Church moderator calls on politicians to work together to ease tensions over NI protocol

by Q Radio News

The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church has called on politicians to work together to ease tensions over the Northern Ireland protocol.

The Right Reverend Dr David Bruce condemned the use of threats in the ongoing row over the trade mechanism which is disrupting the flow of trade from GB.

Stormont politicians as well as those in Westminster and Brussels, have been at odds over the protocol since before it was implemented. 

The mechanism is a post-Brexit arrangement designed to keep the Irish border open by ensuring Northern Ireland continues to follow the EU’s trading rules.

It achieves that by keeping Northern Ireland aligned to various EU rules, requiring checks on goods arriving into the region from Great Britain.

The DUP has vowed to overthrow it over fears it damages the integrity of the UK internal market and Northern Ireland’s place in it.

Last week the Government unilaterally extended grace periods that currently limit regulatory checks on imports of agri-food retail goods and customs declarations on GB parcels sent to the region.

The Right Reverend Dr David Bruce has appealed to those with responsibility for finding the necessary solutions to work together, even if at times that means disagreeing well. 

“All of us in these islands have a responsibility to encourage the kind of dialogue that leads to fruitful engagement and resolution, and when this is difficult, and tensions are shifting, we have a responsibility to seek agreement and, where that is not immediately possible, to disagree well,”

“Disagreeing well is an essential element of democracy. It means being careful with our words and use of language so as not to inflame any given situation.

"It also means being careful not to back other people into corners leaving them with no way out.

"To disagree well means being honest in our politics and gracious towards one another, even when we are not starting from the same place. Disagreeing well is part of the process that ultimately enables agreements to be made.”

Above Revered Dr David Bruce speaking to Q Radio. Pictured below.

Dr Bruce continued by sayIng, “Disagreeing well also means that people should never be intimidated or threatened.

"Tensions linked to Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol, for instance, over recent weeks, have led to threats against some of our elected representatives and others, which I utterly condemn.

"Tactics like these are anti-democratic and have absolutely no place in any society, more so in these days when people are working day and night to preserve life.

“Shifting tensions always make the ability to find solutions more difficult. I certainly do not underestimate the difficulties involved.

"However, I appeal to those tasked with finding solutions to do so thinking of the other, alongside their own deeply held positions, so that local tensions, or political strains between states, diminish.

"The challenges faced as a result of changing political relationships will be resolved because they have to be – none of us will emerge well if they are not - from the pensioner doing their weekly shop to the trader doing business across jurisdictions."

Threats have appeared in loyalist parts of Northern Ireland in recent months condemning the Irish Sea border