Editorial: Unionist unity over Protocol problems welcome - but voters will want a plan to fix it

​​There were striking scenes at Stormont yesterday as some of the key figures in unionism’s internal wars over the Irish Sea border gathered to give their views on that deal.

What was so remarkable was the degree of unity amongst them on the damaging impact of the Windsor Framework as a whole, and specifically on rights provisions within it.

While much of the discussion has for years, perhaps rightly, focused on the economic and constitutional disruption wrought by the trade border – that has meant a key part of the post-Brexit deal has been overlooked.

Article 2 promises “no diminution” of rights under the Belfast Agreement. It has become a rallying point for those keen to keep Northern Ireland as closely aligned with the Republic as possible, regardless of the constitutional implications for the UK.

Two years ago Equality Commission – a neutral public body – wanted the interpretation of what falls under the deal widened to ensure an all-Ireland equivalence of rights. That was to “promote equality”, they said.

It was criticised at the time by the TUV, but as yesterday’s House of Lords evidence session at Stormont demonstrated – unionism more widely is now alive to the problems this part of the deal creates.

UUP boss Jon Burrows said it had become a “dynamic vehicle upon which you can disapply UK law in Northern Ireland”. DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it was being used to frustrate a key UK Supreme Court ruling on biological sex.

Had this meeting taken place a few years ago, it is unlikely there would have been such unanimity amongst unionist figures. The rights and wrongs of the past have been well debated, and will be again.

What unionist voters will want is a united front – and a joint plan to get NI out of this constitutional mess.