Jamie Bryson's paper on protocol alternative 'does not deserve to be taken seriously'

NEW Westminster legislation reinstating the primacy of the Act of Union and making the Republic responsible for enforcing the EU's single market at the border are among proposals tabled as an alternative to the protocol.

Jamie (Poundshop) Bryson has co-authored a paper for the Centre for the Union. Picture by Hugh Russell 

             10th January, 2023. 

Published by the Centre for the Union, a group set up last year to "protect our United Kingdom of Great Britain and NI", the document is written by its director Ethan Thoburn and blogger Jamie Bryson.

Its contents have been characterised as "rehashing unworkable fantasies".

Ethan Thoburn should have hired someone with a little more experience than Bryson to co-author 'Centre for the Union paper' 

The paper assesses the constitutional impact of protocol and includes potential remedies for what it terms the "damage" caused by the post-Brexit trade arrangements.

The authors say it is "designed to assist discussion" and does not represent a definitive solution.

However, it says there are "fundamental constitutional principles which cannot be the subject of negotiation", including the Acts of Union and the sovereignty of UK law.

Another loyalist propoganda poster threatening the GFA and the NI Protocol threatening a return to violence and fully backed by the DUP and its leader Jeffrey Donaldson MP 

"It is not for the United Kingdom to pay the price of the EU’s adoption of the nationalist demand that there can be no north-south border," it says.

"It is for the EU to protect their own single market, and if they wish to adopt arrangements compatible with the wishes of the Irish government/nationalism, then it is for the EU to absorb any associated risk with doing so."

As an alternative to the arrangements which are currently being discussed by the EU and British government, the document proposes a "UK Constitutional Bill", that would "entrench the supremacy of the Acts of Union" and restrict the Stormont assembly's ability to adopt legislation that may undermine the north's place in the union.

FCUK THE DUP AND JAMIE BRYSON TOO

It also advocates ending the application of EU law in the north and creating cross-community measures in the assembly that could veto any further adoption of Brussels' rules.

The paper, which is reported to have "broad support" from the DUP and TUV, suggests restoring fully the north's place in UK’s customs territory and creating an ‘EU tunnel’ at the border which would see traders "self-declare" their adherence to EU standards.

SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole said the document "does not deserve to be taken seriously".

"As well as rehashing unworkable fantasies about post-Brexit arrangements, it makes basic errors in constitutional law," he said.

Loyalist propaganda poster claiming the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) is a swindle its intension to destroy the NI Protocol 

"For example, the Northern Ireland Assembly is not legally allowed to pass constitutional law under the devolution settlement but more broadly, this paper is a cynical attempt to seed hard right unionist taking points into discourse, from people who have always wanted to destroy the Good Friday Agreement."

With many thanks to the: Irish News and John Manley Political Correspondent for the original story. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: All Eight DUP MP's Voted For The Border and Nationality Bill - Leading The Way To The Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme (ETA) - Which Threatens Our Health Service Provision and Tourism in the North Warns Irish Government.

Why have you 'REFUSED' to show this clip on your programme? It has been Tweeted to you 'HUNDREDS' of times

THE Good Friday Agreement (GFA) will 'NEVER' be Renegotiated and UVF Intimidation will not Achieve the Removal of the Protocol

AN UNELECTED: Loyalist with 'no mandate' has claimed a Centre for the Union paper offers 'legitimate compromise' over NI Protocol

Jamie Bryson's paper on protocol alternative 'does not deserve to be taken seriously'

NI Protocol: Food industry warns Protocol 'vital to trade'

Representatives of the *orthern Ireland food industry have warned the UK government that scrapping the Northern Ireland Protocol could damage their businesses.

The protocol is the part of the Brexit deal which keeps Northern Ireland inside the European Union's (EU) single market for goods.

It prevents a hard border with the Republic of Ireland.

But it means checks on some goods arriving from other parts of the UK.

On Monday, the government will begin the process of making radical unilateral changes to the protocol.

In May, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she would bring forward a new law to Westminster.

Businesses which import Great Britain goods to Northern Ireland have experienced difficulties with the protocol as the new checks and controls add cost and complexity.

Food and horticulture importers have faced the greatest problems as those goods face the most onerous controls.

However exporters, including food exporters, have benefited because unlike other parts of the UK they have maintained frictionless access to EU markets.

Michael Bell, the executive director of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink Association (NIFDA), said the protocol has been "vital to ensuring continuity of trade in goods across the island of Ireland, and between Northern Ireland and Great Britain".

"For a majority of our members, the protocol is working. For a minority, there have been issues," he said.

"Some of these have been addressed to an extent by the various 'grace periods', and NIFDA has been working with government to highlight areas where improvements can be made and processes streamlined.

"Simply scrapping the protocol would only set us back.

"We must not forget that Brexit itself presented Northern Ireland food and drink companies with many major challenges, most of which have been resolved by the protocol whilst offering new opportunities."

That was echoed by the *orthern Ireland Meat Exporters Association (NIMEA) who said the protocol, along with the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, was providing "an effective and workable platform for trade between these islands and beyond".

Conall Donnelly, chief executive of NIMEA, said his members annually import about £200m in beef from Great Britain for further processing in Northern Ireland.

These imports are now subject to checks and controls but Mr Donnelly said the industry had coped with that.

He said: "Our members have adapted well to these checks and once they are complete, our members benefit from unfettered trade back to GB and onwards to the EU.

"This provides significant benefits relative to other UK and EU regions and our members are anxious that those benefits are protected.

"To facilitate trade it is essential that both the UK and EU commit to agreed solutions rather than either side taking unilateral action which risks retaliation from the other - potentially damaging trading relations in the process and jeopardising jobs and business opportunities in Northern Ireland."

   The *orthern Ireland Dairy Council has         warned about the impact of taking            unilateral action. IMAGE SOURCE,                            GETTY IMAGES. 

Last week the *orthern Ireland Dairy Council also warned the government about the possible impacts of taking unilateral action.

Food producers are understood to be particularly worried about the "dual regulatory regime" being proposed by the government.

That would mean that goods produced to both UK and EU standards could circulate in Northern Ireland.

Some critics of the protocol, including Lord Frost, have poured scorn on the idea that there is an island of Ireland economy which the protocol protects.

However for the food industry, particularly the dairy sector, the reality is a very high degree of cross-border integration.

Products can move back and forward across the frontier several times in their processing journey.

So if unilateral changes to the protocol create ambiguity about the regulatory status of Northern Ireland goods, these supply chains will be under threat.

It's not surprising then that the food sector has found it voice.

Last month the foreign secretary said the new legislation will "remove regulatory barriers to goods made to UK standards being sold in Northern Ireland".

"Businesses will be able to choose between meeting UK or EU standards in a new dual regulatory regime," she added.

Food producers are concerned that would create confusion or ambiguity about whether their goods were being produced to EU standards and if they could access the single market.

Dairy Council chief executive, Mike Johnston, used the hypothetical example, that if wheat produced using pesticides banned by the EU was used as animal feed on Northern Ireland dairy farms, then the milk produced would not be permitted to cross the border.

With many thanks to: BBCNI and John Campbell BBC NI Economics and Business for the original publication. 

Follow these links to find out more on this story: Westminster 'pushing disingenuous claim protocol is incompatible with the Good Friday Agreement'

Guardian View on overriding the Brexit treaty: a national disgrace

NI Protocol: Food industry warns Protocol 'vital to trade'

We can upgrade Brexit and ease the cost of living by going back to the single market.

With inflation soaring and the cost of living crisis biting, the Chancellor’s recent £15bn intervention was welcome – but more radical thinking is required if we are to energise our economy through these stormy waters and earn another five years of Conservative government.

Given the gargantuan economic challenges ahead, we must dare to assess how Brexit, the biggest geo-political decision in a generation, is faring. So loaded is the B word, many may prefer to steer clear of the subject. But this would be a dereliction of duty.

If an army general, mid-battle, is mature enough to finesse his strategy to secure mission success, then government should do the same. Let’s have the courage to dare to make operational amendments as we seek to leverage greater success.

Here’s my attempt of how we might adjust the tiller to better maximise our Brexit fortunes. 

Political distance from Brussels has been achieved. This is not up for question. However, economically speaking, there is vast room for improvement. The OBR calculates, in its current form, that Brexit is reducing our GDP by four per cent. This compares to around 1.5 per cent caused by Covid.

Put another way: our exports to Europe have shrunk by £20bn. From the fishers who can no longer sell their Scottish salmon, to the farmers undercut by unchecked imports, to Cheshire cheesemakers running into £180 health certificates, even to the City which can no longer sell financial services to Europe, sector after sector is being strangled by the red tape we were supposed to escape from.

Total business investment across the entire United Kingdom economy stalled after 2016 and is 10 per cent down on 2019. European Union workers are turning their backs on the UK, leaving vital gaps in our workforce. Low investment means lower growth. No wonder the IMF forecasts growth for 2023 as half the advanced economy average. 

And then there’s the unresolved issue of the Irish border. Current plans to bin the Northern Ireland Protocol could trigger a trade war with the EU (causing further economic harm) and is alienating the United States, our closest security ally.

As a recent YouGov poll indicates, this is not the Brexit most people imagined, with the majority believing Brexit has gone badly. There is appetite to make improvements – not U-turns but course corrections.

In a nutshell, all these challenges would disappear if we dare to advance our Brexit model by re-joining the EU single market (the Norway model). Leaving this aspect of the EU was not on the ballot paper, nor called for by either the Prime Minister or Nigel Farage during the 2016 referendum. There was, however, much discussion about returning to a “common market,” which is exactly what I propose.

Any model will have benefits and drawbacks. The single market means the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. It would see £7bn of paperwork and checks go, and boost our economy by restoring free trade to sectors demanding change. 

It would require acceptance of some EU regulations. However, UK industry, from food to pharmaceuticals, chemicals to motor manufacturing, says they would be better off working with one common standard rather than having to follow two: both a UK regulatory system and the EU one for most exports.

There remain understandable reservations about the free movement of people in relation to benefit claims which would need addressing, but this is not insurmountable. Let’s not forget, both Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher endorsed this model, with the view that the potential economic benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

If joining the single market (with conditions) results in strengthening our economy, easing the cost of living crisis, settling the Irish problem at a stroke and promoting our European credentials as we take an ever greater lead in Ukraine, would it not be churlish to not face this reality?

Tobias Ellwood is the Conservative MP for Bournemouth East.

With many thanks to: THE HOUSE LIVE and Tobias Ellwood for the original publication. 

Follow this link to find out more on this story: Former Secretary of State Julian Smith questions if Tory MPs are using the North of Ireland 'for other agendas' in Protocol row

The NI Protocol is said to be a blight on our regional economy. That's just simply untrue.

Lord Hain: British government has 'lost critical trust' in the north.

Jimbo Allister: announces that red and green customs lanes will no satisfy unionist unrest concerning the NI Protocol