Comments by "Nigel Johnson" (@nigeljohnson9820) on "Northern Ireland first minister resigns amid post-Brexit discontent" video.

@borderlord7562 the loyalist paramilitaries have not gone away.
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@Nice0n3 since it is an internal border, it maybe a devolved issue.
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@jimmyc9166 they don't have to shoot Catholics, just disrupt the customs checks at the border. Being a customs officer at a port just became a very dangerous job.
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@georgebrowne5935 why is it that democracy only includes the views of the nationalists, with the unionists views ignored. Police collusion or not the IRA should have answered for their crimes.
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@georgebrowne5935 that would have saved the rest of the UK a fortune. So I am looking forward to reunification. Then the political and financial liability will be the republic's and that of the EU. Blowing up innocent people on the UK mainland was pointless and counter productive for the IRA and was just as disgusting and cowardly as anything the loyalist did.
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@georgebrowne5935 that is no excuse for lashing out at those who were not involved and had not decision making powers.
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@georgebrowne5935 whatever the history, it cannot be changed now. The loyalist population cannot be ignored, nor can they be disenfranchised. Even if the nationalists eventually outnumber them, the IRA have shown that it only takes a very few violent individuals to force open a border.
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@georgebrowne5935 and do you think that saying tough will make the problem go away? If the pen fails, you can be sure that other methods will be used. It would not require much effort to make the protocol completely unworkable, just as the IRA managed to make the internal border unworkable. Then NI will be returned to attempting to square the impossible circle.
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@georgebrowne5935 I don't recall the people in that Birmingham pub being armed to the teeth, when they were blown up by the brave IRA. If the loyalist follow that example, it might not be safe to frequent a bar in Brussels. But they don't need to do that, all they need to do is disrupt port customs inspections. The EU will then be forced to close the land border.
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@georgebrowne5935 are but I do have a clue, as you will see if you read my previous posts. Reunification could save the rest of the UK about £13 billion a year, and move the political liability on to the republic and the EU. Any border pole in no involves those in NI, so the UK government is off the hook for the decision no matter which way it goes. The loyalist extremists and paramilitaries would direct there dissatisfaction in the direction of the republic and the EU. The rest of the UK would be free of this poisonous history, and could watch from the sidelines, a win for the rest of the UK. As a bonus, the UK might follow the EU example and demand a divorce payment.
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@georgebrowne5935 and this changes my analysis, How?
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@georgebrowne5935 yet they were blown up by the IRA. My analysis is still valid.
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@georgebrowne5935 the history of this conflict dates back not years, but centuries, those who started it are long dead. If you are hoping to inspire some form of indignation, you will be disappointed. Government do what governments do, 99.9999% of those in the rest of the UK have no say in the matter, so it is pointless accusing them with terms like "you". My analysis is still the same as it extricates the rest of the UK from NI in the most advantageous fashion, and to borrow a phrase from the time the conflict started, a pox on both your houses.
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The British government has no say in the devolved government of Northern Ireland. The breakdown of the protocol was so predictable.
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@Nice0n3 it is the devolved government of NI that has broken the GFA, but that was their prerogative.
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@alfredttarski4521 it is an internal border, not one with a third party state. It really matters very little as the devolved government of NI has the veto over the protocol. In any case the purpose is purported to be to preserve the GFA, which is intended to maintain the peace in NI. If the protocol risks the peace, it is not protecting the GFA and is therefore worthless.
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@alfredttarski4521 wrong the NI government has a veto on the protocol via regular referendums. Under the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Northern Ireland institutions will be periodically asked to consent to the trading arrangements in articles 5–10 of the protocol for as long as they are in place. It would give the institutions an opportunity to vote on whether to remain in the arrangements or choose to exit from them. The first consent vote is due to take place in December 2024.
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@alfredttarski4521 this is directly from the withdrawal agreement. So NI has a veto on the current trade arrangement.
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@alfredttarski4521 it is you who cannot read, the trade agreement depends on the consent of NI. It is part of the withdrawal agreement. The effect of ending the current agreement would likely close the NI border, but it is within the power of NI to do so.
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@alfredttarski4521 you are simply wrong, it was agreed in the withdrawal agreement that NI had the democratic right to end the trading agreement which is the basis of the protocol, so voting to end the trade arrangement ends the protocol. Both governments have a unilateral power to end the protocol under article 16, if the trade agreement ceases to function.
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@alfredttarski4521 you are simply wrong no matter what language you use. The NI government has the power to hold a referendum to obtain a mandate to end the trade agreement. I suggest you examine the section regarding democratic consent mechanism contained in the withdrawal agreement.
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@alfredttarski4521 are you particularly dense, they do not have to be, they only need to engineer a NI vote to withdraw from the trade agreement, something that is within their power under the withdrawal agreement under the democratic mechanism. The agreement requires a vote every four years, the UK government is required to facilitate that vote, it cannot withhold it. No one has YET voted to withdraw from the trade agreement, that does not mean it cannot happen if the circumstances make it favourable. Your position has already changed from NI having no say, to one where it does have a say in the continued operation of the protocol. In other words, a vote in NI could pull the plug on the protocol agreement.
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@alfredttarski4521 you started by denying that Northern Ireland had any say in the protocol, yet it clearly has a mechanism to end it. It simply does not fit your agenda to admit that the trade deal with the EU might not be working and that NI might be the one to stop it. I am not surprised that you dislike the democratic mechanisms to end the trade deal with the EU, its supporters are never keen on democracy.
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@alfredttarski4521 I suggest you review your post, as other will. It seems you are only interested in the democratic rights of the nationalist side and that of the EU. You cannot ignore the views of the loyalist people. You should also be aware that a relative small group of nationalist terrorists, managed to force the internal border open with their threats of violence, a similar number on the loyalist side could certainly force the sea border open, by making the protocol unworkable. As i repeatedly pointed out, and you refuse to acknowledge, the people of NI have the power to end the trade agreement as part of the democratic mechanism which is built into the withdrawal agreement. So you are simp!y wrong that NI did not have a veto on the trade protocol.
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@ameyas7726 Biden is only interested in the gfa preserving the peace, you may find he is less supportive of the protocol if it's implication returns Ireland to violence. He will certainly not support British troops on the streets of NI to enforce the protocol and protect the border posts. I really do not care what happens, I would be happy for NI to unite with the south. From the rest of the UK's point of view it would be a win win,with the financial and political liability transfering onto the republican government and the EU. The UK would receive a substantial financial boost from no longer being required to fund NI. ( Somewhere around £13 billion a year net). It is not me you must convince, it is the loyalist in NI, but I doubt if you will get a favourable response by telling them they have no choice, and no say in the matter.
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@alfredttarski4521 I suggest you reread your post in this thread. As it is clear that NI has a veto over the trade agreement and the treaty as is contained in the withdrawal agreement. You asserted that NI had no say in the protocol,which is simply wrong, it has the power to cancel the trade agreement on which the protocol depends.
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