Nigel Dodds: Unless sovereignty is restored there cannot be a sustainable basis for the restoration of Stormont

So what exactly is going on in the new “technical” talks between the UK and EU officials?

Previous talks ended last February with Liz Truss concluding the EU weren’t prepared to entertain changes to the Northern Ireland Protocol itself.

Since then the negotiating mandate of EU negotiator Maros Sefcovic hasn’t changed. In fact there’s been a doubling down on the EU’s rhetoric and intransigence.

So why the ostentatious ramping up of warm words and optimistic soundbites with apologies included for good measure?

Is it that the UK government wants to show reasonableness and be seen as having given talks a last chance before enacting the Protocol Bill?

Or is it that it has decided to settle for something far short of what Liz Truss said at her first prime minister’s questions ”My preference is for a negotiated solution, but it does have to deliver all the things that we set out in the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill.”

The mini budget shambles, the loss of political capital and the febrile atmosphere inside the Tory parliamentary party are a pointer to the latter.

Briefings indicate that the new talks appear to be based around reducing checks, with the EU offer of last October, derided as woefully inadequate at the time by the UK government, now back for discussion.

But the fundamental issue remains one of sovereignty.

Checks on goods entering or leaving Northern Ireland are the symptom of that problem.

Under the protocol vast swathes of our laws are imposed on us without any say or vote by any representative of Northern Ireland, whilst the remainder of our country governs itself.

This is colonialism pure and simple.

Unless this is changed and full sovereignty restored there cannot be any sustainable basis for the restoration of the political institutions. Giving local representatives back their proper law making powers is surely an outcome which is in the interests of all the political parties and all sections of our community.

After all why do MLAs of any party want to be part of a political set up which deprives them of the right to any decision on laws over the major parts of the economy?

And of course dealing with checks on goods alone does not resolve the iniquity of Northern Ireland being subject to different VAT rules or being placed under a foreign state aid subsidy regime putting us at a disadvantage to the rest of the UK.

Nor does it deal with the problem of EU laws creating more and more differences, divergence and distortion between us and the the rest of the UK. which would escalate over the years ahead.

Time will tell which course the government is now embarked on. It will ultimately decide if the Protocol is more important than the political institutions under the Belfast Agreement as amended by the St Andrews Agreement. It is their choice.

In the meantime unionists must be clear sighted on the necessary outcome required to restore our full place in the UK. And be resolute that without that outcome, either as a result of government action or negotiated outcome, there is no basis for a return to institutions which are fatally undermined.”

Rt Hon Lord Dodds of Duncairn, Westminster SW1