Speaking at an anti-Protocol event in Sandy Row Orange Hall on Thursday evening TUV leader Jim Allister said:
“Instead of the DUP taking the opportunity to reassess its Protocol-implementing position, upon the departure of Jeffrey Donaldson, under its Continuity Jeffrey leadership the DUP has doubled down to defend the tainted Donaldson Deal.
“It is telling that Gavin Robinson proclaimed the DUP’s priority as sustaining Stormont with its Sinn Fein and EU rule, rather than having a priority of restoring our place within the UK and ridding us of the obscenity of the Irish Sea border.
“Indeed, he has declared his party’s satisfaction with the permanency of a red lane partitioning border through which all raw materials from GB for all NI manufacturing are subject to EU tariffs, checks and paperwork. Yet, the DUP leader embraces such as acceptable and nonchalantly tells the rest of the Irish Sea border, though, admittedly not gone, will diminish over time – not half as fast as his coming to terms with our detachment from the UK.
“Make no mistake, the tainted DUP deal means all of the following:-
NI, alone within the UK, remains subject to and governed by the EU’s Customs Code which requires GB to be treated for trade as a foreign country and NI as EU territory;
NI remains wholly subject to hundreds of EU laws we can’t change, governing our goods economy, agri-food and environment – precisely the same laws as prevail in the Republic and whereby the stepping stone of an all-Ireland economy is put in place;
By reason of our subjection to the EU Customs Code and EU law, the Irish Sea border stays;
Art 6 of the Acts of Union remains in suspension;
Every word of the Protocol and every syllable of imposed EU law remains in place;
The supposed scrutiny capacity of the Assembly over the Protocol has been removed by the cancelling of statutory powers to call for papers and persons in respect of Protocol issues;
And to crown it all we get Sinn Fein rule and a First Minister who boasts there was no alternative to the murder of our kith and kin.
“Not much left in terms of a last line of defence and even less chance of rollover DUP defending anything!
“Having so brazenly somersaulted from opposing to implementing the Protocol, the DUP leadership has the audacity to tell unionists, who dare to continue to stand on the ground the DUP abandoned, that they must not dare oppose them at the polls. Sorry, politicians must earn the trust of their electorate and when they squander it there are consequences!
“TUV gave the DUP a clear run in the 2019 General Election to deliver a proper Brexit. They failed and brought us the Protocol. And even with no TUV to blame they lost unionism three seats!”