Irish unity vote 'off the table', UK PM says

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said Thursday that a referendum on Irish unity was “off the table,” drawing criticism from Sinn Fein during his first visit to Northern Ireland since taking office.

Burnham told reporters in Belfast that he would take a collaborative approach but that a border poll was one issue that would be off the table. He said Britain had experienced too much political division after the 2014 Scottish independence referendum and the 2016 vote on European Union membership, and should instead focus on cost-of-living pressures and public services.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said after meeting Burnham that the prime minister had no authority to “remove any provision of the Good Friday Agreement.” She said the right of Irish people to decide their future was contained in the accord.

The Democratic Unionist Party, Northern Ireland's largest pro-UK party, welcomed Burnham's comments. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the prime minister had put speculation over a referendum “beyond doubt.”

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement provides for a referendum, commonly called a border poll, if the British government's Northern Ireland minister believes a majority is likely to favour joining the Republic of Ireland.