In 1973, the UK government organised the country’s first referendum, on the subject of whether or not Northern Ireland should remain part of the UK. Now, as Brexit and its potential consequences make another border poll look like an increasing possibility, David Torrance looks back on the poll, its background, and its later constitutional significance. The first constitutional … [Read more...] about Taking the border out of politics
The narrative of devolution twenty years on
Pollsters and sociologists have long understood the power of political storytelling.James Carville, who engineered Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential victory, believed that an effective narrative was ‘the key to everything’, while the NATO strategist Mark Laity has described how a narrative with historical overtones can influence decision-making more than … [Read more...] about The narrative of devolution twenty years on