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A Catholic Unionist is a Northern Irish Roman Catholic who supports continuing ties between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Northern Ireland is an constituent country of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, consisting of the northeastern portion of the island of Ireland. Among those who vote for mainstream Unionist parties Catholic Unionists usually support the more moderate Ulster Unionist Party, as opposed to the Democratic Unionist Party because of the latter party's involvement in some contentious Orange Order parades and because of the anti-Catholic religious doctrine of DUP Party leader Ian Paisley. Many Catholic Unionists vote for mainstream Catholic Nationalist parties such as the Social Democratic and Labour Party or for the non-aligned Alliance Party of Northern Ireland, notwithstanding the former's support for a United Ireland.
Catholic Unionists Irish Unionists in the Republic of Ireland See also Voting trends Although roughly 24% of Northern Irish Catholics are claimed by opinion polls (no sources are provided) to want N.I. to remain in the United Kingdom, this is highly unlikely and it is thought that fewer than 2% of Catholics vote for Unionist parties. Given the use of the "secret ballot", which is an essential element of the democratic process, this statistic is highly questionable and, in any case, well within the statistical "margin of error". It should perhaps be noted that it is similarly estimated that 1% of Protestants vote for nationalist parties. Footnotes See also | ||||||||
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