Jamie Bryson: Anti-Northern Ireland Protocol protests ‘could return’ if government legislation is blocked

Speaking to the News Letter, Mr Bryson said the mainly peaceful street protests against the protocol across NI had been a very effective safety valve for unionists.

“The clear objective was to create the political and societal environment necessary to force political unionism to take appropriate action which in turn would influence wider UK Government policy,” he said.

“Viewed through that prism, the rallies were a resounding success. I remember being laughed at and told I was ‘foolish’ when I suggested the DUP should collapse Stormont as leverage against the Protocol. And yet here we are, the analysis of grass roots unionism and loyalism has been adopted wholesale by political unionism.

“Moreover, it has been shown that our movement has won the hearts and minds of the majority of the unionist electorate, evidenced by the huge vote in May for the DUP and TUV, and the increased polling support for the DUP as they continued to take a harder stand against the iniquitous Protocol.

“All of this has collectively moved Government policy. The speech by potentially soon to be Prime Minister Liz Truss in introducing the Protocol Bill could easily have been given at an anti-Protocol rally. The Government now accept the reality: it is power sharing at Stormont or the Protocol, but never both.

“In addition the protest movement provided a release valve for the huge anger and resentment across unionism and loyalism at not only the Protocol, but the one sided peace process.”

However he warned: “Should the House of Lords seek to frustrate the passage of the Protocol Bill, then such actions will send a message that political progress is being maliciously impeded, and leave people with the obvious conclusions that once again street protest at a bare minimum, is the only way to advance the objective of ridding Northern Ireland of the union-subjugating Protocol.”