The Conservative government is to blame for the Northern Ireland Protocol, not Irish nationalists

A letter from Matthew Coyle:
The protocol was agreed by Boris Johnson ultimately endorsed by a large, cross-party majority in the House of Commons in October 2019, aboveThe protocol was agreed by Boris Johnson ultimately endorsed by a large, cross-party majority in the House of Commons in October 2019, above
The protocol was agreed by Boris Johnson ultimately endorsed by a large, cross-party majority in the House of Commons in October 2019, above

I read Philip Wilson’s recent Robert Caro-themed jeremiad (‘Unionists see how they’d be treated in a nationalist future,’ April 14, see link below) with interest.

I noticed within it not even a passing reference to the real authors of the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol namely the Conservative and (alleged) Unionist Party, and the English nativist base to which it is in hock.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Wilson’s commentary, and the mental contortions needed to reconcile reality and aspiration, is fairly typical of the myopia now plaguing certain strains of unionism.

Letter to the editorLetter to the editor
Letter to the editor

Just like the trade borders that render it necessary, the protocol is a creature of Brexit and that is precisely where the problems lie.

Designed and proposed by Her Majesty’s Government — after the prime minister reneged on yet another vow, this one to unionists — the protocol was ultimately endorsed by a large, cross-party majority at Westminster.

In truth, the people responsible for the prevailing strife are reckless Tory voters and the zealots in the ‘European Research Group’, whose minority Europhobic government was, for two years, offered crucial, make-or-break support by political unionism.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Irish nationalists, in contrast, have never held the balance of power in London; nor has the EU.

It is utterly fanciful to suggest that Northern Ireland’s latest difficulties stem from anywhere other than the rich seam of careless ignorance running through this Conservative regime.

The present arrangements seem very likely to survive their brush with ‘combined unionist and loyalist opposition’, given that they enjoy the joint backing of the sovereign UK parliament, the world’s most powerful economic bloc and its mightiest nation.

We should all expect the protocol to remain in place for as long as this government resists the regulatory alignment required to make it redundant.

Matthew Coyle, Holywood

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Alistair Bushe

Editor