There has been an angry response among nationalists to British efforts to dismiss the prospect of Irish reunification through a border poll.

With heightened unionist belligerence and intransigence currently on display at the Six County Assembly at Stormont, the British Direct Ruler Hilary Benn has lent his support to their cause.

A key element of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement is the right of a simple majority within the Six County area to vote to reunite with the rest of Ireland.

But last Wednesday, Benn told journalists that the Labour government “strongly supports the union” and that the prospect of a border poll was “way off in the distance”.

In a whopper of a lie, he incredibly claimed that “nobody is arguing that there is an appetite for constitutional change here in Northern Ireland”.

The statement flies in the face of the current outcry for unity as recent polls and elections broadly pointing to a majority for Irish reunification within occupied Ireland being attained by 2027 or sooner.

However, the response of unionist politicians and British officials has become a blanket denial and a refusal to acknowledge the data.

“The almost casual references in English politics to abandoning core pillars of the entire peace project in Ireland are profoundly disturbing,” warned human rights professor, Colin Harvey, one of the founders of the Ireland’s Future project.

Kevin Meagher, commentator and author, said Benn is ‘trying to pushing the toothpaste back in the tube’. Recalling the campaigns of former British Labour leader Tony Benn in favour of Irish reunification 45 years ago, Mr Meagher described Benn’s remarks as “a glib, condescending intervention” and that “his father would be turning in his grave”.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said she had written to Benn in response to strongly challenge his “arrogant” dismissal of the growing momentum behind constitutional change.

“The conversation on Irish unity is well underway and is getting stronger by the day,” she said.

In the letter, she said Mr Benn had “dismissed and ignored the present reality that momentum towards Irish reunification on this island is underway”.

She highlighted how in recent months First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Archbishop Eamon Martin, former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, SDLP leader Claire Hanna and her Alliance counterpart Naomi Long have all “publicly expressed considered views on the various dimensions of constitutional change”.

“Their public contributions demonstrate the very significant public engagement on the issue – something which I am astonished you seem to have missed,” Mrs McDonald said.

Last week, the Dublin parliament passed a Sinn Féin motion to plan and prepare for a United Ireland, while a poll published three weeks ago by the pro-union Belfast Telegraph indicated a majority of over 60% in favour of the criteria for a border poll being published.

Challenging Benn’s claim that there is no appetite for unity and that a border poll is a distant prospect, Ms McDonald said the “evidence proves otherwise”.

“The British government raising obstacles to referendums on Irish reunification flies in the face of the spirit of progress that made history in 1998 – it is unacceptable and a position I entirely reject,” she said.

“The conversation on Irish unity is well underway across society. It is a live and democratic discussion grounded in the provisions of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.”

Mrs McDonald said the promise of the Good Friday Agreement and its provision on Irish unity must be honoured and that concurrent referendums must be held by 2030.

“Therefore, rather than engaging in denial and delusion there is significant work to be done to prepare for these referendums and the prospect of democratic constitutional change,” she said.

The Sinn Féin president argued that “work must begin now to plan for constitutional change” and offered to meet Mr Benn to “discuss how we can collectively ensure that the next phase of this process is managed in a constructive way”.

PARTITION ‘HAS FAILED’

The exchange came on the 100th anniversary of the leak of an infamous report by the Boundary Commission, a government body which failed disastrously to draw a border around British jurisdiction on the island of Ireland, leaving the current partition in place.

Ms McDonald said the leak exposed a deal that abandoned nationalists in the Six Counties and “caused division on this island for generations”.

“A century later, Ireland has changed beyond recognition. Partition has been exposed as a failure – socially, economically and politically. The conversation about Irish unity is now open, confident and growing.

“Across every county, people are engaging in how we can build a new and united Ireland based on fairness, equality and opportunity for all.

“The hopes of our generation for the reunification of Ireland were reflected in the Presidential Election. The prospect of Irish Unity was recognised as an immense opportunity for our future.

“We must learn from history. The future of this island must be decided by the people, in an open, democratic process – through dialogue, planning, and referendums North and South by the end of this decade.”