Interim report issued on unification referendums on the island of Ireland

Referendums on the future of the island of Ireland should only be held with a clear plan for what follows, according to an interim report from the Working Group on Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland, set up by the UCL Constitution Unit. The report examines the legal rules for referendums north and south of the border, and assesses different ways of designing them based on criteria of procedural legitimacy, stability, simplicity, informed choice and inclusivity. Three possible referendum configurations are identified as deserving further consideration. The authors are inviting further feedback ahead of a final report next year. The Group was set up to examine how any future referendums on whether Northern Ireland would stay in the United Kingdom or become part of a united Ireland could best be designed and conducted. It takes no view on whether holding such referendums would be desirable or not, or what the outcome should be if referendums were to be held. Instead, it considers overarching issues such as sequencing timescales, out of date rules, campaign spending and the quality of information available to voters during any campaign periods.