DESPITE the next scheduled election in Northern Ireland (NI) being more than a year away, the Alliance Party are putting plans in place in every constituency. Representatives have been selected for the party and it is expected that they will be the candidates in the Assembly Election in 2022. In Fermanagh South Tyrone, it is no different, with Matt Beaumont being selected by the party as it looks to continue its recent success and growth across NI. Matt has already stood for the party in the 2019 local Council elections, and also in the General Election, but failed to win a seat.
A POLL carried out by LucidTalk for The Sunday Times has shown that the majority of people surveyed would be in favour of a referendum on a United Ireland in the next five years. Out of the 2,392 people who took part in the survey, 51 per cent were in favour of such a referendum. The poll also found that 48 per cent of voters in Northern Ireland think a United Ireland will become a reality within 10 years. Sinn Féin Councillor Chris McCaffrey recently seconded a motion passed at Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) in relation to Partition. He feels that the latest polls should not come as a surprise as “demand for Irish unity is growing, and has certainly been accelerated since the 2016 EU referendum [Brexit]”.