View source for 1973 Northern Ireland border poll

{{short description|Referendum held in Northern Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox multichoice referendum
| name =  1973 Northern Ireland border poll
| title = Should Northern Ireland remain a member of the United Kingdom or leave and join the Republic of Ireland?
| image = Map of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.svg
| image_alt = 
| caption = Northern Ireland within Great Britain & Ireland
| date = 8 March 1973
| location =  [[Northern Ireland]]
| country = United Kingdom
| outcome = Northern Ireland remains a constituent part of the United Kingdom
| next_year = 1998
| next_referendum = 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement referendum
| voting_system = [[Majority voting]]
| width = 240px
| barwidth = 50px
| part1_subject = 
| yes_text = Remain part of the United Kingdom
| yes = 591280
| no_text = Join with the Republic of Ireland
| no = 6463
| invalid =  5973
| electorate= 1029544
| notes= Source: {{URL|https://www.ark.ac.uk/elections/fref70s.htm|Results of the "Border Poll" Referendum of 1973}}
}}{{UK Referendums}}
The '''1973 Northern Ireland border poll''' was a [[referendum]] held in [[Northern Ireland]] on 8 March 1973 on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the [[United Kingdom]] 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. The referendum was boycotted by nationalists and resulted in a conclusive victory for remaining in the UK. On a [[voter turnout]] of 58.7%, 98.9%, comprising 57.5% of registered voters, voted to remain in the United Kingdom, meaning the outcome was not affected by the boycott.

==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.<ref>''The Times'', 16 January 1973</ref> Nevertheless, on 5 February 1973, the party's chairman, [[Jim Hendron]], stated that "Support for the position of Northern Ireland as an integral part of the United Kingdom is a fundamental principle of the Alliance Party, not only for economic reasons but also because we firmly believe that a peaceful solution to our present tragic problems is only possible within a United Kingdom context. Either a Sinn Féin all-Ireland republic or a [[Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party|Vanguard]]-style Ulster republic would lead to disaster for all our people."<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Many errors in poll vote applications |work=[[The News Letter]] |location=Belfast |date=6 February 1973 |page=5}}; {{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Vote in Border Poll-Alliance |work=[[Belfast Telegraph]] |date=5 February 1973 |page=3 }}</ref>

The [[Social Democratic and Labour Party]] (SDLP), however, called for a [[Election boycott|boycott of the referendum]], urging its members on 23 January 1973 "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.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/9/newsid_2516000/2516477.stm |title=BBC ON THIS DAY &#124; 9 &#124; 1973: Northern Ireland votes for union |work=BBC News |date= 9 March 1973|access-date=2012-03-11}}</ref>

==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.<ref name=autogenerated2>''The Times'', 6 March 1973</ref> 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.<ref name=autogenerated2 />

Violence by both Republican and Loyalist paramilitaries still took place on polling day. The [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] exploded several bombs across Northern Ireland and shot dead a British soldier guarding a polling station in the area of the [[Falls Road, Belfast|Falls Road]] in [[Belfast]]. The [[Ulster Defence Association]] abducted and killed a Catholic civilian from [[Springfield Road#Ballymurphy and Whiterock|Ballymurphy]]. A polling station in East Belfast guarded by the [[Ulster Defence Regiment]] was also raided by Loyalist paramilitaries who stole several [[self-loading rifle]]s.<ref>Brian Feeney, Seamus Kelters, David McKittrick, David McVea and Chris Thornton, ''Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles'' (Edinburgh: Mainstream Publishing Company),339</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch73.htm#Mar|title=CAIN |website=cain.ulster.ac.uk}}</ref>

As a political response to the referendum, the Provisional Irish Republican Army also planted four car bombs in London that day, [[1973 Old Bailey bombing|two of which went off]], causing one death and injuring over 200.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Eder|first1=Richard|title=8 Get Life Terms in London Blasts|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/11/16/archives/8-get-life-terms-in-london-blasts-ira-members-convicted-in-bombings.html|access-date=27 September 2016|work=The New York Times|date=16 November 1973}}</ref>

==Result==
{{Pie chart |caption='''Total Electorate in Northern Ireland''' 
|label1=Remaining in the UK
|label2=Did not vote
|label3=Leaving the UK and joining the Republic of Ireland
|label4=Invalid votes
|value1=57.45
|value2=41.34
|value3=0.62
|value4=0.58
|color1=#003399
|color2=#ffffff
|color3=#009900
|color4=#cc0000}}
{{Referendum
| option1        = Do you want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom?
| yes            = 591,820
| yespct         = 98.92
| option2        = {{nowrap|Do you want Northern Ireland to be joined with the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom?}}
| no             = 6,423
| nopct          = 1.08
| valid          = 598,283
| validpct       = 99.01
| invalid        = 5,973
| invalidpct     = 0.99
| total          = 604,256
| turnoutpct     = 58.66
| electorate     = 1,030,084
| source         = 
}}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.<ref name="BBC"/>

The referendum electorate consisted of 1,030,084 adults registered to vote out of a total population of approximately 1,529,993.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Northern Ireland population mid-year estimate - Office for National Statistics |url=https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/timeseries/nipop/pop |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=www.ons.gov.uk}}</ref>

==Reactions==
The [[Her Majesty's Government|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 [[1973 Northern Ireland Assembly election|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 [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]] mythology".<ref name=autogenerated1>''The Times'', 12 March 1973</ref>

==See also==
*[[Referendums in the United Kingdom]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Northern Ireland elections}}

[[Category:1973 referendums|Northern Ireland border poll]]
[[Category:Constitutional referendums in Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:1973 elections in the United Kingdom|Northern Ireland border poll]]
[[Category:1973 in international relations|Northern Ireland border poll]]
[[Category:Border polls]]
[[Category:March 1973 in the United Kingdom|Northern Ireland border poll]]
[[Category:1973 elections in Northern Ireland]]