European election in Northern Ireland'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Student theses
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Mini-Publics and the Maxi-Public: Investigating the Perceived Legitimacy of Citizens’ Assemblies in a Deeply Divided Place
Pow, J. T. (Author), Garry, J. (Supervisor) & Turner, R. (Supervisor), 2019Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis › Doctor of Philosophy
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