The DUP leader was speaking at a rally in Bangor, Co Down, where he said both the UK government and the EU now recognized that the protocol needed to be changed.
Speaking before the rally, Sir Jeffrey said: “The union is united in its opposition to the protocol. This must continue to be our focus. Read more: The NI protocol will be abolished by London sources who claim “There are too many divisions. These elections will be won and lost in transfers. “I want every trade unionist to give his first preference to the DUP, but I want it to continue and be transferred to the other candidates in favor of the union.” The rally is the latest in a series to take place across Northern Ireland and outlines trade union and loyal opposition to the post-Brexit protocol, which provides for additional controls on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from the UK. Strongly opposed by trade unionists as a border in the Irish Sea. Earlier this year, the DUP ousted Stormont’s executive in protest of the protocol, and the party has vowed not to return to government after Thursday’s election until their concerns are addressed. Read more related articles Read more related articles Sir Jeffrey continued: “The protocol has increased transport costs between GB and NI by 27% and set a boundary between us and our most important trading partner – the United Kingdom, as well as jeopardizing our drug supply in the midst of a health pandemic. “We have made progress in convincing many of the advantages of our case. From a non-negotiable position, the EU and the government now recognize the need for change. “The government is aware that the Protocol does not enjoy the support of the Unionists and Brussels can have no doubt that the Protocol has cast a shadow over the political arrangements in Northern Ireland. “If Sinn Féin wins this election, the message to London, Dublin and Brussels will be normal with the protocol.” TUV leader Jim Allister, Baroness Kate Hoey and former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib in Ballymena (Image: Mark Marlow / PA) Also speaking at the meeting were TUV leader Jim Allister as well as Baroness Kate Hoey and former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib, who are part of a group that has taken legal action against the protocol, which is due to stand trial in the Supreme Court. They also spoke at an anti-protocol rally earlier in the day in Ballymena, Co Antrim. Mr. Alistair told the Co Antrim rally that there could be no return of the Stormont Executive who shares power until the protocol is repealed. A number of loyal bands paraded through Ballymena before several hundred people gathered in the city center to listen to speeches. Mr Alistair said: “We have to bring the fake prime minister who put this unfair protocol to the point where he has to make a choice. “And the leverage we have is to make the prime minister choose: do you want to save protocol or do you want to save Stormont? “You can not have both. “And the reason I say you can not have both is very simple: the price of Stormont is to enforce the protocol and it is a price that no trade unionist can or should ever pay.” He added: “The basic premise of the protocol is that the GB is a foreign country and that Northern Ireland, in terms of trade, is an integral part of the EU on what is to be the economically integrated island of Ireland. “The declaration of GB as a ‘third’ or foreign country cuts the very heart of the Union. “It is not surprising that the Court of Appeal has acknowledged that the protocol has been subordinated to Article 6 of the Acts of the Union – the very basis of the Union economic union.” Lady Hoey said: “I think people are angry at the pro-union community. “I think we are outraged by the way Northern Ireland has been treated by our government, but especially by the way in which the Irish Government and the European Union have worked together to do what they can to distinguish Northern Ireland. Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom. “I think we all know how the protocol separated Northern Ireland from the rest of the United Kingdom, the principle of consensus that was so crucial to the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement, which many of us voted for. “How betrayed we now feel that the principle of consensus has been overthrown by our government and by a European Union that used Northern Ireland to punish the rest of the United Kingdom. “The price of Brexit for the citizens of the European Parliament will be Northern Ireland. Well, we’re not going to let that happen. “None of us want to go back to terrible days of violence, but we can not have a situation where our government ignores the majority community in Northern Ireland.” Referring to Thursday’s Stormont election, Mr Habib said: “We have to have a trade union majority in Stormont, we have to use that trade union majority to overthrow Stormont. “There can be no Stormont as long as the protocol exists. “If we have this union majority, then it is up to you to hold these politicians accountable, to make sure they do what they promised, that is, to prevent the formation of the executive and to ensure that Stormont is not reformed until the protocol comes out. . “You can not have Stormont and the protocol, the protocol must go first.” Read more: Statistics on Irish postcodes show a lot issued in trade union areas Read more: Councilors ‘kept in the dark’ on PSNI investigation at City Council headquarters For the latest political news directly to your inbox, subscribe to our newsletter here.
