It is London and Dublin who are to blame for the fall of Stormont, not unionists

A great deal of criticism is being directed towards those unionists who won’t currently support the power sharing executive.

In truth however it is not unionism which collapsed this executive but the two governments neglecting their role as co guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) by introducing a protocol which abolished the basis upon which the government was formed.

In actual fact the two main unionist parties delayed the collapse of this executive and prioritised the preservation of devolution in the face of the most serious assault on Northern Ireland’s position as part of the UK for 100 years.

In the case of the UUP they still do prioritise devolution.

Rarely does anybody ask the question would Sinn Fein or even the SDLP be willing to implement devolution if it involved operating a trade border were it actually exists on the island of Ireland?

If the answer to that question is that they would then I think we have a solution to our crisis.

If the answer is they would not then I feel they should extend unionists the right to refuse to accept a border where none exists when they aren’t willing to accept so much as a camera on a border that actually does exist.

Unionists should refer to the protocol abolishing the GFA structures not to unionists collapsing an executive which they in fact propped up for a considerable period of time and have really been expelled from by circumstances.

Any unionist which remains in the executive after the next election will effectively be forced into a position of supporting the protocol in practice if not in principle.

It wasn’t unionism which weaponised the GFA for selfish strategic advantage, it was the Irish government and their political allies.

If the Irish government cannot even tolerate a camera on the internationally recognised Irish border then how can they reasonably attack unionists for refusing to implement a trade border within their own country.

Mr RG McDowell, Belfast BT5

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