Ben Habib: Is Liz Truss the strong prime minister for which we yearn?

The Northern Ireland Protocol mess was not created by Liz Truss. Yet it risks undermining her premiership if not promptly and decisively dealt with by her.

In her hustings in Belfast, when questioned about her Northern Ireland Protocol Bill, she declared she would not settle for anything less than:

l Removing the European Court of Justice as the final arbiter;

l The free flow of goods East/ West (and presumably West/ East);

l Northern Ireland receiving the same tax benefits as Great Britain;

l UK law applying for all businesses dealing within the UK.

And she would want this all done quickly.

I believe Mrs Truss to be honest so these declarations are welcome.

Truss’s Northern Ireland Protocol Bill establishes a framework for future regulations – it does not, in itself, solve the problem. The passing of the bill and then all the other regulations which would have to follow would be a constant sore for her premiership.

There would be continuous criticism in the Commons and the Lords. The media would have a field day over the breaching of international law. And she would have to contend with the EU’s legal actions and possibly a trade war.

There is a way for her to achieve her aims and force the EU to the table.

Unwittingly it is the EU that has created this opportunity.

When Liz Truss introduced her bill in June, the EU gave us an ultimatum: fall into line by September 15 with its interpretation of the protocol or face legal action in the European Court of Justice. This would include requiring us to implement checks on goods moving from Northern Ireland to Great Britain.

Reflect on that a moment.

The Irish Sea border has thus far only affected a limited number of goods moving in one direction, from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The EU now wants to block goods going the other way. This has nothing to do with the protection of its precious single market. It is a vindictive action against the people of Northern Ireland. So much for the best of both worlds!

But this recent EU aggression is the opportunity Truss needed. No one in Westminster ever interpreted the protocol to include checks on goods coming into Great Britain.

There is now a way for her to neuter the protocol virtually immediately whilst maintaining the moral high ground. All she need do is rightly accept that Parliament did not approve removing Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom.

With that one acceptance she would gain the ability to declare the protocol unlawful ab initio. And with the protocol being unlawful, she could legitimately ditch it, entirely in compliance with international law (under article 46 of the Vienna Convention).

If Truss is serious about the commitments she made in the Belfast hustings, she should underpin her bill with an acceptance that Parliament never voted to break our precious Union.

It no doubt requires a robust leader to take this step.

Is Liz Truss the strong prime minister for whom the electorate and particularly unionists yearn?

Ben Habib, Former Brexit Party MEP