Jamie Bryson: As the DUP will realise, Article 6 rights of the Acts of Union cannot be restored without restoring Article 6

As part of this, Mr Robinson made reference to ‘restoring our rights under Article 6 of the Acts of Union’. It may be suggested that this is, of course, not the same as restoring Article 6 of the Acts of Union.

However such analysis (or efforts to make such a distinction) would be unsustainable. The ‘rights’ conferred by Article 6 of the Acts of Union are Article 6 of the Acts of Union.

It’s obvious therefore as a matter of the most compelling logic that you cannot restore Article 6 rights, without restoring Article 6.

The breach of Article 6 is caused by (as identified by the Court); (i) the continued application of EU law to NI; (ii) the internal fetters on trade GB-NI, creating an Irish Sea border; and (iii) the privileged access for NI to the EU single market (which necessitates the Irish Sea border and imposition of EU law).

Therefore, in order to restore Article 6 of the Acts of Union: EU law must end; the Irish Sea border must be removed, which means trading GB-NI must be no different than between, for example, England and Scotland; and NI must be on a equal footing with the rest of the UK which prohibits, obviously, privileged access to the EU market.

It is worth of course reiterating, again, that such privileged access requires – as a condition precedent – the continued imposition of EU law and an Irish Sea customs border.

You can have your rights under Article 6 of the Acts of Union and thus be a full part of the United Kingdom, or you can have privileged access to the EU single market, but you cannot have both.

That is why unionism must also be clear as to terminology.

If matters are to be presented as unionism merely requiring access to (I emphasise that word) the UK internal market then of course you could in theory have such access to the UK internal market by NI-GB trade, without being a full part of the UK internal market.

The Irish Sea border is asymmetric.

That is why the focus should be kept firmly on restoring Article 6 of the Acts of Union, with all that entails.

That is the key litmus test, that is the protective barrier against any deceptive rhetorical efforts or fudge.

It is welcome that Gavin Robinson MP has again reiterated that a deal must have unionist as well as nationalist support. As all anti-protocol unionists have said (and in terms of political unionism, obtained mandates upon) Article 6 of the Acts of Union is the key test.

Therefore a deal unionists can support must, as many DUP MLAs and MPs have said both in Parliament, in press statements and on platforms, restore Article 6, lifting the subjugation occasioned by the Union-subjugating, violence-rewarding protocol and it’s embedded framework.

Jamie Bryson, NI Director, Centre for the Union