Sunak should remove the whip from Johnson – it’s the only language he understands

‘Boris Johnson has let it be known that he opposes the protocol.’ Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images

Rishi Sunak has no alternative. The United Kingdom which Northern Ireland is part of is a democracy ruled by the Westminster parliament. In the matter of the Northern Ireland protocol, the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) is claiming the right of veto over a classic function of any union – foreign trade. The party is supported by the Tories’ recent leader and prime minister, Boris Johnson. This is intolerable.

Polls show support for the DUP hovering between 20-25%. It does not represent most of Northern Ireland’s people. Nor does it command a majority of unionist opinion, with official unionists, the extreme TUV and the Alliance party together garnering close to 30%. It is only the power-sharing Good Friday agreement that keeps the DUP with a veto, which it is using to halt the devolved government at Stormont until it gets its way against the protocol.