Speaking on Wednesday evening at the Centenary Dinner of Cambridge University Conservative Association, TUV leader Jim Allister said the battle over the Protocol epitomised the age-old battle over the very existence of Northern Ireland.
“The reason why enemies of the Union are the Protocol’s strongest supporters is that it has achieved what in decades of terror the IRA failed to achieve – pushing the border to the Irish Sea and creating the stepping stone of an economic All-Ireland. Equally, its designation of GB as a foreign country makes it anathema to unionists.
“Hence the battle over the Protocol is a battle for the Union itself. It is no coincidence that the Protocol subjugates the economic cornerstone of the Union, Article 6 of the Acts of Union.
“For many the litmus test for the Government’s Protocol Bill is whether it removes the Irish Sea border. Sadly, it does not.
“Yes, it could ameliorate it, but the very idea of green and red lanes confirms the existence of a border. Where do you have such customs lanes? At a border, depicting that you are moving from one customs regime to another. Making it easier to bring goods across that border does not remove it or its constitutional significance and symbolism – nor, its incompatibility with Art 6 of the Acts of Union.
“Improving the flow across the border is very far short of removing the border. Thus, for those who have set removal of the Irish Sea border as the test, then, this Bill fails that test.”