Why the new NI Protocol Act will fail to restore power-sharing

In an EU-UK trade war, it is hard to see how institutions in Belfast could function at all says Sean O’Grady

The Northern Ireland Protocol was agreed by the UK and EU in 2019 as a way to keep the Irish land border free flowing (PA) (PA Archive)

It may not make much sense but the government’s case for tearing up most of the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) is at least internally consistent.

At its simplest, foreign secretary Liz Truss, and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis argue that the Democratic Unionist Party, the majority voice within Unionism, can only be persuaded to end their boycott of power-sharing institutions by radically changing the NIP through an act of Parliament.

But it takes two to tango. If the NIP Bill becomes law, it’s likely that Sinn Fein, and possibly other parties, would then boycott the Assembly and Executive in their turn. Just like the DUP, Sinn Fein, with the largest representation in the Assembly, possesses a veto, so if it refuses to take part in forming an executive then Stormont cannot function. Sinn Fein, like the DUP, have a solid track record of pulling out of the administration as politics demands. Sinn Fein have also warned about the “colossal political and economic impact” of scrapping most of the NIP.