BRITAIN IS ON the brink with MPs set to vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal later today, but many people in Ireland have little sympathy for the British people in the midst of the ongoing chaos.

According to an opinion poll carried out by Amarách Research for RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live, 50% of people here have no sympathy for British people while 44% said they did have at least some sympathy and 6% said they didn’t know.

Today is the day when the House of Commons will finally get to vote on May’s Brexit deal, which was originally scheduled in December but delayed when it became clear the prime minister wouldn’t win the vote.

This time around, she looks unlikely to win this time either.

With the question of the Irish border backstop front and centre in the Brexit negotiations for some time and the ridiculous things that some British politicians have said about Ireland, it is clear this hasn’t translated to sympathy for their situation from many people here.

Chief among those drawing consternation was former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who said last year that the UK government’s concerns about customs arrangements post-Brexit was “pure millenium bug” stuff. On Northern Ireland, he added:

[Northern Ireland] is so small and there are so few firms that actually use that border regularly, it’s just beyond belief that we’re allowing the tail to wag the dog in this way. We’re allowing the whole of our agenda to be dictated by this folly.

With Theresa May on course to lose today’s vote, it will plunge the UK into fresh uncertainty.

There’s only 11 weeks left until it’s due to leave the EU at the end of March, but that may have to be delayed to avoid crashing out without a deal.

With Labour due to submit a motion of no confidence in May and her government immediately after the vote if it fails, it’s set to be another tumultuous week in Brexitland.

Our reporter, Gráinne Ní Aodha, will be in Westminster today for the pivotal vote. Follow her updates on TheJournal.ie and on Twitter here. 

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