Admission of new states to the United States is governed by Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which states that “New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union.” No additional constitutional amendment is required for Congress to admit new states. On the British side, parliamentary sovereignty means that an Act of Parliament can abolish the monarchy and reorganise the constitutional order.
The sequence below is theoretical. It assumes prior democratic consent through referendums or equivalent processes in each of the five entities and sufficient political will in the U.S. Congress. No current government or major political party in the United Kingdom, Ireland, or the United States has adopted this proposal.
1. United Kingdom: Abolition of the Monarchy and Establishment of a Republic
- A referendum on the future of the monarchy.
- An Act of Parliament abolishing the monarchy, transferring Crown assets and powers, and establishing an elected (typically ceremonial) head of state.
- Existing republican campaigns in the United Kingdom have outlined models along these lines; Barbados completed a similar transition from constitutional monarchy to republic in 2021–22.
- Parallel or subsequent referendums in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland on the question of seeking U.S. statehood.
2. Republic of Ireland
The Republic of Ireland is an independent sovereign state and an EU member. Any decision to seek U.S. statehood would require a referendum and constitutional amendment under Irish law, together with negotiations concerning EU membership and related treaties.
3. Application to the United States
- Each of the five entities would petition Congress for admission.
- Each would draft a state constitution that is republican in form.
- Congress would consider enabling or admission legislation. Admission requires a majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
- Upon admission, each new state would receive two U.S. Senators and a number of House seats determined by population under the existing apportionment formula.
4. Transition Issues
Practical matters that would require negotiation include:
- Currency (replacement of the pound sterling and the euro in Ireland with the U.S. dollar).
- Integration of legal systems (both the UK and Ireland operate under common-law traditions).
- Defence and alliance arrangements (NATO membership).
- Social-security and healthcare systems.
- Existing international treaties and, in Ireland’s case, EU obligations.
Political and Practical Barriers
Public-opinion polling in the United Kingdom and Ireland has not shown majority support for either the abolition of the monarchy followed by U.S. statehood or for statehood itself. In the United States, congressional approval would be required and has not been sought. The addition of approximately 70 million people across five new states would alter the balance of representation in the House, the Senate, and the Electoral College.