Two leading journalists from both sides of the border warn against another ‘vague, thumbs up-thumbs down’ vote
A decade after the UK stumbled into a hasty referendum that polarised the nation and unleashed chaos, a warning comes from across the Irish Sea: it could happen again.
The government and voters sleepwalked into Brexit and the same may happen with a referendum on a united Ireland, triggering convulsions for which no one is ready.
That is the message from two leading journalists from both sides of the Irish border who have teamed up to analyse the pros and cons of Northern Ireland leaving the UK to form a new state with the Republic of Ireland.
Fintan O’Toole, the author and Irish Times columnist, and Sam McBride, the Northern Ireland editor of the Belfast Telegraph, have concluded that the political establishments in Ireland and Britain are woefully unprepared for a potentially fraught and seismic referendum.
