Colum Eastwood rejects claim Protocol endangers Union pointing to consent principle

The SDLP leader made the comments during a debate on the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill in the British House of Commons pointing out that the constitutional status of the north is safeguarded by the principle of consent in the Good Friday Agreement.

The Foyle MP was reacting to the DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson who claimed the Protocol undermined the Acts of Union.

"For us as Unionists, there is a risk to the Union in relation to how the protocol is being applied in Northern Ireland. Both the High Court and the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland have stated that the protocol subjugates article 6 of the Act of Union.

"That article confers on Northern Ireland citizens the right to trade freely within their own country. It states that there shall be no barrier to trade between the constituent parts of the United Kingdom. No one could reasonably argue that the protocol does not put in place barriers to trade," the Lagan Valley MP said.

But Mr. Eastwood replied: "The right hon. Member has stated that the Union is at risk because of the protocol. I know that he is no big supporter of the Good Friday agreement, but does he not accept that very clearly written into that agreement is the principle of consent?

"That basically means that, no matter how much I want it, we cannot change the constitutional position of Northern Ireland until the people of Northern Ireland and the people of the Republic of Ireland vote for it."

Mr. Donaldson said there 'is a difference of view as to how we interpret what is required in terms of consent'.

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"Lord Trimble [David Trimble, former UUP leader] as one of the key negotiators of the Belfast Agreement, has stated very clearly that the principle of consent does not just apply to the final question as to whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom.

"The term 'constitutional status' extends to these circumstances, where Northern Ireland’s constitutional relationship with the rest of the United Kingdom has been changed by virtue of the subjugation of the Acts of Union."

The Derry MP said he 'totally and absolutely' disagreed.

"It is not an elastic principle; it is about one thing, the constitutional position of Northern Ireland. If it is elastic, however, does it apply to Brexit, since that was a constitutional rupture for the people of Northern Ireland, and the people of Northern Ireland voted against it? If it applies to the protocol, why does it not apply to Brexit?" he asked.

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