This is frankly nonsense.

It remains beyond belief that the UUP continues meekly to continue as the DUP’s lap dog on this.

The Protocol isn’t going anywhere and we need Leaders who are honest enough to say so.

Remember...

1/5 https://twitter.com/BBCJayneMcC/status/1359998795195572227

For as long as the UK has an entirely separate standards, regulatory and customs system from the EU, there will have to be a regulatory and customs frontier between the UK and the EU.

2/5

There is no prospect of Irish border, with 300+ crossing points, being used as that frontier for goods (altho’ it is for services, ie 80% of economy).

Irish Sea, with only six crossing points and traffic stopped anyway, is obvious location for regulatory frontier for goods.

3/5

The Protocol is an attempt to square that circle. It creates the regulatory frontier, puts it in the obvious location, and then tries to find as many ways as possible to disregard it for goods only entering NI (thus not entering EU Internal/Single Market).

4/5

So, there must be a regulatory/customs border and current location is only one viable.

The problem, which DUP voted to create, is UK’s decision to leave Single Market & Customs Union.

So Protocol is not the problem. It is the *solution*, for as long as the problem remains.

5/5