As with the SNP, Sinn Féin agreed that a Conservative Brexit – particularly a Conservative Brexit heading for an economically unpredictable no deal career – would prove to be a strong motivator for voters when faced with the possibility of leaving the EU. Both sides believe that a mandate for new referendums already belongs to them or that it is within reach. And yet, as in Scotland, this offers no assurance for a border investigation, whether or not it is in Sinn Féin`s preferred calendar. While the two major nationalist parties were in favour of a possible front-runner poll, they maintained different timelines. The Brexit withdrawal agreement signed in October 2019 contains a protocol on Northern Ireland. As the North leaves the internal market in law, it will continue to apply all EU customs rules, while Britain will be divided. The result will be a “regulatory border in the Irish Sea” and not between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and union leaders` fears of a Brexit that will weaken the EU. [47] The UK Government is currently preparing the UK Internal Market Act, which aims to disprocitionalise parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, although it acknowledges that such a law is contrary to international law. [48] “In the short term, there was a lot to argue about. A border investigation seemed remote and was not worth opening potentially difficult arguments. To those who are concerned about the impact of Brexit on the agreement and on the peace process, I would like to ask you: does a border survey (as regular readers know, I don`t mind) have no potential impact on the agreement, stability and peace process, which are far more important than the consequences of Brexit? In the current elections, Sinn Féin campaigned mainly on an anti-austerity platform and rent freeze to help solve Ireland`s homelessness crisis. But Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the party in the Republic, said that holding a border poll – a referendum to decide whether Northern Ireland should join the Republic of Ireland – is a precondition for the party`s entry into government by 2025 and that preparations for a constitutional amendment must begin on the island of Ireland.
