Ten years after Brexit: Ireland and the border poll

Northern Ireland voted to remain in the European Union, yet Brexit has significantly reshaped its politics. Predictions of a border poll, a referendum on whether Northern Ireland should remain in the UK or join a united Ireland, were widespread. Ten years on that vote has not taken place.

Andrea Catherwood revisits this story - which she has followed over the past decade. Returning to contributors first interviewed after the EU referendum she asks whether early concerns about Brexit, including claims of broken promises and the impact of new trading arrangements in the Irish Sea, have come to pass and whether those experiences have influenced attitudes towards a united Ireland.

Predictions of a swift referendum proved premature but the question of why there hasn't been a border poll remains. Andrea explores how demographic change has developed in unexpected ways, challenging assumptions that any future vote could be decided simply by population trends.

She also examines the role of a significant middle ground, voters who say Brexit has made them more open to constitutional change, yet remain cautious without comprehensive detail on what a united Ireland would involve, including healthcare, education, pensions and public finances. And Andrea considers what might shift the current position. Could change come from within Northern Ireland, or from political developments in Westminster or Dublin? And if a detailed vision for a future Ireland were presented would that influence public opinion?

A decade after Brexit this is a story about uncertainty, identity and the continuing impact of a historic decision on Northern Ireland.