The protocol is hurting Northern Ireland

With every sausage war or fish fight over the past 18 months, the chances of survival for the Northern Ireland protocol have narrowed. But the fallout from the NI Assembly elections, which saw Sinn Féin become the largest single party, has made it increasingly likely that the UK will take unilateral action to override parts of the Brexit deal.

The protocol has few supporters. Arguably its only redeeming feature was that it allowed Boris Johnson to break the deadlock and conclude the withdrawal agreement. Because a porous land border between the UK and the Republic would have threatened the single market – and a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic was unacceptable on political grounds – the Prime Minister compromised. We were left with one constituent part of the UK effectively remaining in both the EU single market and customs union.

Arch remainers will argue that this was the deal agreed upon and regardless of the protocol’s corrosive impact on the Northern Irish economy, we should accept it as a fait accompli.