Letter: Any unionist boycott of Stormont is futile and will simply risk damage to the remaining pieces of the Union

A letter from Kenneth Allen:

In his column of Saturday February 25 Ben Lowry (‘Support for dissidents could grow if IRA goes unchallenged on legacy,’ February 25, see link below) ightly asserts that any protocol deal will not be to unionist liking.

After a year of a dormant Assembly in protest against the protocol with a fast-approaching potential celebration of the 25th anniversary of that assembly by the global great and good, all unionists should ask themselves: “Why not?”

The reality is that the ultimate boundaries of a deal have not changed since 2019 when Boris Johnson agreed to leave us inside the EU trade sphere to secure his preferred Brexit for the mainland.

The EU, driven by a World Trade Organisation obligation to treat all hard borders equally, does not want the hassle of a land border in Ireland.

That is their price when offering our government the much-needed continuity deals like the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and aviation rights that prevent a divided mainland voter base from incurring harsher pain that could jeopardise acceptance of their hard Brexit secured in 2019.

It's an unpleasant reality that in the short term there will be no change in the above, regardless of who leads the Tory Party. Any Stormont boycott is therefore futile and will simply risk damage to the remaining pieces of the Union.

The only possible change in the above could come from that divided mainland body politic where, driven by pragmatic economics, future governments surely will not hold such an absolutist view on all-UK trade alignment with the EU thus negating the Protocol.

Those who assert their leadership of unionism will need to accept and explain to unionist voters the reality of the situation, to admit that Brexit has failed Ulster and return to Stormont, albeit under protest, thus having unionism in good standing across the UK ready to capitalise on any future opportunities to restore the union.

Kenneth Allen, Co Down

Ben Lowry: Support for dissidents could grow if IRA goes unchallenged on legacy