Power-sharing is at risk over unionist reaction to the Northern Ireland Protocol, says SDLP leader

Power-sharing in Northern Ireland could be threatened if unionists continue to agitate for the “unrealistic” scrapping of new Irish Sea trading arrangements, the SDLP has warned.
A poster opposing the protocol has appeared on the gates of Stormont. Colum Eastwood says that the future of the assembly there is threatened by the unionist reaction to the Irish Sea borderA poster opposing the protocol has appeared on the gates of Stormont. Colum Eastwood says that the future of the assembly there is threatened by the unionist reaction to the Irish Sea border
A poster opposing the protocol has appeared on the gates of Stormont. Colum Eastwood says that the future of the assembly there is threatened by the unionist reaction to the Irish Sea border

Colum Eastwood’s warning came as the Irish government said it would be open to “modest extensions” of current grace periods that limit the bureaucracy associated with the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol.

Mr Eastwood urged the DUP to end talk of political boycotts and dial down the rhetoric, and instead join with other Stormont parties to find workable solutions to issues linked to the new regulatory and customs processes on Irish Sea shipments.

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Calls from the DUP and other unionist parties to ditch or suspend the protocol have intensified in recent weeks amid evidence of some disruption to trade arriving in the Province from Great Britain.

Unionists and loyalists believe Northern Ireland’s position within the UK has been undermined by the protocol, which was incorporated into the Withdrawal Agreement to ensure a free-flowing Irish land border post-Brexit.

The DUP, which is urging the UK government to bin the protocol, is pursuing a series of political moves aimed at undermining the mechanism, including a boycott on engagement with the Irish government on issues related to its operation and a vow to oppose any protocol-related legislation at the Assembly.

Asked by RTE if there could be a threat to power-sharing if unionists took an increasingly hard-line approach to the protocol, Mr Eastwood said: “Yes, I think there could be and unionism needs to learn the lesson that they should have learned a number of times over the past 100 years – the British government will let you down and if you keep going to the right you’re going to end up in a worse position when you come back to the table.

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“So come and work with us, let’s get together, the spirit of power-sharing is what’s important right now, working in partnership to deal with the problems.

“But continuing to run to the microphone, have petitions and talk about protests and all that – none of that works, it’s not based in reality.

“We know the DUP campaigned for Brexit, it was a strategic error at the time.

“We can now work together to resolve some of the difficulty, but let’s all calm down, work together, put the rhetoric at the door because it’s not going to help and it will have a political impact.”

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