Lord Empey: The Irish Sea border is outrageous, and the DUP leader still fails to accept her role in it

Writing in the News Letter last Saturday, the DUP leader Arlene Foster tried to explain away her party’s role in the creation of the Irish Sea border.
By Reg Empey
Published 23rd Jan 2021, 08:55 BST
Nigel Dodds MP, Arlene Foster MLA and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP listen to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, addressing the DUP drinks reception at the Conservative Party conference October 1 2019. The following day the DUP agreed to a regulatory border in the Irish Sea (but it says it only did so subject to a Stormont veto)Nigel Dodds MP, Arlene Foster MLA and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP listen to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, addressing the DUP drinks reception at the Conservative Party conference October 1 2019. The following day the DUP agreed to a regulatory border in the Irish Sea (but it says it only did so subject to a Stormont veto)
Nigel Dodds MP, Arlene Foster MLA and Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP listen to the prime minister, Boris Johnson, addressing the DUP drinks reception at the Conservative Party conference October 1 2019. The following day the DUP agreed to a regulatory border in the Irish Sea (but it says it only did so subject to a Stormont veto)

(Mrs Foster’s article can be read here: ‘We’re trying to fix a barrier created by London,’ January 16)

However one describes it, Northern Ireland is being treated differently from the rest of the United Kingdom. We remain in the EU single market and subject to all its rules and regulations and the jurisdiction of the EU court, over which neither we nor Westminster have any control.

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Border control posts are being erected and both UK and EU officials are standing there ready to check incoming goods to ensure that they are compliant with EU eegulations.

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We now have to treat goods coming from Scotland, England and Wales as if the rest of the UK is a foreign country. Our economic border has now moved from Newry to Larne. Outrageous.

Repeatedly Arlene has stated that Northern Ireland must not be treated differently from any other part of the UK. Indeed, she made it her ‘blood red line’.

She blames London for creating a barrier between NI and the rest of the UK, but fails to accept her role in bringing about this disaster.

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When Boris Johnson proposed the Irish Sea border on October 2 2019 (the day after he is pictured above at the DUP reception at the Tory conference), Arlene agreed with him, saying that his proposals were ‘a serious and sensible way forward’.

Why any unionist would contemplate supporting a proposal for a border of any description between different parts of the UK is beyond my comprehension.

Arlene feebly claims that her party would have had a veto over the implementation of Boris’s proposals because the NI Assembly and executive would have to agree before they were entered into. However, when Arlene agreed to this, there was no assembly or executive!

Remember, if the DUP had a veto so would Sinn Fein, so republicans could collapse the assembly at any time, thus rendering any DUP veto meaningless.

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Fifteen days after Arlene’s support was given to the PM’s proposals — and having got what he wanted from her — he agreed the amended protocol with the EU, leaving out the so- called consent mechanism which Arlene was relying on!

It was so obvious that this would happen, that it was painful to watch Northern Ireland’s future being gambled away. The truth is that Arlene now leads the ‘Border in the Irish Sea Party’.

She has tried, and failed, to retro fit an argument for the DUP’s actions in 2019, but she is totally unconvincing and merely demonstrates how outmanoeuvred the DUP was by Boris.

They did have a veto in 2019 in Westminster, where the real decisions were being taken, but they bottled it and failed to stop the prime minister when they had the chance.

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Reg Empey, Former Ulster Unionist leader, House of Lords, Westminster

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Related topics:Arlene FosterDUPNorthern IrelandUnited KingdomIrish SeaBoris Johnson