The current United Kingdom is composed of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, and Northern Ireland is equal to Scotland in terms of legal status.
Northern Ireland can certainly vote to secede from the United Kingdom, which is a constitutional right. Although there are separatist forces such as the Northern Ireland Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland, the majority of Northern Ireland residents who advocate independence from the United Kingdom or join Ireland are not the mainstream. Unlike the dominant Catholic faith in Ireland, the majority of the population of Northern Ireland is Protestant, as is the case in the rest of the United Kingdom. The Protestant population did not agree with the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom.
Advocates of the independence of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom are the non-dominant Catholic inhabitants of Northern Ireland, who resort to violence because they are in the minority and cannot vote for independence.
Although the Irish nation is the mainstream of the residents of Northern Ireland, unlike the mainstream religious belief in Ireland, Protestants are the mainstream belief of the residents of Northern Ireland, and the religious consciousness exceeds the national consciousness, so the problem of Northern Ireland is not a problem of national slavery, but a problem of religious belief.
The Scottish referendum was endorsed by the United Kingdom. The reason why Cameron agreed to the Scottish local **'s request for a referendum was to gain the local **'s political support for himself. The matter is essentially a political transaction. And Cameron considered the general context at that time, and it was unlikely that the Scottish referendum would pass. So it's just a favor. However, things got out of hand for a while, and the UK began to reconsider the consequences of allowing the referendum. It is believed that an independence referendum will no longer be allowed anywhere for quite some time. Despite the current Brexit context, England and Scotland are at odds on this issue, and some Scottish people have proposed a second referendum. But the incumbent ** firmly refused.
The problem in Northern Ireland is more complex than in Scotland. Historically, Ireland was a British colony. England conquered Ireland from the time of Cromwell. But at the same time, the Irish independence movement never stopped. At the beginning of the 20th century, a compromise was made. Britain allowed Ireland to become independent, but the northern part of the island remained under British control. This is also known as Northern Ireland. The ethnic composition of Northern Ireland includes both the original Irish Aboriginal population and the English who entered the colonial era later. There are also religious differences. Catholicism is common among the Irish, and Protestantism is common among the English. ** Intertwined with religious contradictions, making the contradictions between the two sides very acute. In terms of numbers, the English have a slight advantage. The Aboriginal people of Northern Ireland have long wanted independence from the United Kingdom and integration with Ireland. They formed a paramilitary organization, the Irish Republican Army. It has always been a confrontation with the British ** with guerrilla warfare and terrorist acts. During the Blair administration, through the mediation of the United States and Blair's promise to give Northern Ireland a high degree of autonomy, the Northern Ireland issue was basically resolved. However, after a long period of hatred, conflicts continue to occur from time to time. Under such circumstances, allowing Northern Ireland to hold an independence referendum would trigger violent unrest in the region, regardless of the outcome. The UK certainly wouldn't be so stupid.
The UK's different attitudes towards Scotland and Northern Ireland show that politics has always been about reality and strength. The British have never been bound by the so-called universal concept. Interests are always the basis of political decision-making.
Northern Ireland itself is part of the island of Ireland;However, for historical reasons, the inhabitants of Northern Ireland are mostly descendants of the British Isles, which means that they are more likely to remain in the United Kingdom than to unite with IrelandIn 1921, when Ireland became independent, Northern Ireland was given the choice of whether to join Ireland or remain in the United Kingdom, and the result was that the vote was to remain in the United Kingdom. Even now, they still tend to stay in the UK.