TUV leader Jim Allister backs Ian Paisley and says Stormont return would be ‘kamikaze’ for unionists

The North Antrim MP said: “The only leverage we have is actually staying out of the assembly.

“Given the speed with which the secretary of state understands these things, it could be an ice age away. He’s got to grasp these issues quite quickly and recognise he’s got to move fast.”

“What could be an ice age away?” asked presenter Stephen Nolan.

“Him actually taking action,” responded Mr Paisley. “We’ve got a secretary of state and Northern Ireland Office in complete denial that these things matter.”

Mr Allister agreed that the choice to boycott Stormont was correct.

He said that the choice is simple for unionists – either a “kamikaze return to Union-dismantling Stormont” or a commitment to “stand firm”.

“It isn’t a choice which should be difficult for anyone who recognises the reality of the protocol,” he said.

“NI annexed under the EU’s customs code and single market regimes and thereby ruled in substantial measure by foreign laws, overseen by a foreign court, with the consequence made unmistakably clear by a partitioning border in the Irish Sea.

“To return to Stormont is to actively implement the Irish Sea border and these foreign laws, which align our economy emphatically with the Republic of Ireland through identical single market and trading laws, diverging us all the time from GB.

“Thus, to operate Stormont now is to accept that never again will NI be a full part of the UK, but rather is in a process of transition towards the protocol’s ultimate objective, Irish unification.”

However, another senior unionist – Sir Reg Empey – rebuked Mr Paisley and the DUP in general over the ongoing boycott of Stormont, adding that it was their backing for Brexit which is to blame for unionism’s current woes.

Speaking to the News Letter in the wake of Mr Paisley’s comments, the UUP lord said: “We went to see David Cameron in February 2016, and it was clear at that stage the government had no plan for Northern Ireland. We came to the conclusion therefore that it'd be unwise to support Brexit unless there was a proper plan.

“The question I pose is: what did Ian Paisley and (Brexiteer businessman) Ben Habib think was going to be negotiated? Did they have a plan of their own?

“Because they encouraged everybody to support Brexit, and most unionists did. And all of our current troubles are down to that.

“The point I'm making is unionism has been very, very badly led on this whole issue. And if Ian thinks that by closing down Stormont he's going to advance any cause that's of any help to unionism, I think he's gravely mistaken.

“What we're doing is unionism is making Northern Ireland not work. That's what republicans are trying to do: make Northern Ireland not work. And here we have a situation where unionism is actually assisting them in that.”

Alliance’s Stephen Farry was not happy with the use of the word “leverage” by Mr Paisley.

He said: “Every day without an assembly and executive, the people of Northern Ireland are suffering. Continuing to block that means causing more pain for those people.

“The DUP is once again using the word leverage regarding the people of Northern Ireland. That means using people who are on health waiting lists or waiting for special needs assessments for their children and more as leverage.

“Every single interest group in our society, from the business community, to educational, to those who work in the health service, the community and voluntary sector and over 70% of the electorate are saying they want an assembly back.

“Nobody is saying it would provide a silver bullet to our problems but it would enable us to plan ahead and use our resources to best effect. We need to see a reformed assembly working again and we need to see it now.”