Letter: Damage from the Boris Johnson years needs to be corrected and a new compromise created

Unionist politicians have been so damaged by entering the executive, especially those who promised they wouldn’t until the Irish Sea border was removed, that they have no political capital and must constantly engage in disputes over parades, Irish language etc to regain credibility or votes.

Our system of government can only work based on good will which hasn’t existed since unionists became second class citizens under Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal.

I believe the community tensions and disputes we are seeing are Boris Johnson’s legacy to Northern Ireland.

The Stormont executive was always a poor model of government but since the imposition of a joint authority Irish Sea border it has ceased to do the one thing it was ever any good at which was to be a kind of peace and reconciliation committee for Northern Ireland.

It is ironic that those who say they are most committed to devolution are the people who have actually sabotaged devolution with the Windsor Framework.

Both governments keep telling us that they are committed to preserving the Good Friday Agreement but they have only preserved a shell while destroying the substance of any compromise with their Irish Sea border. It is time for the two governments to stop telling unionists that their concerns are in their head and acknowledge that they broke the Agreement with their Brexit deal.

They need to engage honestly with loyalist communities around Northern Ireland’s place in the UK and seek to create a new compromise which corrects the damage of the Boris Johnson years.

Unionist politicians were never going to be able to make devolution work in these circumstances.

We need to deal with the big issue first. Only then might an executive stand a chance of functioning.

R G McDowell, Belfast BT5