NI election 2022: TUV says opposing Protocol must be top priority

TUV leader Jim Allister is running again in North Antrim

The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) leader said opposing the Northern Ireland Protocol must be the "top priority" for any unionist who cares about the union.

Jim Allister was speaking at the launch of the TUV manifesto.

He said no unionist could be complacent about the protocol when Great Britain was decreed to be "a foreign country".

The party's opposition to the protocol forms a central part of its 40-page manifesto.

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The protocol was agreed by the UK and EU to ensure free movement of trade across the Irish land border after Brexit.

Under the deal, checks on goods from Great Britain must take place at Northern Ireland's ports to ensure they comply with EU laws - a situation known as the Irish Sea border.

Under the headline "Principle, Strength, Integrity" the document states that the protocol must be scrapped and says voters must use May's assembly election to "pass their verdict" on it.

The TUV believes the protocol is "an instrument to break up the United Kingdom" and is campaigning under the slogan "No Sea Border".

Speaking at the launch with party activists and fellow candidates at a hotel in County Antrim, Mr Allister described the protocol as "poisonous".

The party's manifesto also includes a call for a voluntary coalition at Stormont, continued opposition to Irish language legislation and support for age discrimination laws.

Mr Allister, who since 2011 has been the party's sole representative at Stormont, declared that every other party offered the electorate "more of the same".

He said there needed to be "root and branch" change at Stormont.

He described the mandatory coalition system of government - where the five largest parties all share ministerial roles in the executive - as "absurd".

The TUV leader also said his party wanted to create a "nursing reserve" so there was a pool of talent to assist with staff shortages in the health service.

The manifesto also contains a call for the union flag to be flown all year round from government buildings and the party wants to see a fundamental overhaul of the Equality Commission.

Mr Allister is running again in North Antrim, where the TUV is standing two candidates.

The party is fielding 19 candidates across Northern Ireland.

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