Leo Varadkar says Nigel Farage as PM would move Irish unity ‘centre stage’

Irish unity would move “centre stage” if Nigel Farage became UK prime minister, former Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar has said.

He said UK politics was “very volatile” at the moment and it was “possible that Nigel Farage will be prime minister in four years or nine years’ time”.

Reform won five seats in the 2024 general election but made big gains in local elections in England and Wales in May.

The next UK general election is due to take place by 2029.

Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland’s The View programme, Mr Varadkar said while he hoped Farage did not become prime minister, he believed it “would change the picture in terms of attitudes towards independence in Scotland”.

“I think it would change the views of some people in the middle ground in Northern Ireland (towards Irish unity),” he added.

“It isn’t just because a right-wing nationalist government in London would want to bring the UK and Northern Ireland away from Europe. It is other things as well.”

Mr Varadkar said Reform-run councils in England which were “preventing people from flying pride or progress flags”.

“I don’t think most people in Northern Ireland would like that,” the former Fine Gael leader said.

He said he thought there were people in Northern Ireland “from both backgrounds or both traditions that have a liberal and European outlook”.

“If that’s the kind of government they had in London versus a government in Dublin that was very different, it might make them more likely to vote yes to unification”, he added.

“I do want to be very clear about this, it’s not something I hope happens [Farage becoming prime minister].

“I hope it doesn’t happen.”

Mr Varadkar said he had friends and family in the UK and that he cared a lot “about the rights of minorities across the UK”.

Mr Varadkar, who stood down as taoiseach in April 2024, said he did not think a date should be fixed for an Irish unity referendum as nationalists did not have the numbers to win.

He said planning for a united Ireland should take place.

“I don’t think a united Ireland is inevitable, I think it’s something that we have to work towards,” he said.

“But I think there are a lot of factors that would suggest that we’re on that trajectory.

“Demographic factors, polling, even the most recent numbers showing that a very clear majority of younger people in Northern Ireland want there to be a new united Ireland.”

“I think that will carry true, and that’s why I think it’s something that we should plan for.”

The former taoiseach said he did not think a united Ireland would “just happen by osmosis or by accident”.

“I think has to be worked towards. I think those of us who believe in it have a duty to make the case for it,” he said.

“Look at the trajectory, and that is clear. We see it in elections. We see it in opinion polls. We see it in demographics.”

You can watch the full interview with Leo Varadkar on BBC’s The View at 2240 on BBC One Northern Ireland and iPlayer.