Unionist unease as Liz Truss fails to mention Northern Ireland Protocol once during her speech to the Tory party faithful in Birmingham

Clocking in at just over 3,500 words, Liz Truss’ inaugural conference speech as party leader today only mentioned Northern Ireland once (during a segment about investment zones).

The Union likewise got a single mention.

It comes as Mrs Truss is due to fly to a gathering of European leaders in Prague today, during which discussions are expected to cover the Protocol.

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During mid-August, Mrs Truss – who was locked in a bitter battle for power with Rishi Sunak at the time – wrote a piece for the News Letter in which she said: “This will be a personal priority for me not just as leader of the UK Government but also Minister for the Union.

“The problems of the Protocol have frustrated people in Northern Ireland for too long.

“The situation is urgent and it cannot be allowed to drift.”

The Protocol Bill, which Mrs Truss sponsors, is due to be debated in the House of Lords next week.

If passed, it will enable the government to basically ignore parts of the Protocol which it objects to.

Crucially, passing the law means nothing in and of itself; it merely gives the government the power to act - rather than obliging them to do so.

However, whilst the Tories have a large outright majority in the Commons, allowing them to push through whatever new laws they want in that chamber (so long as the leadership can keep their MPs in line), no such majority exists in the Lords.

Tories make up the biggest single bloc in the Lords (with 248 peers), but peers are often seen as less subject to control by party whips than MPs are.

In addition, this Tory bloc faces the combined mass of hundreds of non-Tories (including 166 Labour lords, 83 Lib Dem ones, and 221 crossbench/non-affiliated ones) – making it much harder for the leadership’s writ to run through the Upper House.It is expected that lords will attempt to delay the Protocol Bill, and neuter it with amendments.

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It is against this backdrop that Mrs Truss spoke to the party faithful in Birmingham today, saying: "We want to create [investment zones] in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

"Now is the time to harness the power of free enterprise to transform our country and ensure our greatest days lie ahead.

"This is the United Kingdom at its best, working together and getting our economy growing.

"And we will face down the separatists who threaten to pull apart our precious union our family…

"We are seizing the new-found freedoms outside the European Union.

"We are the party who got Brexit done and we will realise on the promise of Brexit.

"We are building an economy which makes the most of the huge opportunities Brexit offers.

"By the end of next year, all EU-inspired red tape will be history."Instead, we will ensure regulation is pro-business and pro-growth.

"Leaving the EU gives us the chance to do things differently. And we need more of that."

(Ironically, on Tuesday the European parliament passed a law standardising the types of phone chargers that can be used across the EU - something which will apply in Northern Ireland but not Britain.)

In response to Mrs Truss' speech, TUV leader and Jim Allister said: "I must say it's very disappointing that the Prime Minister had nothing to say about the greatest constitutional threat to the existence of the United Kingdom - namely, the Protocol - and no assurances that she will deliver on her promises on that front.

"I think it was disingenuous for her to talk about 'getting Brexit done', when they left Northern Ireland behind under the control of an EU from which the rest of the UK escaped.

"This is an issue which can't be dodged. It is, above all else, a soverignty issue, and one which any Prime Minister who claims to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom must address, by recovering the ill-gotten sovereignty afforded to the EU over Northern Ireland.

"It doesn't speak to me of a govrnment determined to do what needs to be done - to restore the integrity of the United Kingdom."