Daniel McConnell: Protocol and border poll dominate elections for unionists
Former education minister and DUP MLA Peter Weir said Sinn Féin's had pretented that a border poll was not a priority until their manifesto was published. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA
Opposing a border poll and scrapping the Northern Ireland Brexit protocol are the two main issues of concern for unionist parties ahead of next week’s Assembly elections.
Faced with the prospect of Sinn Féin emerging as the largest party, meaning the right to hold the office of first minister, unionist agitation is further elevated by the sense of abandonment they feel since the signing of the protocol by Boris Johnson’s government.
With a week to go until polling day, the messaging from unionists is clear: Vote for them to scrap the protocol and stop the “aggressive republicanism” of Sinn Féin.
Portraying Sinn Féin as the bogeyman is a tactic common across all unionist parties and the spectre of a dominant Sinn Féin is one they all feel the need to opposed. The DUP has insisted while Sinn Féin sought to downplay its priority of holding a border poll, it has exposed the real agenda of the party.
DUP MLA and former education minister Peter Weir says Sinn Féin’s border poll agenda has been submarine-like throughout this campaign.
“After pretending it isn’t their priority, they clearly commit to it front and centre in their manifesto,” he says.
“Expect it to come fully to the surface post-election on the back of any Sinn Féin mandate,” Mr Weir says.
His party colleague, DUP director of elections Gordon Lyons, says it was DUP pressure that forced Sinn Féin to admit its priority is setting a date for a border poll. “This election will shape the future direction of Northern Ireland,” he says.
“Only the DUP can stop Sinn Féin’s border poll distraction.
“While Sinn Féin have been attempting to avoid scrutiny of their real priorities, some other parties have been assisting them in downplaying the importance of this election.”
Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader Jim Allister sought to play up fears of Sinn Féin being the lead party, calling out the DUP and the Ulster Unionist Party as to whether they will play “footsie” with Mary Lou McDonald’s party.
He says the ever-shifting position of the DUP and UUP had left many looking for strong leadership to face down aggressive Irish republicanism.
“The unionist electorate requires a clear answer on whether unionism would nominate a deputy to Michelle O’Neill,” he said this week.
Unionist opposition to the protocol has become louder since the campaign started, with the DUP calling for it to be scrapped.
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson took to his feet in the House of Commons seeking to compare the situation in Ukraine to what has happened in the North.
“Would the secretary of state agree with me that the last piece of advice we would ever give to a sovereign nation like Ukraine is to cede control of part of its territory to a foreign entity,” he said.
“And yet those who advocate the protocol advocate precisely that. Large degrees of the laws in Northern Ireland and regulations are imposed by the European Union and I and my colleagues have no say whatsoever and how those regulations are drawn up.”
