Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“With Edwin Poots demonstrably complacent about the Union-dismantling Protocol – suggesting it will be 2024 before it can be removed – it is clear to many that he is not going to be giving the leadership Unionism needs. Of course, any Assembly vote in 2024 can only wound the Protocol, not kill it, because only Articles 5-10 are up for debate – surely, Mr Poots knows that?
“An implementer of the Protocol is unlikely to win the confidence of Unionists who recognise the Protocol as the greatest threat to the Union in our lifetimes. The ‘Poots’ Posts’ are very manifestation of the Irish Sea border.
“TUV has been very clear that the Protocol must go in all its parts and that its defeat trumps everything. Hence, I believe, the rising support for TUV, which is very gratifying and a spur to greater determination to finish the job.”