As part of his campaign for the 2019 Conservative Party leadership election Boris Johnson suggested that he supported the construction of the bridge, describing himself as "an enthusiast for that idea", and adding that he believed it would be best "championed by local people with local consent and interest, backed by local business."

In September, 2019, the UK government had requested civil servants in the Treasury and Department for Transport undertake a cost and risk analysis of the proposed bridge, with special attention to be paid to possible funding options. The Department for Transport had reportedly already produced a factual paper on the subject for a former transport secretary. When asked to comment on the project the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said the UK had "amazing ambitions for the future." 

The Independent's Europe Correspondent suggested that the UK was lagging behind by not taking the construction of the bridge seriously, suggesting that other countries had already invested in such bridges. The newspaper cited the example of Japan's islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, which are linked by the Seikan Tunnel which exceeds the length of the proposed bridge. It also cited the examples of the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link and the Helsinki-Tallinn Tunnel as evidence that the UK was lagging behind comparative European nations. 

While addressing supporters for the bridge in Northern Ireland UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is quoted as having said "With infrastructure projects, finance is not the issue, the issue is political will, the issue is getting the business community to see that this could be something that works for them, the issue is getting popular demand and popular consent for a great infrastructure project - and that is why you need Stormont."  

In late September, 2019, a group of engineers wrote to the National Geographic magazine agreeing that it was "technically possible and far from unrealistic to build" the bridge. The architect, Alan Dunlop, has suggested two possible routes: a 12-mile span covering the shortest gap from Mull of Kintyre, or a Southern route from Portpatrick to Larne. The Northern one might be too remote, whereas the Southern one is closer to Belfast, and has current road infrastructure.

The depth, rather than the length, poses difficulties, but none that cannot be overcome. Dunlop suggests it might be constructed like an oil rig, anchored to the sea bed by cables. While seas in the area can be rough, he points out that the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, a 34-mile series of cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel and four artificial islands, which opened in China last year, “was designed and built to withstand typhoons.” Furthermore, his route is in shallower water to the North of the undersea dump of post-World War II munitions.

The Unity Bridge is technically feasible, and would unite the UK with a land crossing. Furthermore, it would also establish a land crossing between the Republic of Ireland and its EU partners. Lorries or trains could cross Northern Ireland, and head down to use the Channel Tunnel in the South. Some Irish and EU traders would find the bridge and tunnel tolls cheaper than loading and unloading ships. 

The venture would be a bold one, creating thousands of jobs where they ae most needed. It would, furthermore, be a symbol of the nation’s new-found confidence. And it would be a physical link tying Northern Ireland to the rest of the Union it is part of. It could be built, and it should be.