Statement by TUV
TUV launches full page newspaper adverts this weekend against any unionist acceptance of the Windsor Framework
Under the banner ‘A time to be vigilant and strong’, the advert pointedly proclaims the Protocol succeeded where the IRA failed – it pushed the border to the Irish Sea! It then sets out seven reasons why Stormont can’t return, including the warning that to operate Stormont under the Protocol is to accept that never again will Northern Ireland be a full part of the U.K., but part of an evolving all-Ireland.
Referencing recent remarks by Leo Varadkar, it declares ‘The Protocol is Varadkar’s path to Irish unity’.
Before reminding readers of the DUP’s seven tests and urging strict adherence to them, the advert warns against false promises, identifying laws merely protecting NI to GB trade or Westminster, rather than Stormont, leading on Protocol implementation, as things which will do nothing “to rectify our annexation into the EU or rid us of the Irish Sea Border or colonial rule.”
Explaining the timing and purpose of the adverts TUV leader Jim Allister said, “After a week of relentless spin to try and force unionists to accept the Irish Sea Border, TUV has taken out these full page adverts in weekend papers to spell out the realities of the Windsor Framework and set out the reasons why Unionists can’t return to Stormont.
“This is a seminal moment for Unionism and therefore we want to be clarion clear on the irretrievable folly of succumbing to the pressure to restart the engine of Stormont under the Protocol and with Sinn Fein at the wheel. Boxed in by a one directional Protocol, Stormont will only ever help, not hinder, the insidious process of our detachment from the U.K.”