Northern Ireland sovereignty referendum, 1973

Northern Ireland within Great Britain & Ireland

Location

Date

8 March 1973

Voting system


Remain part of Great Britain			98.9%
Join with the Republic of Ireland			1.1%
Invalid votes			0.99%
Voter turnout: 58.66%

The Northern Ireland sovereignty referendum of 1973 (also known as the Border Poll) was a referendum held in Northern Ireland on 8 March 1973 on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of Great Britain or join with the Republic of Ireland to form a united Ireland. It was the first time that a major referendum had been held in any region of the United Kingdom.

Party support

The Unionist parties supported the 'UK' option, as did the Northern Ireland Labour Party and the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland. However, the Alliance Party was also critical of the poll. While it supported the holding of periodic plebiscites on the constitutional link with Great Britain, the party felt that to avoid the border poll becoming a "sectarian head count", it should ask other relevant questions such as whether the people supported the UK's White Paper on Northern Ireland.^[1]

On 23 January 1973, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) called on its members "to ignore completely the referendum and reject this extremely irresponsible decision by the British Government". Gerry Fitt, leader of the SDLP, said he had organised a boycott to stop an escalation in violence.^[2]

Violence

The civil authorities were prepared for violence on polling day. They had put in place mobile polling stations which could be rushed into use if there was bomb damage to scheduled poll buildings.^[3] Two days before the referendum a British soldier, Guardsman Anton Brown of the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards was shot dead in Belfast as the army searched for weapons and explosives which could be used to disrupt the upcoming referendum.^[3]

In response to the referendum, the Provisional Irish Republican Army planted four car bombs in London that day, two of which went off, causing one death and injuring 200.^[4]

Result

Northern Ireland sovereignty referendum, 1973
Choice	Votes	%
Do you want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom?	591,820	98.9
Do you want Northern Ireland to be joined with the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom?	6,423	1.1
Valid votes	598,283	99.01
Invalid or blank votes	5,973	0.99
Total votes	604,256	100.00
Registered voters and turnout	1,030,084	58.66

Referendum result

The vote resulted in an overwhelming majority of those who voted stating they wished to remain in the UK. The nationalist boycott contributed to a turnout of only 58.7% of the electorate. In addition to taking a majority of votes cast, the UK option received the support of 57.5% of the total electorate. According to the BBC, less than 1% of the Catholic population turned out to vote.^[2]

Reactions

The Government of the United Kingdom took no action on receipt of the referendum result, as the result was in favour of the status quo (Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK). It was followed by an Assembly election on 28 June 1973.

Brian Faulkner, who had been the last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, claimed the result left "no doubt in any one's mind what the wishes of Ulster's people are. Despite an attempted boycott by some, almost 600,000 electors voted for the maintenance of the union with Great Britain". He also claimed that the poll showed that a "quarter of the [N.I.] Catholic population who voted... voted for the maintenance of the union" and that the result was a "blow .... against IRA mythology".^[5]

References

↑ The Times, 16 January 1973
1 2 "BBC ON THIS DAY | 9 | 1973: Northern Ireland votes for union". BBC News. 9 March 1973. Retrieved 2012-03-11.
1 2 The Times, 6 March 1973
↑ Eder, Richard (16 November 1973). "8 Get Life Terms in London Blasts". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
↑ The Times, 12 March 1973

Elections and referendums in Northern Ireland

NI general elections	1921 1925 1929 1933 1938 1945 1949 1953 1958 1962 1965 1969

Ad-hoc elections	1973 1975 1982 1996

Assembly elections	1998 2003 2007 2011 2016

European elections	1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2004 2009 2014

Local elections	1924 1946 1967 1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 1997 2001 2005 2011 2014

Referendums	1973 1998

UK general elections	2001 2005 2010 2015

See also: Elections in the Kingdom of Ireland Elections in Ireland as part of the UK UK elections

(1972 ←) United Kingdom local elections, 1973 (→ 1974)

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Scottish councils	Dundee Edinburgh Glasgow

Sui generis	Isles of Scilly

Elections and referendums in the United Kingdom

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