The UK government has rejected claims by Sinn Fein that a united Ireland is “within reach”.
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Sinn Fein has said Irish reunification is “just around the corner” as the party's deputy leader Michelle O'Neill prepares to take over Northern Ireland the first minister.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou Macdonald said on Tuesday that the expected return to power signaled a “historic turning of the wheel” to unite the island.
She said: “Historically, it's at a distance, and I think that's a very exciting thing, and I hope that people will find this conversation very welcoming.”
MacDonald previously predicted a referendum on Irish unity by 2030.
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The 1998 Good Friday Agreement states that the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, now Chris Heaton-Harris, must call a border poll if it “appears likely” that a majority will support reunification.
Amid the prospect that O'Neill could become Stormont's first executive minister before the weekend, Macdonald said: “It will be a moment of great significance, not only because we haven't had a government for so long, but because it will be the first time , if we have a Sinn Fein First Minister, a Nationalist First Minister.'
O'Neill is expected to become the first nationalist First Minister in Northern Ireland's history after leading Sinn Fein to a historic victory in the May 2022 election.
It comes after DUP leader Sir Geoffrey Donaldson announced an end to the two-year impasse earlier on Tuesday when a meeting of the party's executive committee approved right revive the separation of powers.
Speaking this morning, UK government minister Dame Andrea Leedsom dismissed Irish reunification as “not far off”, calling Northern Ireland “an integral and important part of the United Kingdom”.
She told Sky News: “I'm equal parts Brexiti and Unionist, so I'll do everything I can to ensure that Northern Ireland remains part of the UK single market, that we fully respect Northern Ireland's concerns.”
Meanwhile, the shadow minister, Tulip Siddiq, spoke Sky News that Labor is “delighted” that the DUP and the UK government have reached an agreement to restore power sharing in Stormont.
Asked whether Labor would support a united Ireland if the people of Northern Ireland wanted it, she said: “I think we have to see how the negotiations go and see the details of what comes next.”
Prodded repeatedly, Siddique added that Sinn Féin was “probably not going to get” Labour's support for a united Ireland.
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