MPs to debate Jim Allister's bill to remove the Irish Sea border - and replace it with mutual enforcement arrangements

​Jim Allister’s private members bill is unlikely to pass on Friday given the huge Labour majority, combined with uncertainty over how the Conservative party – who introduced the frontier – will vote.

But it will see the issue back on the Westminster political agenda, and may attract some big names in support, such as the shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel.

The bill has the support of all of Northern Ireland’s unionist MPs as well as Reform UK and Tories including former leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith.

The TUV say the proposed legislation would “ensure full democracy for the 1.9m UK citizens of Northern Ireland and lay the essential groundwork for possible trade deals with both the United States and the European Union”.

The European Union (Withdrawal Arrangements) Bill is being debated after Mr Allister was chosen high on the ballot for Private Member’s Bills.

The TUV boss said: “Today the 1.9m people who live in Northern Ireland are covered by 300 areas of law that are the remit of the European Union. This means that for the first time, people of this country have had their democratic rights removed as they have no influence on law that applies to them.

“The absurdity of parts of our country having different democratic rights compared to others needs to be addressed and my Bill does just that. By creating a system of mutual enforcement, no physical customs barriers are required at all.

“Better still by bringing in this law we will set the stage for possible trade deals with the US, which under the current situation will be almost impossible, given the subjection of part of the UK to EU law and control. USA will want certainty in any trade deal with the UK and that requires the closing of the back door into the EU which the present Windsor Framework creates.

“Many in Westminster, and the country do not realise that what happens in Northern Ireland matters to everyone, all 70m of us. It really does and I believe that my Bill is an effective way of solving a host of problems left behind by the initial Brexit negotiations.”

The Irish Sea border has caused years of political instability in Northern Ireland, as the trade in goods within the United Kingdom faces barriers – but trade with the Republic has no restrictions.

That’s because Northern Ireland remains effectively a full part of the EU single market, while Great Britain has left.

Unionists are concerned that the creation of an all Ireland economy – combined with Northern Ireland’s inability to influence hundreds of laws it is governed by – undermines its place in the UK.

The support of the DUP for Mr Allister’s bill shows how far the party has shifted from its position earlier this year that the sea border had been removed and the UK internal market restored.

After Sir Jeffrey Donaldson stood down after being charged with historic child sex offences, charges he denies, the party’s position under Gavin Robinson changed. This was driven by opponents of the party’s January deal with the Tories, which restored devolution in February.

It is now committed to the removal of EU law and the sea border it creates, arguably a harder and clearer position than its original seven tests.

Ulster Unionist MP Robin Swann will also back the bill. The party is also opposed to the Windsor Framework. In his conference speech in September, leader Mike Nesbitt asked whether its respects a fundamental tenet of international law.

“Does it demonstrate respect for the territorial integrity of the state. The meaning of the word ‘integrity’ is clear: it means whole and undivided. It’s that simple.

“All I want is the provision of the same rights, the same stability and the same principles as applied throughout Europe. Look at the Ukraine, look at the Middle East, look around the world, if you are in any doubt about the importance people place on territorial integrity – and the lengths people will go to in order to protect it, or demand it”, he said.

Mr Allister’s Bill is co-sponsored by MPs from six different parties and an independent unionist, including a former leader of the Conservative Party. Rt. Hon Sir Iain Duncan Smith, Nigel Farage, Graham Stringer, Richard Tice, Rt. Hon Gavin Robinson, Rt. Hon Sammy Wilson, Carla Lockhart, Robin Swann, Alex Easton, Jim Shannon and Gregory Campbell.