TUV Lagan Valley spokesperson Lorna Smyth said:
“The term “joint authority” has been bandied about many times over the years but few have thought about what it actually means or if it is even possible. In reality, as with Ian Paisley’s mythical Plan B when he claimed the Blair Government were planning joint authority with Dublin if the Assembly and Executive were not restored, no such plan has ever been committed to paper. It is a bogeyman designed to force Unionists to do things which they know are not in their interests.
“Joint authority is legally and constitutionally impossible. Even if it were a possibility, it would be a breach of the Belfast Agreement which in its opening page makes clear that there can be no change in the constitutional status of Northern Ireland as part of the U.K. without the consent of its people.
“The reality of course is that as a result of the Protocol there has been an undermining of Northern Ireland’s place inside the U.K. The courts have already ruled that Article VI of the Acts of Union has been “subjugated” by the Protocol. The U.K. internal market has been partitioned and the price of restoring Stormont is to acquiesce in that.
“The spectre of joint authority has only been conjured up this Halloween in order to force Unionists to agree to that which will mean the destruction of the Union. The economic union with the Republic created by the Protocol will inevitably lead to greater political union. That is the real danger to our future within the U.K. No Unionist should accept horror stories about joint authority coming from those who wish them to drop their principled opposition to the Protocol.”