‘Got Brexit done?’ Not exactly – the Protocol is a wretched deal from a weak government

Democratic accountability in Northern Ireland must be restored, and so the protocol must go.

Ever since the Northern Ireland Protocol became active, people’s rights and the democratic integrity of Northern Ireland and the very union itself is being constantly eroded as more and more EU rules take effect in Northern Ireland.

These EU rules and regulations make the gap between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK wider and wider.

The people of Northern Ireland had no say or input into the protocol, this was a wretched deal agreed between a weak UK government in a failed attempt to get Brexit done, the Irish government and the EU in a land grab.

In the ultimate betrayal of the people here the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in his oven ready deal, handed control and sovereignty over to the EU.

This undemocratic folly must end to ensure the people have the basic human right to decide who makes and governs the actions we take in our daily life.

It is clear that recent court judgements place Northern Ireland more under the control of the EU than the UK, this being so the Belfast Agreement is now dead as constitutional change has clearly happened without the peoples say.

This also makes Stormont irrelevant as it makes clear that we are an EU rule taker and not maker so a new Stormont executive is very unlikely to be formed after the election while the protocol remains.

With over a year of the protocol being in place there is little doubt it raises prices, reduces choice, damages the economy, even damages our health in reduction of essential medicines and impinges our very day to day life in so many ways, some of which we are now only becoming aware off, that is why the protocol is the number one issue.

Those that voted for Brexit both nationalist and unionist voted to take back control from the EU not to give unaccountable control to it, people have never been asked if we wanted a Northern Ireland damaging protocol, the worst of both worlds and not Brexit. The time has now come to restore full democratic accountability in Northern Ireland and this election will be an ideal vehicle to answer this question.

Stevan Patterson, Castlederg

For more political news, click here:

WATCH: Crowd cheers for the destruction of the 1998 Belfast Agreement at loyalist rally

Bryson dubs Simon Coveney a ‘meddling aggressor’ saying the Dublin government ‘swans around NI as if they own the place’

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit

https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptionsnow to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry, Editor