Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“Tomorrow I will give evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee at Westminster spelling out why there can be no compromise on the Backstop for any period of time. Once it is accepted, even if there are assurances that it will be for a limited period, the backstop will be difficult to exit. There is considerable concern within the Unionist community at suggestions that the DUP is prepared to compromise on this point.
“It is nonsense to suggest that imposing a border between Great Britain and Northern Ireland in order to keep an open border with the Republic of Ireland would be in the interests of the people of our Province. An analysis of purchases and imports from trade partners split by goods and services for 2016 showed that:
· The total purchases from Great Britain in goods was £10,989 million while the purchases of services from Great Britain was £2,432 million.
· The total imports from the Republic of Ireland in goods was £1,995 million while the purchases of services from the Republic was £293 million.
“In fact, the total purchases in goods from Great Britain (£10,989 million) dwarfed the total purchases in goods from the Republic and the rest of the EU combined (£3,959 million).
“So, for the sake of unfettered access of £1,995 million of goods from RoI the Withdrawal Agreement proposes to fetter £10,989 million goods from GB – the very goods that stock our supermarket shelves and are part of the vital supply chain to our industry.
“There being no economic logic or reason for this approach the motivation can only be political. The purpose is clear: annex Northern Ireland from the UK and detain it within the EU customs and single market orbit.
“Further, the idea that the Backstop is essential to avoid a ‘hard border’ is a hoax. The core question, which remains unanswered, is “Who would build this hard border?” Ireland says not it. The UK says the same. So who? The EU Commission has equivocated, but it is one thing for a spokesman to articulate the theory that No Deal means a hard border, but quite something else to translate such into the reality of border infrastructure. It won’t happen, unless the EU makes the Dublin Government physically partition Ireland. How likely is that?”
Read the full TUV submission here https://tuv.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/The-Implications-of-the-EU-Withdrawal-Agreement-and-the-backstop-for-Northern-Ireland.pdf