Editing Northern Ireland (section)

===Background===
[[File:Political Parties of Northern Ireland.png|thumb|upright=2|center|A flowchart illustrating all the political parties that have existed throughout the history of Northern Ireland and leading up to its formation (covering 1889 to 2020)]]The main political divide in Northern Ireland is between unionists, who wish to see Northern Ireland continue as part of the United Kingdom, and nationalists, who wish to see Northern Ireland unified with the Republic of Ireland, independent from the United Kingdom. These two opposing views are linked to deeper cultural divisions. Unionists are predominantly [[Ulster Protestant]], descendants of mainly [[Scottish people|Scottish]], English, and [[Huguenot]] settlers as well as [[Gaels]] who converted to one of the Protestant denominations. Nationalists are overwhelmingly Catholic and descend from the population predating the settlement, with a minority from the [[Scottish Highlands]] as well as some converts from Protestantism. Discrimination against nationalists under the [[Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)|Stormont]] government (1921–1972) gave rise to the [[Northern Ireland civil rights movement|civil rights movement]] in the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/discrimination/whyte.htm |title=Professor John H. Whyte paper on discrimination in Northern Ireland |publisher=Cain.ulst.ac.uk |access-date=16 June 2010 |archive-date=14 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514131114/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/discrimination/whyte.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

While some unionists argue that discrimination was not just due to religious or political bigotry, but also the result of more complex socio-economic, socio-political and geographical factors,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/discrimination/sum.htm |title=CAIN website key issues discrimination summary |publisher=Cain.ulst.ac.uk |date=5 October 1968 |access-date=16 June 2010 |archive-date=29 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100729075842/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/discrimination/sum.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> its existence, and the manner in which nationalist anger at it was handled, were a major contributing factor to the Troubles. The political unrest went through its most violent phase between 1968 and 1994.<ref>Lord Scarman, "Violence and Civil Disturbances in Northern Ireland in 1969: Report of Tribunal of Inquiry" Belfast: HMSO, Cmd&nbsp;566 (known as the ''Scarman Report'').</ref>

[[File:Belfast City Centre.jpg|thumb|Mixture of new and historic buildings in [[Belfast]]]]
In 2007, 36% of the population defined themselves as unionist, 24% as nationalist, and 40% defined themselves as neither.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2007/Political_Attitudes/UNINATID.html |title=Ark survey, 2007. Answer to the question "Generally speaking, do you think of yourself as a unionist, a nationalist or neither?" |publisher=Ark.ac.uk |date=17 May 2007 |access-date=16 June 2010 |archive-date=10 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610044337/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2007/Political_Attitudes/UNINATID.html |url-status=live}}</ref> According to a 2015 opinion poll, 70% express a long-term preference of the maintenance of Northern Ireland's membership of the United Kingdom (either [[Direct rule over Northern Ireland|directly ruled]] or with [[Devolution|devolved government]]), while 14% express a preference for membership of a united Ireland.<ref>[http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2015/Political_Attitudes/NIRELND2.html Answers to the question "Do you think the long-term policy for Northern Ireland should be for it (one of the following)] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703003751/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2015/Political_Attitudes/NIRELND2.html |date=3 July 2016 }}"</ref> This discrepancy can be explained by the overwhelming preference among Protestants to remain a part of the UK (93%), while Catholic preferences are spread across several solutions to the constitutional question including remaining a part of the UK (47%), a united Ireland (32%), Northern Ireland becoming an independent state (4%), and those who "don't know" (16%).<ref>[http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2015/Political_Attitudes/NIRELND2.html NILT survey, 2015] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703003751/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2015/Political_Attitudes/NIRELND2.html |date=3 July 2016}}. Answers to the question "Do you think the long-term policy for Northern Ireland should be for it to [one of the following"], ark.ac.uk; accessed 27 May 2015.</ref>

Official voting figures, which reflect views on the "national question" along with issues of the candidate, geography, personal loyalty, and historic voting patterns, show 54% of Northern Ireland voters vote for unionist parties, 42% vote for nationalist parties, and 4% vote "other". Opinion polls consistently show that the election results are not necessarily an indication of the electorate's stance regarding the constitutional status of Northern Ireland. Most of the population of Northern Ireland is at least nominally Christian, mostly Roman Catholic and Protestant denominations. Many voters (regardless of religious affiliation) are attracted to unionism's [[National conservatism|conservative]] policies, while other voters are instead attracted to the traditionally leftist Sinn Féin and SDLP and their respective party platforms for [[democratic socialism]] and [[social democracy]].<ref name="autogenerated2009">{{cite web |url=http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2009/Political_Attitudes/NIRELND2.html |title=NI Life and Times Survey – 2009: NIRELND2 |publisher=Ark.ac.uk |year=2009 |access-date=13 July 2010 |archive-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010085431/http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2009/Political_Attitudes/NIRELND2.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

For the most part, Protestants feel a strong connection with Great Britain and wish for Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. Many Catholics however, generally aspire to a United Ireland or are less certain about how to solve the constitutional question. Catholics have a slight majority in Northern Ireland, according to the latest Northern Ireland census. The make-up of the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]] reflects the appeals of the various parties within the population. Of the 90&nbsp;[[Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland)|Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs)]], 37 are unionists and 35 are nationalists (the remaining 18 are classified as "other").<ref name="results maps charts">{{Cite news |date=8 May 2022 |title=NI election results 2022: The assembly poll in maps and charts |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-61363246 |access-date=9 May 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220508172246/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-61363246 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The 1998 [[Good Friday Agreement]] acts as a ''de facto'' [[constitution]] for Northern Ireland. [[Local government in Northern Ireland]] since 2015 has been divided between 11 councils with limited responsibilities.<ref name="Devenport">{{Cite news |last=Devenport |first=Mark |date=18 November 2005 |title=NI local government set for shake-up |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/4449092.stm |access-date=15 November 2008}}</ref> The [[First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland]] are the joint heads of government of Northern Ireland.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Stormont: Why were NI leaders given unequal job titles? |work=BBC News |date=15 May 2022 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-61393736 | access-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202190001/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-61393736 |archive-date=2 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Northern Ireland Executive: Ministerial Code |date=28 September 2015 |url=https://www.northernireland.gov.uk/topics/your-executive/ministerial-code | access-date=2 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202191115/https://www.northernireland.gov.uk/topics/your-executive/ministerial-code |archive-date=2 February 2024}}</ref>