Nearly two-thirds of unionists in Northern Ireland support the British government's decision to suspend the Assembly elections, according to a poll published today.
But only 31 per cent of nationalists believed Mr Tony Blair was right to suspend the elections until the autumn to allow for agreement to be reached among the parties, according to the survey published in today's
News Letter
newspaper.
Today's Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll says 35 per cent of people believe the Ulster Unionist Party is most to blame for the breakdown of the peace process.
Over three-quarters of the unionist population would back the Belfast Agreement if the IRA got rid of its arsenal of weapons, the News Letterpoll found.
It reported 57 per cent of unionists would support the restoration of the power-sharing institutions if the IRA issued a statement vowing never to use its weapons again.
But in the absence of assurances from the IRA, the poll indicated that only 27 per cent of unionist voters would back the return of the Stormont Assembly.
Unionists and nationalists were at odds over the sincerity of Sinn Féin to see an end to all IRA activities, with just 28 per cent of unionists trusting the republican leadership while 88 per cent of nationalists believed they were sincere about an end to the conflict.
The Irish Times/TNS mrbi poll shows 45 per cent of voters in the Republic believe the IRA has done enough to make clear its commitment to ending paramilitary activity.
The News Letterpoll also indicated that despite apparent growing support for the Democratic Unionists, the most popular leader among the pro-union community was the Ulster Unionist Party leader David Trimble.
The DUP's Rev Ian Paisley came a distant third behind anti-Agreement Ulster Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson.